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Mercedes unveils new S-Class
By Stéphane Schlesinger on 21 June 2005 | 
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Launched in 1998, the previous S-Class has sold 480,000 copies up to now, which makes it the best selling luxury saloon in the world. Mercedes intends its new S-Class to meet the same success and to do so, has laden it with technology. In terms of active safety and comfort, we find a few innovative systems:
- Brake assist plus: fitted with a radar, this system registers the cars ahead and gives a warning if the gap is too small. Moreover, if a collision threatens, the system calculates the ideal braking assistance: the car will brake as strong as it can even if you don’t apply enough pressure on the pedal. In the mean time, the adaptive brake lights will flash.
- Pre-safe plus: if the car detects an emergency situation, it’ll tension the seat belts, inflate the air-cushions in the seats to give the driver more support and close the side windows.
- Distronic Plus: using the same components as the Brake Assist Plus, this systems keeps the car at the right distance from the vehicle ahead, and, in stop-and-go traffic, will go as far as stopping the S-Class and make it re-accelerate automatically. Not a good reason to read and drive though.
- Night view assist: two infrared lights detect non-visible objects at night, which are then displayed in the instrument cluster.
Mercedes’s new flagship is even larger than its predecessor and like it, is available in two lengths: either 507 or 520cms. It’s also 16mm wider and 29mm higher. Its huge wheel arches recall that of the new Fiat Croma while the boot lid makes one think of the BMW 7-Series. On the whole, the new S-Series shows a slender silhouette conveying a sense of dynamism, which is quite amazing for such a big car.
Under the bonnet, the engine range has narrowed to 4, with 3 new units. We find the 3.2 V6 CDI delivering 231bhp, the usual 272bhp 3.5 V6, a new 5.0 litre V8 block delivering 388bhp and the 6.0 litre V12 boosted to 517bhp, available in 2006. All these units are coupled with the 7 speed G-Tronic automatic gearbox. The Airmatic suspension is standard while the Active Body Control is optional, except on the V12. I don't expect Mercedes to avoid competition with the Audi A8 4.2 TDI or the BMW 740d, especially as they have an excellent V8 CDI in store...
In the cockpit, major changes are to be discovered: Mercedes has fitted its luxury saloon with a device very similar to BMW’s iDrive, with a console mounted big switch. Called Comand, this system monitors the stereo, the heating, the telephone or the hard-drive based navigation. Of course, it’s possible to adapt it to your habits. It’s combined with a huge colour screen set on the centre of the dash, just like in a BMW… For their comfort, passengers are offered multicontour seats including a massage function. Thanks to the stretched wheelbase, accommodation should be better and the boots stores up to 560 litres of luggage.
The new S-Class will hit the showrooms by October.
Ooops :-D
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