Inside & Out:

Mercedes' designers pursued a completely different school of thought with the new S-Class and the looks are a departure from those that have gone before. Where the older generation S-Class designs looked every inch their size, Mercedes has consciously set out to answer critics by using subtle shape and form to disguise the newest S-Class's true dimensions. The long wheelbase car we tested is a full 5.3-metres long, but in isolation it doesn't look it; only when you try and slide it into a normal size parking bay does the enormity of the car become clear.

Inside, that long wheelbase pays huge dividends when it comes to occupant space - especially in the rear. Even with front seats at the full extent of their rearward travel, passengers in the rear enjoy an expanse of leg room found in very few other cars on sale. As you'd expect, comfort is top of the agenda and the focus is perhaps even more on those in the rear than the passengers up front. In either space, the occupants enjoy wonderfully comfortable seats and plenty of room. There is a full complement of toys, as you'd expect, and the 'Comand' centre does integrate these quite effectively. However, there are still an awful lot of buttons spread around the cabin that take a good amount of time and familiarity to interface with effectively.

Engine & Transmission:

A new three-litre six-cylinder diesel engine provided the propulsion in our test car and proved itself to be a smooth and willing unit. Outright power of 232bhp isn't that impressive compared with some rivals, but 398lb.ft of torque - available from 1,600rpm - is the much more important figure. Thanks to this low and mid-range urge, and combined with the smooth shifting seven-speed automatic 'box, it's possible to drive this car around at a reasonable pace without ever seeing more than 2,500rpm.

That's not to say that the S 320 CDI can't provide more sporting intent when called upon, the gearbox keen to shift down and exploit the power available, but in most cases, and in the hands of the majority of customers, the relaxed nature and delivery of the engine and gearbox combination suits a limousine perfectly. Needless to say it's also quiet and refined and an average economy of 30mpg effectively renders the S 280 petrol model redundant.

Ride & Handling:

Active air suspension allows the driver to tailor the chassis settings for the type of driving involved. Be it wafting around town, accruing motorway miles or a spirited B-road drive, the suspension does a very good job of containing the S-Class's size and bulk. The three settings can be selected at the press of a button on the fly (though unfortunately this isn't independent of gearbox function) and the cosseting nature it provides in the urban environment is perhaps only overshadowed by how agile and capable it proves to be when pushed hard.

Equipment, Economy & Value for Money:

As you'd expect in an S-Class, the list of equipment is expansive. To fully appreciate all of the options would take well over a week's worth of motoring and extracting the best from the systems and their interfaces takes time and patience. The list of technologies and associated acronyms is too long to explore in detail here but we'd pick the Comand system and Distronic adaptive cruise control as the two highlights that provided most benefit during our time with the car.

Of course, the raft of safety features normally associated with an S-Class are ever present, perhaps only making themselves felt on the one occasion they may be needed, when the worst happens, but their presence and functionality are reassuring. Value is a very subjective parameter to judge at this end of the market. In isolation £60,000 seems an awful lot of money for a car, but consider the space, technology, equipment, comfort, safety and style offered for that price and it's hard not to consider such an elevated cost as reasonable value for money.

Overall:

The Mercedes-Benz S-Class always impresses in almost any guise. This diesel version brings added benefits in terms of running costs with relaxed and muscular performance. Other rivals may offer a more exciting driving experience, but as a car to be driven in, the S-Class takes some beating. The Best Car in the World moniker may be reserved for the high-end petrol version, but this car runs it very close.


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M

Man those 18 inch rims look so small on that car

You're right, but I think it is mostly due to the design of the wheel.

All the S500 sold here has that wheel and it does look small in that huge wheel arch,IMO 20 inch looks just perfect on the S.

Most of the standard rims are absolutely horrible - but with 19' +, the S-Class looks stunning!!

Mercedes hasn't quite figured out how to design a 3 dimensional wheel, something BMW does very well. The depth of a wheel makes it look larger. When the wheel is flat and has a lot of flat area it looks smaller than it is. BMW does a good job of developing the wheel from the hub to the edge with a concave look, giving the effect that you are looking into the wheel.

Yeah, I've always wondered why MB have never picked up on this. Bmw's are 'turbine' like.

I think MB deliberately uses average/poor looking standard alloys to encourgage/force people to option more expensive better looking ones.

Thankfully, the rims on the C-Class are pretty decent. Even for the base models.

I don't think that is it at all.

You see better wheels on the new C, because when they designed the new C, you can tell that they took a litmus test of the market.

As easy as a wheel is to change, MB should have someone strictly dedicated to match wheels with the car. The S, being the conservative big car, gets the conservative wheel. However, the new big S, isn't really conservative at all with the big fenders and such. So, when you put the boring wheels on, they really stand out, for the wrong reasons.

I've been with MB for 10 years and never have the higher ups sent out a survey asking what do buyers like and don't like. Never. Sales people have the most important info of all. Why DIDN'T the customer buy. Obviously it is easy to know why the customer bought. They bought and you have their info. But what about the others who chose Lexus or BMW. The only person that has a finger on the pulse is the salesperson that dealt directly with the person who choose another brand. But instead of Mercedes focusing on how to sell more of what they already have, they keep spending billions producing new models and bragging about how much their sales have gone up. They simply can't see the forrest for the trees. Alright I'll put away my soapbox for now.

Most carmakers in Europe offer ugly plastic hubcaps or steel rims on their products because there are people out there that genuinely don't care what their wheels look like.