Mercedes-Benz S320CDi LWB

The introduction of a new Mercedes-Benz S-Class is as eagerly anticipated as the next instalment of Harry Potter. But while the German luxury carmaker doesn’t rely on wizardry and witchcraft, it certainly employs the very latest in technology to bring its discerning band of loyal customers the most advanced automotive carriage money can buy.

Once they’ve filtered through the hands of initial customers – company chairmen and women, heads of state and so on – these S-Classes start to represent ‘an awful lot car for the money, guv’nor.’ The pinnacle of luxury and refinement, effortless power and performance and more interior space than the Albert Hall, a three-year-old SClass will set you back as little as £20,000. However, the latest derivative of Mercedes’ mighty saloon was first launched in the UK in the Spring of 2006, so they’re still relatively sparse on the used car forecourts.

When it comes to model choice, there’s no better compromise a dieselengined S-Class; the new generation dispenses with the old car’s 3.2-litre straight-six, and instead uses the latest 3.0-litre V6 turbo diesel, producing a whopping 235bhp and a colossal 540Nm.

Specifications

The entry-level S-Class is the £54,317 S280 petrol, with the next one up the chain being the S320CDi you see tested here – £55,022 on the standard wheelbase and £59,000 in long wheelbase form. Our test car is the stretched version.

Part of the S320’s box of tricks is the raft of safety technology included. As you may expect, there are airbags (eight in all), traction control and antilock brakes. But beyond that there are a host of super advanced features such as Pre Safe, Distronic cruise control (that sets speed and distance) and Brake Assist. With regard to Pre Safe and Brake Assist, they basically ‘sense’ emergency situations. In anticipating a potential collision, the system will tension the seat belts, close the side windows, improve the support in the seats, apply the brakes more strongly and activate the hazard warning lights.

After an impact, it will open the windows, unlock the doors, illuminate the B- and C-pillars to guide emergency services, phone for an ambulance, call your work to tell them you’ll be late in, arrange a hire vehicle and consult your lawyers. Ok, we made up the last few bits; but the point is that this Mercedes will not only do everything in its power to prevent you from having an accident in the first place, but if you’re stupid or unlucky enough to have an impact, it will also go to extraordinary lengths to ensure you’re protected.

In wet weather, the Adaptive Brake facility will sense that the wipers are working, so the car will subtly engage the brakes gently every now and then to clear the discs of any water to make them absolutely effective when they’re needed.

Inside there are plenty of other bells and whistles, from optional massaging seats that can also increase the amount of side bolster support you receive during cornering, to four-zone climate control and the very latest in car entertainment system, which can also include analogue and free-to-view digital television. The extent of the goodies on offer is simply staggering, but then we’d expect nothing less from the benchmark in luxury saloons.

One of the key features is the COMAND system, which is MB’s version of BMW’s iDrive. Now, in this writer’s opinion, it doesn’t work well in the Ultimate Driving Machine, and it doesn’t particularly work well here either. Despite there being an attempt to make it as intuitive as possible, the fact remains that it is still a damn fiddly setup.

We reckon that a few years back, BMW and Mercedes engineers went out for a night of heavy drinking; the net result of such alcohol-fuelled brain storming were these single joystick, multi-function devices. A great idea in theory, and one that tidies up the interior architecture, but it just doesn’t work as well as a bank of switches. It requires something like eight steps to raise the beautifully engineered rear sunblind, while to set the classical looking clock in the centre console requires a similar amount of fiddling. On the equivalent Jaguar XJ, there is a button in the roof console for the sunblind and two buttons (plus and minus) for setting the clock. We hope this intuitive simplicity spreads back to Germany very soon.

On the road

The new 3.0-litre V6 diesel engine is a belter. It’s smooth, refined, willing and feels like it could pull a large locomotive. It’ll reach the 62mph benchmark in just 7.5 seconds and propel the S-Class onto a 155mph top speed.

Feeding that power to the road is a brand new seven-speed automatic transmission that offers three modes – comfort, sport and manual – to cater for a range of driving styles. It will alter not only the gear-shift speed and quality, it will change the ride height and air-suspension settings too.

There’s also electronically assisted steering, which provides additional weight and feel at high speeds in the straight-ahead position. An ultra slippery shape (drag coefficiency is 0.26CD) and the use of aluminium both in suspension components and the body structure have not only lightened the car slightly but have also stiffened the structure.

Dynamically then, all bodes well. In practice, however, this is still a 2,000kg vehicle, so despite the most admirable efforts this is not a machine to chuck about like some hot hatch. For this tester at least, the S320CDI only really came into its own when it became the wafting luxury saloon it has always been renowned for.

It can cover ground quickly but, in truth, the steering isn’t as precise as it could be, and it leans and rolls through corners. It’s less noticeable than it would have been in its predecessor but you can’t argue against the laws of physics. This is a massive, three-box saloon.

Our advice is to forget any sporting pretensions and drive it like you’re chauffeuring your grandmother. It will then start to feel like the epitome of luxury motoring. It’s refined, smooth, comfortable and effortless. Whether you’re crawling through urban traffic or surging down an empty motorway with presidential urgency, the C320CDI will feel special. Every journey will seem like a magisterial occasion.

Thanks to double-glazing, the S320CDi is beautifully refined. From inside the sumptuous interior, you’re well removed from any wind noise, the engine grinds away with a consistent, distinctive but not unpleasant diesel note, while tyre noise is generally well suppressed on all but the worst road surfaces. Given the weight they need to haul up, the brakes are supremely efficient. A soft, well-damped left pedal means that progressive braking is easy and
effective.

Market impressions

It can be a bit bewildering researching S-Class prices, because fluctuations are so huge. Differences in spec mean that you can often be looking at a preowned, 56-reg S320CDi for £70k, but it will be a fully-loaded, LWB version with some Brabus toys on it. At this age and expected mileage (ie, between 10k and 20k miles), prices for S320CDi models seem to be from around £46,000 up to virtually the list price new. Crucially, availability is excellent, because the diesel model is the favoured choice for chauffeur companies and business people alike, so there are plenty to choose from, especially in classic colours such as silver, black and grey.

Conclusion

Faults, flaws and fixes

It’s virtually impossible to truly gauge what the reliability is like on a car barely 15 months old and still well within its official warranty cover. All we’ve really got to go on is the experience of the previous generation S320Cdi. The main problems with that model appear to be technology-derived ones. Faulty temperature and/or fuel gauges, erroneous warning lights, noisy air conditioning and, worse still, failed air suspension; the latter issue saw the car’s ride height drop. We’re hopeful that these maladies have been cured with the new model, but only time will tell for sure.

One consistent warning bell to come from various forums is the cost of servicing. Many owners of cars older than three years tell horror stories of expensive repair bills. It’s always worth repeating that, while these cars inevitably depreciate to a point where they’re priced around the same as a run-ofthe-mill family car, they will never cost as much as aforementioned hack to maintain.

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