[V-16]

Amazing review of an amazing car indeed. I just love the retro-noveau styling of the interior. The two spoke steering wheel and the digital meters shifting, to accommodate more readable data. While the car has smooth lines there is a distinct retro feel about it including the interior starting with the steering wheel and the analogue clock.

But the biggest problem will be the pricing. I wonder where the pricing will go with the Forex rates at what they are at present.

[ganeshtvpm]

An excellent review of an epic car from Mercedez. MBC will be the best thing to happen for any luxury cars which are India bound. This is way too better than the current generation S class. I think A8 can come close to this one but I have got my doubts about the BMW 7er though.

[Sudan_NFS]

Originally Posted by Diamond_dawg

Good look out on the dash, it does look similar!!

Except you mean the 2011 model? i believe Mercury Shut down before they would announce the 2012 model

Yes, they shut down in 2011 but the model was 2012(I am sure because I rented this car in the year 2012 )

[Nuract123]

At the outset, exceptional review Rehaan! Especially the animations! What I did miss is the lack of an engine review(or is it because there isn't anything new to report?). Clearly see Merc furthering their "lab on wheels" concept with the "S". Love the safety related technology - this will give sleepless nights to the boffins at VOLVO, who are chasing the "uncrashable car" dream! The MBC is also cool, though may Indian buyers will feel short-changed at most of the radar based tech being absent from the Indian version. The rest of the features, I really can't judge! As regards rear seat comfort, Yogendra Pratap's face said it all!

So, what next? Ejection seats? I wonder what will show up on the screen when there are cows jaywalking on Indian roads? Maybe "BEEF SPOTTED - PULL OUT THAT SAUVIGNON! ". I'm waiting for Jeremy's review of this car - should be super-hilarious! And for the first time, the writers of the next Bond flick will have to read this review before they decide features on their Bond car. All this makes me wonder if Herr Hitler and the Aryan supremacy was indeed true!
Coming to styling, since the ugly behemoth Maybach is dead, and the marketing folks at Merc had to offer competition to everything from the Range Rover to the Rolls Royce Ghost (or even the Phantom), things have gotten a bit weird - because this is 2 cars rolled into 1 - an S and a Maybach - and unless I'm an American rapper, I really don't see any reason to like the styling, especially the overtly complicated - looking head lamps, droopy rear, the vertically stacked tail lights and those old AC ducts. Even the analogue looking speedo / tacho and the ICE interface are a step backwards (skeuomorphic is a fancy term to justify that! Just as Apple & others are moving away from Skeuomorphic design, the auto industry is still stuck). The Jag XJ is still king when it comes to beauty!

[Rehaan]

Here's another awesome video of the Magic Body Control in action on the streets (looks like a side-street of Toronto).

NOTE: the exact same stretch of street is run twice.
Once with MBC OFF : 00:10 onwards
Then with MBC ON : 00:33 onwards

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQsMfHg6jIE

Originally Posted by Nuract123

What I did miss is the lack of an engine review(or is it because there isn't anything new to report?).

At such high levels of refinement and driveability, and in a different environment, its harder to pinpoint smaller differences accurately. I didn't want to shoot from the hip, hence i left all the engine & ride stuff for our Indian report - on our Indian roads.

Originally Posted by Nuract123

the writers of the next Bond flick will have to read this review before they decide features on their Bond car.

Originally Posted by Nuract123

Even the analogue looking speedo / tacho and the ICE interface are a step backwards (skeuomorphic is a fancy term to justify that! Just as Apple & others are moving away from Skeuomorphic design, the auto industry is still stuck).

I'm not sure what my opinion was on the entire interface. It's definitely better than the earlier COMAND system - however, just the ICE interface has a different skeuomorphic feel to it, which i thought related much better to the controller. That's the only part i was referring to as skeuomorphic.

PS - iOS 7, eww!

cya
R

[starfanrld]

Rehaan - Great preview of the 2014 W222 S Class. You have provided a comprehensive review for the Mercedes Benz Lovers in India. Can't wait for your review and road test once the W222 is launched in India. We can see what we get in India considering the restrictions we have

The S Class from Mercedes Benz has been the trailblazer in the automotive industry. The Innovations in the S-Class is what we will see in 10 years on standard family cars. The wonderful thing is Mercedes Benz allows other auto manufacturers to use their technology especially safety stuff.

This Top Gear video on the earlier S Class (W221) is a classic.

Thanks Once again Rehaan.

[madhav14]

An EPIC review for an EPIC car. Couldn't have been any better. The car has got a kind of review which it truly deserves, and you have done the proper justification by this one.
The amount and depth of detailing has blown off my mind. I wonder how many months would it take to understand all it's features completely, remember and use all of them.
Hope it lands in India without trimming off any features.

[srishiva]

Not sure if the GPS based AC is used on any other car. It was first on Acura RL more than 10 years ago and was surprised that none used it until now

Inspite of all these Magic features, it doesnt do anything good on the environment aspect with future looking drive train technologies.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by madhav14

Hope it lands in India without trimming off any features.

Well, as mentioned, all the radar-dependent features will be dropped. Everything else should be the same.

Originally Posted by srishiva

Not sure if the GPS based AC is used on any other car.

I first heard about it on the W220 S-Class, so that was probably back around 2000.

From what I hear from an S-Class owner (via his service technician), the W221 S-Class actually had this feature removed since it caused a lot of failures and problems in the W220.

Originally Posted by srishiva

Inspite of all these Magic features, it doesnt do anything good on the environment aspect with future looking drive train technologies.

They did have a few hybrids, including the upcoming S500 Hybrid. (And as is always the case these days, there's a huge emphasis on the environmental aspect / emissions / fuel useage for all engines).

Oops i guess i removed those hybrid pictures from my picture-heavy report. Will upload them soon.

cya
R

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by androdev

I have mixed feelings about this car. This car is made to compete with Rolls/Bentley range so it is going to cost big bucks. If you are on a budget and hoping to buy this car, it is going to hurt. OTOH, it is going to please the rich customers with "Rolls at a bargain with practicality" appeal.

I don't think MB will vacate that price point so that that A8, 7-series, XJ can have a field day.

Its true that with the demise of Maybach, they are pushing the fully loaded S as an alternative, but I have a feeling there will be a myriad of versions spanning a wide range all the way from 7 series to Rolls/Benteley range.....starting with a barebones model (relatively speaking ie) that will be pegged at around the same price point as the 221.

Some of the gizmos we see in the review are mostly likely optional rather than standard

[CoolBlueBiker]

That is a great review Rehaan Almost all of these cars sold in India would be chauffeur driven, even their owners would care less about driver dynamics, steering feedback etc.

But we at Team-BHP can't wait to read the Indian road test when the car will be put through it's paces.

[androdev]

Originally Posted by Mpower

I don't think MB will vacate that price point so that that A8, 7-series, XJ can have a field day.

Its true that with the demise of Maybach, they are pushing the S as an alternative, but I have a feeling there will be a myriad of versions spanning a wide range all the way from 7 series to Rolls/Benteley range.....starting with a barebones model (relatively speaking ie) that will be pegged at around the same price point as the 221.

Some of the gizmos we see in the review are mostly likely optional rather than standard

What you say is true for the global market in general, but in India, they usually sell fully-loaded trim without any provision to add/remove 'options'. I am very curious to see how Mercedes will position the new S class in India. If you look at W221 sold in India, except for the engine and pano-roof there are hardly any variations. Given the low volumes, they are not going to have many variants. Since their top of the line features like Magic Body Control and executive seats are actually designed with developing markets in mind, their Indian strategy might be to sell their fully loaded variants. So they will be forced to leave the 1cr segment to BMW/Audi and position themselves at 1.5cr range.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

Oops i guess i removed those hybrid pictures from my picture-heavy report. Will upload them soon.

cya
R

[BurningHeart]

Rehaan,

This is an outstanding review and thank you sharing the details. I was stunned to see the gadgetry and animated pics were brilliant. I liked the way it stops for a pedestrian (well the conditional stopping action) and the way the blinkers flash when someone approaches you fast, while stationary.

Just asking: Did you get to keep any of those t-bhp plates with you? And do you have one too many?

BH.

[Sheel]

Is this a Car? I mean...I am at loss of words, for the Car as well as for the brilliant review.

And for the phoren registration plates & PS job.

******* Stars