For a big car of these proportions it is quite well sprung and the Airmatic Suspension takes on bad patches of the road with a fair amount of poise. Larger potholes do transmit a thud through the cabin due to the use of low-profile tyres; an issue not expected in a luxurious car like this and can be resolved by simply using better tyre profile in India. This, sadly, is because the internationally raved Magic Body Control couldn’t clear our government’s policies due to the ban on various radar-based systems. The S-Class in Europe uses cameras and radar to scan the road ahead and in split seconds adjust the suspension characteristic accordingly to offer ‘magic-like body control’ – sans pitching or body roll. For the same reason human recognition camera is also off the list of features.
The air suspension comes with ‘Comfort’ and ‘Sport’ modes. The Comfort mode feels best within the city for a more relaxed drive, but offers sizeable bobbing and body-roll if driven enthusiastically. The soft setup makes the S-Class nervous with faint under-steering. Switch to Sport and the ride firms up for better body control, the steering feel also improves and becomes livelier. Thus even the mild under-steer is ironed out and dynamically the car feels a lot better and alert. Things become better in Sport yet it’s not the most involving car in the segment, mainly because the car does not communicate that well. Add to it the bulk, and my confidence to push the car around fast corners was crushed under its over two-tonne weight.
The Mercedes-Benz S-Class is being offered in the spectacularly quick petrol motor but without a diesel variant as of now. The comfort, interior quality and features it comes with is phenomenal, but it rides on very high expectations and an even higher price-tag of Rs 1.45 crore (estimated), which seem to be quite a burden.
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Story: Sarmad Kadiri
Photography: Sanjay Raikar
