Mercedes-Benz has taken luxury motoring to new heights with the arrival this week of the new S-Class. At the launch we were told that this car is regarded by the German car maker as a major step by towards the holy grail of motoring – a car so technically advanced that it can virtually drive itself.

The new S-Class exudes that sense of graciousness and luxury that one would expect from a car at the very top of its market.
Inside, space has been increased in all directions. Controls and displays include two colour screens – one to provide driver information and another to control comfort and infotainment features. Pearl-effect switches and a generous use of wood on the dashboard and centre console enhance the sense of luxury while high-end surround sound, navigation and Google Maps displays add to its high-tech appeal. Other features include voice-controlled telephone and audio systems with an option of having text messages and emails read aloud.

Passengers sit in first-class splendour with a choice of rear seat variants with backrest angle adjustment and body comfort features that include air cushions, massage and seat heating and cooling functions. Fitments include a business class centre console, automatic climate control, heated armrests, cup holders that can heat and cool drinks, extra stowage and two folding tables. A world first is a system that discharges a mild air freshening perfume spray.

With its array of technical advancements, the new S-Class is being seen by Mercedes-Benz as an important crossroads on their journey towards the development of a car capable of being driven without driver intervention – a goal they predict will become a reality within the next decade.  One feature that demonstrates this better perhaps than any other is Distronic Plus with Stop & Go Pilot – a personal steering and tailback assistant that operates at speeds up to 60km/h to deliver the three-fold benefit of reducing rear-end collisions, lowering fuel consumption and keeping a driver’s blood pressure under control.  It works by automatically ensuring that the car follows the vehicle in front – braking, accelerating, even steering autonomously so the driver can relax in traffic jams and other slow-moving conditions.

Technically, the S-Class sets new baselines in terms of electronics and engineering that will trickle down into other models in the Mercedes-Benz range and be mimicked by rival manufacturers over time. One of the many ways in which it extends technical boundaries is seen in the fact that - some 100 years after light bulbs were introduced into motor vehicles - it is the first to fully adopt LED lighting, inside and out. Another first is technology that reduces brake light intensity, at night and at traffic lights.
 
Despite its significantly higher level of specifications, the new S-Class is being introduced here at prices lower than those of the outgoing range – a position that their sales manager for passenger cars, Ciaran Allen say, “echoes the trend that has been evident across the Mercedes Benz range for quite some time.”

Here, models will include two hybrid versions - one petrol and one diesel. First here is the S350 BlueTEC diesel which comes on the market at €98.255 – some 4% or €4.000 lower than the previous entry model. Others, for which prices will be announced later, are the S300 BlueTEC HYBRID whose appeal will include annual road tax of just €200; the S400 Hybrid; S500 and S500 plug-in Hybrid – the first S-Class with fuel consumption lower than 4-litres per 100kms and the first luxury car in the world to emit less than 75 grams of C02. All engines meet latest Euro-6 emissions levels, consuming up to 20 percent less fuel than the outgoing series.