Sunday, July 28, 2013
2007 Mercedes Benz S 600 Preview
excellent car; great ride; great navigation system; but the price is awfully low for such a nice car; I would have payed 400K for such a nice car. If you looking for a good luxury car pick the S 600. EXCELLENT BUYNews
Mercedes ninth-generation flagship sedan is just starting out, so no radical change should occur in the near future.
Lineup
For 2007, three models of the S-Class are available: the S 450 (about $79,500), the S 500 (about $89,500), and the S 600 (starting at about $135,000). Each is distinguished mainly by their engines.
The S 450 packs a new 3-valve-per-cylinder 4.6-liter V8, bumped up from its previous displacement of 4.3 liters. The S 500 is powered by a completely new engine, the 5.5-liter V-8 that has gone back to a 4-valve-per-cylinder design. The top-of-the-line S 600 is powered by an upgraded version of the 6.0-liter 3-valve V-12 twin-turbo engine currently used in the $350,000 Maybach sedans rated at 510 horsepower.
The S 450 and the S 500 models offer similar levels of standard equipment, though the S 500 comes standard with leather. The S 600 adds Parktronic front and rear parking radar system, and the newly updated Distronic radar-controlled cruise control. The V8s come with the seven-speed automatic, while the V12 is equipped with a heavy-duty five-speed automatic.
Options include active headlamps, Active Body Control (standard on S 600), bi-xenon headlamps, Brake Assist Plus, cornering lamps, Distronic Plus, dynamic multicontour seats, with or without massage, Keyless Go, Linguatronic voice activation, hard-drive navigation system, Panorama glass roof, Park Assist, a Reverse camera that displays on the COMAND screen, ventilated seats with fans, and a surround-sound audio system with surround at each seat. Whew!
The new S-Class safety package is unequalled in the class, with all the usual brake and airbag technology upgraded. The Brake Assist feature has been improved to Brake Assist Plus status, and is fully integrated with Parktronic and Distronic, respectively the radar-controlled parking and distance-controlling cruise control systems. The system now has two forward-facing radar systems, and can apply the brakes at any speed from zero up to about 125 mph and bring the car to a full stop without driver input. The company says the new system can reduce rear-end collisions in stop-and-go traffic by up to 75 percent. An added wrinkle to the revised PreSafe system that closes the sunroof, closes windows and repositions the seat in the event of an impending collision is that the air chambers in the backs of the multicountour bucket seats inflate to add support to the upper body in case of a rear-ender. The Electronic Stability Program, or ESP, which was introduced to the world on the S-Class two generations ago, is back as standard equipment, with two new features: trailer stabilization, and tire-pressure monitoring.
Another new offering is the optional Night View Assist. It uses infrared, not thermal imaging as the Cadillacs older systems. Using infrared headlamps, a tiny camera picks up and projects clear, sharp images of whats ahead of the car. The picture is displayed in the space normally occupied by the speedometer and tachometer, which change to bar graphs underneath the night vision display when its activated. Unlike the thermal systems, the Mercedes system uses a sharper SIMOS display instead of a CCD, it does not depend on heat generated by engines or humans to create images, and can operate unaffected by temperature extremes. The system is a world first, and an exclusive S-Class option.
4Matic all-wheel drive is expected in the fourth quarter of 2006 for V8 models. A high-performance AMG model with a new 6.3-liter naturally aspirated V8 replacing the supercharged 5.5-liter V8 is expected to follow. And diesels may be available in 2007.
Interior Features
The new Mercedes S-Class boasts one of the most beautiful interior executions on the market today. Nothing in the interior of the outgoing car, absolutely nothing, was kept for this new S-Class. Every gauge, indicator, switch, lever, display and lamp has been changed.
The most striking change is in the COMAND system in the center of the dash that operates the radio, telephone, entertainment system, navigation system, and vehicle systems. Where the old system was sort of blue on gray, mounted low in the center stack of the console, the new system uses a large, deeply hooded and high-mounted 16:9 ratio full-color display screen, with a console-mounted knob that twists and pushes to change categories and change settings. Everything is done with the twist-and-push controller that operates like the BMW iDrive or Audi MMI systems, only better. Its far easier to use and understand, even without resorting to reading the manual, far more intuitive than the BMW and Audi systems or its predecessor. Select the vehicle systems and the display changes to a silhouette drawing of the car where you can customize 10 different settings to your preferences as easily as using a point-and-shoot camera.
Any item inside that was once black plastic with a white ideogram has been changed to a ridged matte silver button with a white-on-black ideogram above or below it that lights up when the lights go on to be visible in night driving. The drivers door panel is packed with controls for windows and mirrors, including a folding function, and in this case they fumbled. The switches that select the left or right mirror to be adjusted or folded are so tiny that the average driver will probably hit both at once until he or she is used to the change (they each light up with a red jewel to show you which side youre adjusting). The steering wheel has been redesigned to make the audio and other functions easier, with a pair of round controls in the spokes that can do up/down and left/right function selection and change, such as radio station, CD or MP3 track, volume, and muting.
Interior environment is controlled by a new switch panel at the center of the dash, with four vents and a new air conditioning system that is both vertically layered and capable of focused, medium, or diffuse air distribution throughout the car, with two zones in front and two in the ear, each with its own controls. Oh, and that thing that looks like a folded-up wood-grained, chrome-edged cellular telephone, on the console just behind the COMAND interface, is exactly that: a telephone dialer.
Another brand new wrinkle is a strip of ambient lighting in the cockpit that starts on the left door, goes all the way across the lower part of the dash, under the wood trim panel, and all the way back on the right door, creating a continuous ribbon of light that can be adjusted through five brightness levels by using the Vehicle portion of the COMAND system. A beautiful touch in a beautifully organized, visually exciting interior.
The new transmission shifter operates like the one in the new M-Class and R-Class SUVs: A tiny stalk on the right side of the column features up, down and in positions for Reverse, Neutral, Drive and Park modes, and all models come with three-mode shifting including Manual, Sport and Comfort shifting using the steering wheel paddles on the reverse side of the spokes, left for downshifts, right for upshifts. While we liked the new metallic interior panels very much, we didnt like the chrome tip on the shifter handle, because its bright chrome, and it glares like crazy on a sunny day, directly where the driver is looking. Wed prefer the matte metal finish.
The CD/DVD system loads behind a panel under the HVAC system, and contains a slot for loading a PCM/CIA memory card that will play up to 1500 songs through the 600-watt, 14-speaker sound system. The system is compatible with Apple iPod. And finally, after years and years of providing a small digital clock or analog that only the driver could see and use, theyve moved the clock to the epicenter of the instrument panel so that it can be seen by everyone in the car, and changed it to a classic analog design that looks like a fine wristwatch, with bright trim and bright hands.
Driving Impressions
Power (and money) have a lot to do with choosing among the new Mercedes S-Class models. The S 450 has 50 horsepower more than the old S420 had, and will do 0-60 mph in 6.0 seconds, according to Mercedes. Thats pretty darn quick. The S 500 comes with a 5.5-liter engine that has 80 horsepower more it did with the old 5.0-liter 3-valve V8, and it can sprint from 0-60 in 5.5 seconds. The biturbo V12, lifted from the Maybach and bumped to 510 horsepower and 610 foot-pounds of torque, will do the sprint in a staggering 4.5 seconds. And, remember, this is a huge, heavy, fully equipped luxury car.
Both transmissions upshift and downshift with the speed of a lightning bolt, with no hesitation whatever, regardless of shift mode. The transmission is designed to upshift at redline to protect the engine.
The Airmatic air suspension system has been retuned to give a far sportier and yet flatter ride than the previous S-Class could offer. The Adaptive Damping System shock absorbers and the steering effort and feel have also been retuned toward the sporty end of the spectrum with no dartiness, just a nice, progressive feel. The Automatic Body Control active suspension option cuts body roll at a rate 60-percent higher than the first version, and you can really feel it working when you throw the car into a fast, sweeping downhill curve like those we experienced on our Swiss-Italian test drive.
The new Brake Assist Plus brakes are, in a word, spectacular in their stopping power and stopping distance performance. With the new system, the brake lights go to full brightness and pulsate in the event of a panic or ABS stop.
We solved all of the mysteries of a brand-new car with a completely new switch layout and control system without looking in the owners manual. Its that easy to go from one of last years models to the 2007 S-Class, and we think that counts for a lot for the older portion of Mercedes-Benzs clientele with this car. It may be inordinately quick and fast on its feet for a big luxury car, but its also easy to use and easy to learn.
Its also quiet. Mercedes-Benz says they spent an inordinate amount of time and money using human volunteers on the quiet aspects of the car, and called in some of the experts from the Maybach ultra-luxury car team. There are 170 individual pieces of sound and noise control equipment in the new car, including a patented front floor panel that cuts both noise and vibration. At continuous cruising speeds up to 125 mph, the S-Class is very, very quiet.
The base price for a Mercedes-Benz S600 is $139,000, including everything we mentioned above and more standard including bi-xenon headlamps that turn in curves, front/side/head protection airbags. and a $3,000 gas guzzler tax. Add destination and this flagship cruises for $143,675.
Specifications (Mercedes-Benz SL 500 & SL 600, excluding AMG):
Base Price (estimated MSRP): $137,500 - $205,500
Body Type: 2-door convertible hardtop
Layout: Front engine, RWD
Engine (SL 500): 388-hp, 391 lb-ft, 5.5-L, 32-valve, DOHC V8
Engine (SL 600): 517-hp, 590 lb-ft, 5.5-L, 36-valve, SOHC V12 twin-turbo
Transmission (SL 500): 7-spd auto with manual mode
Transmission (SL 600): 5-spd auto with manual mode
Performance (0-100 km/h; SL 500): 5.4 seconds
Performance (0-100 km/h; SL 600): 4.5 seconds
Brakes (front/rear): disc/disc, ABS, EBD, BA
Cargo Cap (top up/down): 288 / 206 L (10.2 / 7.3 cu ft)
Fuel Economy (avg; SL 500): 12.2 L/100 km
Warranty (mo/km): 48/80,000 comprehensive - 60/120,000 powertrain
Direct Competitors: BMW 650i, Cadillac XLR, Ferrari 430 Spyder, Jaguar XK-Series, Lamborghini Gallardo Convertible, Lexus SC 430, Maserati Spyder, Porsche 911 Cabriolet
Overall review
This is the best luxury V12 for the money! It pampers you in every turn, night vision is cool. It looks and feels like somebody slashed the price of Maybach by half. Five Star for S600.
