Exuding its 600 Nm of torque in the same creamy-smooth style as the whole drive feel, the Mercedes-Benz S350d glides elegantly and smoothly about its business.
As a dedicated petrolhead, driving a car is its essence - being in control and bending whatever is under the bonnet to your will. In my years reviewing cars, I have had the honour of driving mega-luxury vehicles such as Rolls-Royce, and Bentley and even with those, driving remained the primary focus.
I had never considered a car that might benefit from having ‘James’ up front – until the S350d came along. Being able to slide into the super luxury rear seats that can give a few airlines a run for their money in the Business Class department and utter those immortal words “Home James”, somewhat makes sense.
Not, I hasten to add, as a full-time thing since one would want to have everything this car offers from the front seat with James on standby when the occasion demands it.
In cruising the highways in the 3,0-litre six-cylinder diesel engine, the S350d recorded fuel consumption of 7,5 l/100 km, rising to 8,6 l/100 km in more congested surroundings. Of course, one would expect James would strive to better those figures.
And he should, since his control would be limited to steering, braking and acceleration. Between the two luxurious rear seats is a tablet, allowing complete control of the touchscreen in the front compartment so James would never have to make any adjustments, set the seat massage, climate ambience, sound levels or any of the myriad functions available.
Weighing in at a little over two tons and with a length of just more than five metres and a width of over two metres, the ‘L’ in the nomenclature could stand both for Large and Luxury.
While it is unquestionably a big car, let not the size fool you and stepping down on the angry pedal result in an instant response – and more than enough to take mere mortals in their little hatchbacks go quite wide-eyed as they vanish into the distance behind you.
The S350 will bolt from rest to 100 km/h in 6,6 seconds and tops out around 200 km/h, so it is no slouch and, more than that, for a massive chunk of metal, has remarkably benign handling characteristics and will take on the twisties with better manners than some mid-size saloons – provided the driving approach is correct.
The whole drive experience is so smooth it is easy for the speed to creep up unnoticed, and a sudden change of direction would tend to induce quite a significant understeer – but, fortunately, there is an entire army of driver-aid and safety systems at play to assist with these ‘whoops’ moments.
Slow down James, you’ll spill the champers.
The S350d has a short front overhang and a long wheelbase with a wide track, flush-mounted wheels and reduced character lines along the sides to give it a clean and elegant look.
It boasts the latest cutting-edge MBUX operating system running on a 12,8-inch OLED central display, plus a 12,3-inch digital driver display with the call ‘Hey Mercedes’ eliciting a prompt response of ‘How can I help’.
Stop talking to her James, it is not Tinder.
Plush, automatically extending seamless door handles are standard, in conjunction with the electronic drive access authorisation system, KEYLESS-GO. The doors can be locked and unlocked by touching the door handles.
With 31 speakers, of which two are Frontbass versions, the Burmester high-end 4D surround sound system has eight exciters with two integrated into the backrest of each seat. Direct reproduction of the sound resonance in the seats adds another level to the three-dimensional listening experience – 4D sound.
It’s like being at a concert - only better, and sounds can be individually adjustable for each seat. The music becomes even more emotional thanks to this feelable component.
Two amplifiers punch out 1 750 watts, giving new meaning to Iron Maiden’s ‘Run For the Hills’.
At nearly R2,5-million, one would expect the car to have everything – and it comes close. The base format has seven crash bags, with can be increased to nine or 11 and as per Mercedes-Benz standards, there are other optional features – a heated steering wheel being one of them.
However, the essential luxury and safety systems are all there with anything else realistically in the ‘nice-to-have’ category.
For a short-growed person like myself, my only issue with the car is the wide opening doors that put the door grab well out of reach.
James, my door please and then….Home James.
