The new S-class is a byword for innovation and luxury. Not just a super-luxury sedan, but a rolling technology demonstrator on wheels, the new S-class has gone straight to the top of its class. The twin-turbo V8 engine in the S 500 is creamy smooth and effortless, and has all the refinement you would expect. That car’s Rs 1.36 crore (ex-showroom, Mumbai) price tag, however, also reflects its status as the ‘Best car in the World’. Mercedes, ever the democrat, has now launched a more affordable, more efficient and slightly lesser-equipped edition – this S 350 CDI.
The 2014 Mercedes-Benz S350 CDI on the outset looks the same as its much more expensive petrol powered sibling. The large swept back LED headlamps combined with the massive chrome grille are not just imposing to look at, but command instant respect from everybody on the road. Although the shade of black that this particular S-Class is in does tend to subdue the fine lines of this rather massive car, the sheer length and width of the 2014 Mercedes-Benz S350 CDI is enough to make everyone strain to take a second look. Mercedes-Benz have omitted the handsome diamond cut wheels that you get on the more expensive S500 for a set of rather plain looking multispoke 18-inch wheels.
The main difference between the S500 and the S350 CDI on the exterior front though is at the rear. While the S500 gets a slightly sportier rear bumper with built in trapezoidal exhaust tips, the diesel gets a conventional bumper with a hidden exhaust pipe setup. The LED festooned tail lamps though continue to be a common feature and as with the S500, the S350 uses only LED bulbs though the entire car completely omitting conventional lighting techniques.
First impressions of the car are just as strong as that of the petrol S 500. It looks stately and sleek at the same time, with those striking led headlamps and the big Mercedes chrome grille giving it a lot of presence.
With a diesel under the hood, you can’t expect petrol engine-like refinement, but start up and idle are astonishingly good for a diesel. There is a hint of a hum, if you mute the audio and set the AC fan speed to one, and it’s only when you extend the diesel engine and pull it hard that the serene calm of the cabin gets ever so slightly disrupted. But otherwise this motor is so creamy smooth, you don’t realise it is a diesel most of the time. As always, the double-glazed glass and the incredible sound insulation keeps you at arm’s length from the outside world.
The 3.0-litre diesel V6 is as you can expect from a Mercedes, and with 255bhp and 63.2kgm to haul the car around, is pretty brisk too. As is befitting a car of its stature, there’s no solid shove from the motor, but instead a smooth long surge that seems to go on and on. The mid range is particularly strong and allows you to reach silly speeds without realising, before you run into the somewhat low 4,200rpm redline. The seven-speed automatic works well for slow driving and highway cruising, shifting gears unobtrusively. Set the car to sport mode and the engine responses and gearshifts quicken, but it’s here that you notice that Mercedes’ 7G-Tronic torque converter auto is not quite as quick, clever or responsive as some of the more modern luxury gearboxes around.
Otherwise the new S-class is luxury car travel at its brilliant best. Once you sink into those big seats and shut the doors after you, you’re in your own world. The attention to detail is breathtaking – the wood and chrome look like they belong together, the graphics on the multi screen COMAND system make you feel you are piloting an Airbus A380, and quality levels are right up there with Bentley. Getting into the rear of the car is even nicer. You don’t get the same split rear cabin as the petrol, but the two individual electric ‘seats’ that form the bench are still reclinable, heated, cooled and massaging. They don’t recline as far back as in the petrol, but they’re still super soft and comfortable, and the ability to move the front passenger seat forward 77mm for truly excessive legroom is still available. What’s more, flip up the centre armrest and there’s room for a third passenger as well. Now, apart from the super-luxury rear seats, some of the kit from the petrol version is missing from the S 350 CDI, but it’s nothing of tremendous consequence to the luxury experience. There’s only a rear camera instead of the 360-degree setup, the wood trim is missing from the steering wheel, the 18-inch alloy wheels are different, the boot lid isn’t power operated, there’s no night vision system, and the Burmester hi-fi system is a few speakers down (it still sounds phenomenal though). No car in the world blends high technology and old world charm quite like the new S-class, and that’s evident on this diesel as well.
Interior
The 2014 Mercedes-Benz S350 CDI’s interiors are a brilliant place to be in. From its strangely likable two spoke steering wheel wrapped in leather and festooned with high quality aluminum, to its four prominent AC vents that would look right at home on a bespoke Rolls-Royce, the S-Class is clearly built to delight. The large comfortable leather seats up front offer a level of luxury that makes one want to curl up into a ball and fall asleep.
The two large LCD screens that form the instrumentation cluster and the central command system are both crisp and offer a range of options to play around with.That said, as with the S500 we drove earlier, the actual operating system in the S-Class does feel a little outdated and repetitive as it is the same one used in all other models too. With Apple’s CarPlay operating system expected to make an appearance inMercedes-Benz models a little later in the year, one can expect that to change.
As the S350 CDI is a lot cheaper than the S500, Mercedes has omitted a few key features that do seem to take away from the S-Class’s glamour. Most annoyingly, especially for a hot country like India,Mercedes-Benz has gotten rid of the cooled front seat option while keeping the heated seat package untouched. Mercedes has also omitted the electronic boot controller, which means that one has to manually shut the bootlid, which, on a S-Class is just ridiculous. Forget the uber cool ‘leg swipe’ feature that opens and shuts the boot on the S500, even a button to shut the boot is absent!
Other omissions include the rear central console that incorporated features like built in laptop tables.The rear captain seats too have been ditched in favor of a bench setup. That said, the rear seats still get electronic adjustment that lets them recline and a cooling seat option, which is absent in the front. Thankfully, the phenomenal Burmester audio system is still there and converts the S-Class into the Royal Opera house wherever commanded.
Engine
Now to the important bits. How does the 2014 Mercedes-Benz S350 CDI drive? Well, one could have expected a diesel engine to be noisy and unrefined, but then you realize you are in a S-Class. The only time you can realistically hear the engine is if you mute the music and lower the air conditioning fan speed to minimum. The refined 3.0-litre, twin turbocharged, V6 engine makes a healthy 262PS of peak power and 620Nm of peak torque. Mated to the 7G-Tronic Plus seven speed dual clutch gearbox, the S350 CDI can go from 0-100kmph in a claimed 6.8 seconds and on to a limited top speed of 250kmph.
Not only does the power delivery feel instantaneous as it ought to, the S350 CDI does everything that it is commanded to do with no fuss at all. There is no hint of turbo lag whatsoever even in the relaxed comfort mode. In fact, the way the S-Class in general wafts on Indian roads is nothing short of the kind of comfort and ease Aladdin must have had on his magic carpet.
Although us auto journalists enjoy putting a car through its paces, this is one of the cars that even us 'wild-bunch' drive with a whole lot of dignity and respect. That said, we did subject the S-Class through a bunch of twists and turns and it came out with flying colors. The Airmatic suspension can be adjusted to either Comfort or Sport mode, both of which exhibit very significant changes in the 2014 Mercedes-Benz S350 CDI’s suspension characteristics. To facilitate high-speed stability, the S-Class automatically lowers itself by 20mm over speeds of 120kmph hunkering down onto the road like a supersonic cruise missile.
The S-Class we drove rode on a set of 255/45R18 wheel and tyre package, essential to keep the 2132kg (kerb weight) S350 CD planted on the road at all times. The S-Class even has a height adjustment system, which can increase the ground clearance of the car by 20mm in order to navigate a particularly nasty speed hump or pothole, the likes of which are quite common in India, especially with the monsoon fast looming.
Price
At Rs 1.07 crore (ex-showroom, Maharashtra) the S 350 CDI is considerably more affordable than the petrol S 500, it's undoubtedly more economical to run and nearly as well equipped - it takes luxury diesel travel to an all new level. To begin with, if you are sat in the back, you can’t really tell it is a diesel, unless you make an effort. The engine is smooth, linear and jerk free and there is just about enough performance on hand too. Add in the brilliant interiors, the fact that it has enough features to keep demanding customers happy, and you soon come away with the impression that the new S-class diesel is everything you expect in a diesel limo.
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