2014 Mercedes-Benz S-Class Crowned Segment Benchmark in Latest Review

The new 2014 Mercedes-Benz S-Class really doesn’t need any kind of spotlight to be applied on it, no ads, no promos, no skimpily-dressed young girls propping the soft-closing doors open – no extra attention from the marketing department, simply because it’s called what it’s called, and that name is worth so much more than they could ever invest to promote it.

Now, while we can argue against it being the best car in the world, the team at UK magazine WhatCar seems pretty sure that it is the best car for the money.

Make no mistake, the latter is still a bold claim to be made, but it at least has an air of plausibility about it. They do all the usual things you expect like check the room in the back, which is predictably ample, mention the competent ride and handling characteristics and finally check out some of the toys – everything works as intended, and is accompanied by with a reassuringly damped click.

This is not the first review to mention that the S-Class is not the sportiest in its class/price bracket, even if it is reportedly nimbler through the bends than before, thanks to being lighter. You can get either a Porsche Panamera, Maserati Quattroporte or Jaguar XJ, all three of which are direct rivals, but with different driving philosophies and are a better choice for not being chauffeured around (by nobody).

The idea is that the S-Class is very good at everything it does, but at the end of the day, in my mind, it comes out lacking in soul compared to the Italian and British cars – it’s an engineering achievement, but will never stir up the kind of emotional response the other two would garner from an enthusiast.

By Andrei Nedelea

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Mercedes-Benz Has Received More than 30,000 Orders for New S-Class

In less than three months since the new S-Class was made available for sale, Mercedes-Benz has received over 30,000 orders for its flagship sedan, which is a pretty impressive feat, especially if you take into account the fact that the previous model sold a little over 65,000 cars the entire year in 2012.

"The new S-Class has already jumped back into the lead in terms of new vehicle registrations in Germany and its neighboring European countries," said Ola Källenius, the new head of sales and marketing at Mercedes-Benz Cars on Friday, according to a Reuters report.

Currently, there are two body styles of the new S-Class, the regular and the long-wheel base sedans, but Mercedes has plans to at least four more models, including a Coupe, a Convertible and extra-long wheelbase variants in the next couple of years, which should considerably boost the series' sales. 

PHOTO GALLERY

Mercedes Ad Has Schumacher Walking By an S-Class With Intelligent Drive…

The life of an ad man must be a very difficult one nowadays – many good ideas have been done, many good punch lines have been said at least twice and in most known languages, adding on top of that the pressure of not having a truly innovative product to promote, in a copycat world of corporate interests.

Actually, it seems that the rut they’re in is so deep, that even when they are on to something new and interesting to tell the people about, they still overdo it.

Whoever Mercedes-Benz hired to do a promo for their Intelligent Drive system did just that and ended up having Michael Schumacher (who can drive…quite well) walk by one of their S-Class sedans finished in one of the million shades of silver you can order – he could have at least sat in the car, and shown us the swoopy dashboard.

I mean it’s a luxurious car with one of the nicest-looking interiors in the world that will in the near future be able to drive itself – it’s not really hard to sell the concept, and even if it was imperative to go down the retired F1 driver route, they could have at least used their time with Schumacher better.

At least the previous ad in the series had more motion in it and actually had a purpose for the chickens to be there and be moved around in the manner that they were.

The second video posted is a teaser for something bigger that is to come, also featuring the retired F1 star - check both out after the virtual jump.

By Andrei Nedelea

VIDEO

Harris and Coulthard Do the ‘Ring in a Classic 1960s Mercedes 220 Sedan

Chris Harris showed us how big of a laugh you can have driving a well-kept old classic in an organized event for similar cars, when he took part in the Mille Miglia road rally, in a Jaguar C-Type. However, it had close to 300 hp, while the 1960s 220 ‘Fintail’ officially restored and prepared for racing by Mercedes-Benz classics division, has less than half that.

It’s the main automotive protagonist of a new video, in which Harris teams up with ex-Formula One driver David Coulthard in an attempt to complete a historic classics race being held around the Nurburgring Nordschleife.

Coulthard gets over his initial fear of not knowing his way around the famed German circuit, and both drivers initially go out for the qualifying run, only to discover that the vehicle they are meant to drive is seriously underpowered, struggling to push its 1,400 kg weight up the steeper parts of the track.

The car itself is really cool, though, and probably quite fun to get into a smooth rhythm with, but it’s still no match for any of the other cars participating in the race, all of which seem to be fueled by far more explosive gasoline. The qualifying run is completed in last place, and that’s where the duo is placed on the starting grid, but it doesn’t really matter because all doesn’t go according to plan…

By Andrei Nedelea

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