Mercedes S-Class - best luxury cars
Mercedes’ technology-crammed flagship is one of the most advanced motorcars you can buy and luxury comes as standard
There are fewer relaxing experiences than driving the Mercedes S-Class, except for possibly being a passenger in one. Vibrations through the pedals and steering wheel are non-existent, and even at motorway speeds you won’t hear any wind or tyre roar.
You float along, unaware of the imperfections in the road surface, as the Mercedes simply soaks up the lumps and bumps as if they were never there to begin with. Add to this engines so quiet you will regularly be convinced the start/stop system has cut in and a silky smooth nine-speed automatic gearbox, and you have the ultimate luxury combination.
Performance is impressive too. The six-cylinder in the 350 d powers the luxury barge from 0-62mph in six seconds flat and will keep pushing forward to a limited top speed of 155mph. This is made possible by 282bhp and more importantly 600Nm of torque which is available from as low as 1,200rpm. The engine is an excellent fit, and makes you wonder whether there is any need to spend the extra cash on the more powerful S 400 d or S 500 petrol, especially when you consider it also returns 52.3mpg.
There is no surprise that the long-wheelbase model is all about the rear seat, which comes with enough legroom to kick back and watch other road users drive past in their lesser vehicles. Should even that be too stressful, the seats come with heating and massaging features to take comfort up another notch.
We're big fans of the S-Class' unrelenting focus on comfort and refinement which is why we gave to the pretigious Luxury Car of the Year at our 2019 New Car Awards.
Top 10 best luxury cars
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- 1. Mercedes S-Class
- 2. Range Rover
- 3. Bentley Continental GT
- 4. Roll-Royce Phantom
- 5. Porsche Panamera
- 6. BMW 7 Series
- 7. Audi A8
- 8. Bentley Bentayga
- 9. Jaguar I-Pace
- 10. Lexus LS
