Buy with confidence. Buy a Mercedes-Benz S-class. That has always been the way; with Mercedes' top model range you knew you were getting the best. You could relax. No worries about temperamental electrical systems, built-in obsolescence or an excessive bling factor. The S-class stood, rock-like and permanent in a world of fleeting fashions, ready to massage its owner's ego and cosset its owner's physical being. No wonder Third World dictators would have nothing else. No wonder it's the world's bestselling luxury car.
That said, the new S-class is more of a looker than its boxy ancestors of the mid-1960s and 1970s. Maybe it's trying to regain a flavour of the 1959-68 "fintail" models. If that's the idea, the style solecisms are partly forgiven. Besides, the new S-class has a good reason to draw attention to itself, because it's one of the most technologically dense cars ever.
Just ahead of the centre armrest is a large, round knob which you can turn, press and prod in various directions, your hand supported on a padded rest which itself lifts up to reveal the built-in telephone. Sounds suspiciously like BMW's iDrive to you? Yes, but thanks to massively better on-screen menus and nearby buttons to give direct access to oft-used functions the " Comand controller" works very well. You can even use it to alter the shape of your seat, by means of a 3D graphic which lets you select the part you want to pump up or deflate. There's also an optional massage function and "dynamic multicontour" system which pumps up parts of the seat to support you better when accelerating, braking or cornering.
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