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| Mercedes-Benz
S320 |
Broadcast
date : 30th April 2006 |
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Over-nighting at the Hilton
Country Estate and Spa recently put the Car Torque team within
striking distance of the famous Hilton College, where David
had some homework to do.
Car Magazine called the new S-Class a technological Tour de
Force. There’s no doubt about its imposing presence, but
visually, as well technically, the new S-Class takes some
getting used to.
Mercedes-Benz has always been best at building big cars and
the new S-Class is a worthy successor to a series of large
Mercs that first came into being in the 1950s.
The front-end styling is clean, lean and ever-so-slightly
mean, while the rear-end adds the requisite grace with just a
touch of the dramatics.
It’s in the cabin, though, where the biggest strides have
been made. Gone are the slightly flimsy knobs and buttons of
the previous car, and in their place is a mind-blowing array
of switchgear that seems as if it has been milled from steel
billet.
Rear passenger comfort is well taken care of.
The college grounds contain some typically KZN speed
inhibiting gradient changes, as David discovered. Trundling
along sedately, the new 173 kiloWatt V6 diesel is quiet, even
at just above idle speeds.
For someone with a quicksilver mind like David’s there’s
always something to grab your attention – even at boulevard
pace. Or is that Bullard-vard pace?
There is just so much to experience in the new S-Class – and
yet none of the equipment is gimmicky.
Unfortunately, both airflow-direction and audio need expertise
on the Command "mouse". Simple knobs would have been
better.
We would have no hesitation in recommending the
"base" diesel model. The engine is easily refined
enough to complement the luxury cache of the S-Class. And
outright urge is astounding for an oil-burner.
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Overall fuel consumption ranged
between 11 litres per hundred in the city, to the 8,5 litres
per hundred mark when cruising the zero-tolerance KZN freeway.
The tank holds 90 litres, which means you can spend around
R400 on a refill if you run it close to empty. But for S-Class
owners who can afford R735 000 for the diesel option, that won’t
faze them.
A 3,5 litre petrol version is available for R20 000 less,
while the 5 litre V8 currently weighs in at R895 000.
It seems surprising to judge a car costing this kind of money
as a bargain, but in our opinion, that’s what it is.
Mercedes-Benz S350 CDI
- Engine: V6
turbodiesel, 2 987 cc
- Power: 173 kW @ 3
800 rpm
- Torque: 540 Nm @ 1
600 rpm
- Transmission:
Seven-speed automatic, rear-wheel-drive
- 0-100 km/h: 8,3
seconds
- Top speed: 240 km/h
- Fuel consumption:
8,7 litres/100 km (overall estimate)
- Price: R735 000
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