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By Anita LienertDetroit Newspapers
January 25, 2006
A screen on the instrument panel lists the options for the driver's seat: Slow and gentle, slow and vigorous, fast and gentle or fast and vigorous. I select "slow and gentle" and start out on a 300-mile journey in mid-January. The high-tech massaging seat is just a small part of the technology-packed new Mercedes-Benz flagship sedan. In fact, the S550 is so advanced that the company's media launch included a lengthy afternoon technical session prior to the drive. The session educated reporters on the intricacies of such new options as "Distronic Plus," a radar-based adaptive cruise control that basically takes over accelerating and braking of the car from a dead stop. Most other cruise controls systems only work at speeds over 20 mph or higher. It would be next-to-impossible to get into a fully loaded S550 and be familiar with all the new goodies. My advice to any potential buyers: Take advantage of the car's customized delivery program and spend the time to get to know what you're dealing with, because this is one of the most advanced -- and potentially rewarding -- sedans on the planet. The five-passenger S550 goes on sale in mid-February, starting at $86,175, including a $775 destination charge. Expect a fully loaded version of the S550 to top out at around $105,000. A $1,000 gas-guzzler tax is included in the sticker price of the S550. The 510-horsepower V-12 S600 version will go on sale in early April with no options, except for exterior color, and carry a price tag of $140,675. A 604-horsepower S65 AMG will be out in the summer. Prices on that version have yet to be announced. The four-wheel-drive model will debut in the fall. I'm sure the German engineers who tutored me on all the finer technological points of the S550 figured out that I am the type of person who has trouble programming a cellphone. Still, I managed to get the new Mercedes flagship to perform well enough for me that I walked away from my long drive in the S550 with one overarching impression: This car makes you feel absolutely impervious to the world around you. The ride is more stately than sporty, but that's OK. You may have logged hundreds of miles on the S550, but you don't feel any worse for the wear. In fact, the scenery seems to pass like something out of a movie, with little noise intruding into the cabin. The new car's road manners should please the loyal S-Class customer, mainly men around 55 years of age, who make an average of $300,000 a year. Mercedes-Benz appears to have hit on just the right design formula for its flagship sedan, too. In the 1990s, the S-Class took some heat for looking too much like a Panzer tank. The 2007 model manages to be elegant and distinctive, as well as slightly larger than its predecessor. A lot of attention was paid to the car's silhouette. Where the previous model was slab-sided, the 2007 model is defined by bold wheel arches, side creases and a long hood. Two strips of trim in each taillight are painted to match the car's body color. The only things that detract from the exterior styling are two "shark fin" antennas, one on the roof and one on the trunk. One is for the Sirius satellite radio and the other is for the GPS and telephone. The cabin is quite conservative-looking with the usual expensive touches such as leather seats and lots of wood trim, but there are unexpected touches, such as "waterfall lighting." This lighting runs around the doors, instrument panel and steering wheel and bathes the cabin in a soft, glowing light. You can adjust the light to five different settings, thus customizing the look of the interior. Options on the S550 include a new "night view assist," which bathes the road ahead in infrared light and extends the driver's ability to see ahead to nearly 500 feet via an image displayed in place of the speedometer. I had only a couple of gripes about the cabin. First, there are no adjustable pedals, which seems like a glaring oversight, given all the incredible attention to detail, including a climate-control system that lets you heat the footwells separately or select a "diffuse" mode so air doesn't blow on you. Also, I pity the poor person who gets stuck in the middle of the otherwise roomy rear seat. He will be contending with the large transmission hump that runs through the center of the cabin. One of the highlights of the S550, though, is the new powertrain, which benefits from a boost in horsepower and torque. My test car was equipped with a 5.5-liter V-8 that makes a potent 382 horsepower and 391 pounds-feet of torque. It is mated to a silky seven-speed automatic transmission. The company says the EPA estimates fuel economy at 16 mpg in city driving and 24 on the highway. The S550 is just about the best in the world when it comes to safety features. The sedan is the first car to feature a new version of the company's "Pre-Safe" system, which prepares the vehicle and its occupants prior to a crash. The latest system now closes the side windows to provide better support for the window curtain air bags, as well as the sunroof. It inflates the seats to help properly position occupants in the milliseconds before a crash. Besides Pre-Safe, the S550 is loaded with lots of standard safety features, including four side air bags and window air curtains, electronic stability control and TeleAid, an emergency communications system. The fiercest competitor to the S550 has long been the BMW 7 Series. Over the years, the BMW flagship has earned the reputation as the sporting choice, while the Mercedes-Benz flagship was seen as a bit more serious and stately. That hasn't changed with the redesign. Still, the new Benz should earn respect from even BMW loyalists for continually upping the ante in terms of safety, styling and a ever-growing list of technological marvels.
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