Mercedes-Benz S320 L CDi review
Mercedes-Benz S-Class S320 CDI Road Test
Test date 21 February 2006
Price as tested £55,595
For Economy, smooth and potent engine, ride, agility
Against Questionable styling, jerky transmission, tyre noise, costly
As motoring journalists we look forward to the arrival of each successive generation of Mercedes S-class in much the same way as a 10-year-old waits for the next Harry Potter book. We are both aware of the heritage that has left our respective specialised subjects in a league of their own.
We know what’s to come will be more grown-up, complex and clever than what’s gone before, but none of us is able to answer the only question that really matters: will it be any better?
It’s a particularly vexed subject this time around, not only because the outgoing S-class won over our hearts and minds like no other luxury car we can recall, but also because the replacement has shunned its parent’s gorgeous quasi-coupé styling for a cod-Maybach approach that looks awkward from a distance and gets no better as you draw nearer.
But even the snottiest of 10-year-olds knows not to judge books by their covers, and time already spent in several petrol-powered S-classes has revealed a depth of excellence hitherto unrealised by any comparable car. But the one you’re looking at is the real-world S-class, the diesel-powered S320 CDi that (in short-wheelbase form) will in all likelihood outsell all other versions put together. And if you want a quick handle on how technically sophisticated it is, be advised that the book that tells you how to work it is 542 pages long. JK Rowling would be proud.
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