As if on cue, the new S-class has taken the luxury car world by storm yet again. But is it really the best there is? And what really does ‘the best’ mean in this case? Is the best car in the world a combination of the best engineered, the best performing, the most refined and the most comfortable? It has to be all that, of course, but we think it also has to deliver the best luxury experience, take the art of car making forward and, as ever, be the pinnacle of technology. And, it’s not just frivolous technology we are talking about here, but ground-breaking stuff that enriches the experience of driving or being a passenger. It has to have tremendous presence, be put together with exacting taste, and it shouldn’t be unnecessarily expensive.
So to keep the new Mercedes-Benz S 500 honest, we decided to invite a couple of luxury cars from a class above. For those looking for a blend of sporty performance and old-world charm, we have the new Bentley Flying Spur. But these cars are also about being driven in, so we also invited Rolls-Royce’s Extended Wheelbase Ghost. Can the new S-class truly be as nice to drive as the Bentley and as comfortable to sit in as the Rolls, and simultaneously deliver the best of both worlds? And which ultimately is the best? In essence, this could also be deemed a tussle between Merc, BMW and Audi (via VW).
The car that almost certainly wins the hotel lobby test is the Rolls. It simply has immense presence. You just gape at it, eyeballs glued, as it glides in with the regal air of a battle cruiser, the right-angled prow, the length of the bonnet and the Flying Lady perched on the Parthenon grille setting it apart from other mortals. The S-class and the Flying Spur, in contrast, look almost subtle. Still, in isolation, the Bentley is stunning to look at too. The big grille and those quad headlamps set the tone, and the new, flowing lines that glide over the rear wheel arch look super. The S-class, though, is all about the present. Yes, it still has the traditional grille and star, thank God, but the way the flanks are sculpted, the manner in which the roof arcs back in a single sweep and the way the lines whip around the compacted rear make the Merc look like it is from another age. And it is!
The Merc’s brand-spanking-new chassis is clearly the best specified here. A smart blend of aluminum and steel, its modern construction makes it far lighter, stiffer and safer than the competition. Rolls-Royce’s Ghost is built on the same platform as the BMW 7-series, but this long-wheelbase version has an additional 17cm between the wheels for greater legroom. The basic chassis of the Bentley has even more humble origins – it shares it with the Volkswagen Phaeton – but here it has been thoroughly updated to make it stiffer and more suitable for use in a luxury car like a Bentley. All three cars use air suspension to take the weight of their heavy bodies, and all three use twin-turbocharged petrol engines too. The Rolls and the Bentley use 12-cylinder engines, whereas the Mercedes uses a V8. The Bentley, however, is the only one to use four-wheel-drive.
