The 2017 Mercedes-Benz S Class diesel 350d.

Mercedes is well known for producing some very sleek and attractive executive sedans.  The S Class is an absolute classic example, and now drivers can enjoy the elegance of the S Class with the improved fuel economy of diesel.

In the Mercedes-Benz S Class stable, you’ll find two diesel models, the 350d and the 400d L.  The two share a number of similarities, but the 400d is the long wheelbase version, and it’s also got larger wheels to match the longer body (19-inche alloys for the 350d, 20 inches for the 400d L). Both look the way you’d expect a high-end luxury sedan to look.  The selection on the paint palette is subdued and subtle and there are no eye-watering brights here, even the green, the blue and the red have soft, muted greyish tones to them.  The designers have been clever with the multibeam LED lights, the subtly curved electric side mirrors and the panoramic sunroof, all of which fit into the sleek, powerful looks of the general design.  The designers haven’t shied away from using chrome to highlight accents on the exterior but never too much.

The 350 d is the entry-level model in this classy collection of sedans, but even so, it’s got plenty to offer.  You wouldn’t expect anything less from Mercedes now, would you?  This is the most frugal of the S Class lineup, with a combined fuel economy test figure of 5.4 L/100 km (the ECO stop/start function certainly helps with this).  Nevertheless, the 3-litre 6-cylinder turbodiesel unit is a force to be reckoned with, as it can deliver 120 kW of power and a thumping 600 Nm of torque, which is more than enough twist for most things you’d use a sedan for.  Couple all that up to the rear wheel drivetrain through the 9G-tronic transmission and how much fun can you have?

You can probably have plenty of fun, and the 2017 Mercedes-Benz S Class Diesel has plenty of driver aids there to help you – something that Mercedes has really gone in for in a big way over the past few years. In the 350d and in the 400d L, you get everything that you can imagine and then a bit more.  You’d be forgiven for thinking that ESP stood for Extra Sensory Perception rather than Electronic Stability Programme, which isn’t a bad place to start the list of the driver assistance features.  This ESP features Dynamic Curve Assistance, meaning that it responds and adjusts itself in the right way around corners, as well as ABS brakes, adaptive braking with hill start (and brake assistance, brake drying in the wet) and acceleration skid control.  For around town, active blind spot assistance, active brake assistance with the cross-traffic function, active distance assistance, lane changing assistance and the PRE-SAFE accident anticipation package all help keep you out of trouble – and so do the Heads-Up display and the Traffic Sign assistance.  For longer drives on the highway going from town to town or state to state, you’ve got the crosswind assistance, cruise control, evasive steering assistance if there’s a roo on the road… and the drowsiness detector.  Mercedes has come a long, long way since 20 years ago and one of its vehicles failed the moose avoidance test – they’ve learned from that and are probably now setting the benchmark for safety and handling.  Just to round off the list of handy gadgets, you’ve also got automatic headlights, a 360-degree camera and Parktronic active parking assistance.

However, there are other things that you are more likely to appreciate when you’re driving around anywhere in the Mercedes-Benz S Class.  Take the sound system, for example.  This is a 13-speaker Burmester surround sound system with a total output of 590 watts.  The hard-disk navigation and the audio information are displayed on an easily read 31.2 display screen.  You’ve got voice control and smartphone integration (Android Auto and Apple CarPlay).

The Mercedes-Benz S Class is designed to take passengers in comfort, so they’ll enjoy the leather upholstery on the seats, the wireless mobile charging in the front and all the storage space, as well as the 2-zone automatic climate control.  However, quite a few of your passengers might enjoy tinkering with the ambient lighting system, which has 64 different colours and 10 colour schemes – it’s the most fun with colour you’ve probably had since you were a kid and you first got one of those big packs of crayons.  Busy families will also appreciate the keyless GO access and the handsfree access.

Upgrade to the 400d L and you get a bit more.  Make that a lot more, especially under the bonnet: it’s got 3 litres and six cylinders, but it can pump out a lot, lot more: 250 kW of power and 700 Nm of torque. You also get rear climate control, electric roller blinds for the rear windows, electrically adjustable rear seats and pre-installation for rear seat entertainment.  Well, some of the point of having a long wheelbase is to have bigger rear seats, so why not?

Current model series include:

• 2017 Mercedes-Benz S Class Diesel 350d
• 2017 Mercedes-Benz S Class Diesel 400d L

For any more information on the 2017 Mercedes-Benz S Class, or for that matter any other new car, contact one of our friendly consultants on 1300 303 181. If you’d like some fleet discount pricing (yes even for private buyers!), we can submit vehicle quotes requests out to our national network of Mercedes Benz dealers and come back with pricing within 24 hours. Private Fleet – car buying made easy!