THE BEST CAR IN THE WORLD?

What constitutes ‘The Best’ is a discussion riddled with pitfalls and contradictions. What isn’t open to debate is the new S-Class’ claim to sporting the best car interior in the world

- SIRISH CHANDRAN

THE S-CLASS HAS ALWAYS been a beacon for the future of the automobile. Powertrain, chassis tech, safety, luxury, impossibly indulgent bells and whistles — you see it first in an S-Class and 5, 10, 15 years later you experience it in more mass-market vehicles. Except, we all know the future is going to be electric, and in that sense the diesel engine silently rumbling under the hood of this S 400d doesn’t really point the way to the future. And truth be told this new S-Class doesn’t shatter major new ground in the way it drives.

No, what overshadows everything else, what makes it impossible to argue with the self-proclaimed ‘Best Car in the World’ tag line is the cabin. Sure, the likes of Rolls-Royce and Bentley use finer hides and thicker shag piles, and so too will the Maybach but the technology, digitisation, equipment, quality and furnishings — even the re-imagining of the smallest details such as the air-flow control of the air-con vents — makes this the best automotive interior. Period. And so, hanging a hard left for a magazine that is all about The Thrill of Driving, we will be chilling over the next eight pages.

I’ve even dusted off my jacket after two years, the onboard ionisation and perfuming of the S-Class sorting out the musty odour.

WHERE DO I START? THE SCREENS OF COURSE!