Mercedes S350

You really haven’t experienced Mercedes Benz’s lofty standards if you haven’t driven or sat in an S-class. A car hat stands at the pinnacle of everything the three-point star stands for, the S-class may not be Merc’s bread and butter car, but it’s certainly the one that carries brand DNA forward.

The new S is certainly radical in the looks department and its styling splits opinion right down the middle. Longer and generally larger than the outgoing car, the new S has an all-new profile that blends sporty, large wheel arches and a low nose with a Maybach limo-like steeply raked rear windscreen and boot section. At the front, a very modern fender line blends wheel arch and headlight, and the bonnet line sweeps up from the windscreen over the roof and down the rear. The car’s silhouette looks elegant when cruising past, imparting an air of totally effortless motion.

The 3,030mm long wheelbase gives even this short-wheelbase version we tested a massive amount of space — enough for four six-footers to stretch out. Incidentally, while our test car was a short-wheelbase version, Mercedes will only sell the ‘L’ version in India, which comes with a longer, 3,161mm wheelbase.