By Preeth Kumar
If you’ve ever sat in a car and said to yourself, “If only the designers and engineers had thought of…”, then you’ve clearly never sat inside a Mercedes-Benz S-class. As a lifelong lover of automobiles, the luxury sedan market was one that never spoke to me, as I always fancied sports cars. For me, the joy was the journey to the destination, not how refreshed I felt once I arrived.
I wanted to experience all the details that a Mercedes- Benz S-class offers, and only a nerd like myself would pick up on. Luckily, I had the wonderful opportunity to interact with a brand new 2019 Mercedes-Benz S450 at Rusnak Mercedes-Benz of Arcadia and boy did it change my perception of luxury sedans, and more importantly Mercedes as a whole.
Walking up to the S-class, you get this feeling that THIS is the luxury sedan that all luxury sedans should measure themselves to. With an MSRP of $91,250, my S-class came equipped at $107,315. The two standout options were the AMG Line package, which provides an aggressive front and rear bumper with lower side effects giving the car a much more dominating look, and the Driver Assistance Package which provides so much safety, you really fall in love with Mercedes for looking out for you while you are driving.
Not only is the S-class beautiful, poised, powerful, and safe, but the attention to detail throughout the car is remarkable.
I walked up to the mighty Mercedes expecting the doors to be heavy, but the hinge that Mercedes uses is massive and pre-loaded, allowing the doors to open and close with minimal effort. I loved how the doors were neither too short in length nor did they open at an awkward angle, creating the ideal ingress and egress. If you’re saying to yourself “This guy’s talking about opening and closing a door?” Yes, I am, because every mundane task with the Benz becomes an event.
As the doors closed, I noticed my arms naturally falling into a resting position. At first, the armrest on the door looks too shallow for an arm, but as I drop my elbow on the armrest and grab the door handle, I am pleasantly surprised that the armrest is actually angled, allowing my arm to naturally sink into the molded door panel. I love when manufacturers go the extra mile and maximize what they offer. It shows intuitive engineering, attention to detail within ergonomics, and the fact that they value your driving experience.
The next minute detail that I fell in love with were the air vents. No, they don’t do anything special like move with hand gestures or the scrunching of your nose, but they make this extremely pleasing click when you adjust the vents to their center point. It’s as if Mercedes designers were as intrigued by symmetry as I am.
The front two seats have 16 ways of adjustment, controlled by the most beautiful and sleek seat controls that I have ever seen, located on each door panel making the most precise adjustment easy to achieve. The front dashboard was pleasantly recessed, offering a beautiful and unhindered view out the front of the car. The only protrusion in the S-Class is a futuristic steering wheel, stretching from the dash like a beautifully crafted airplane yoke, making the S-class feel like a spaceship, especially with the vibrant and crystal-clear digital gauge cluster nestled upon the dash directly behind this steering wheel. I have never been inside a car where there is so much attention in offering the occupants a pleasurable experience. Whether it is the futuristic digital display, the plethora of ambient interior lighting choices, a scientifically researched fragrance system offering various scents specific to your preferences, or something as simple, but usually overlooked, as the front center console storage compartment’s ability to be opened on either driver or passenger side. The S-class was a wonderful place to be and I did not want to leave. It felt like the entire cabin was designed specifically for me, and that is what makes Mercedes so magical.
Every imaginable request that might cross your mind has already been thought of and provided to you by the designers at Mercedes. That is what you expect from the best. And that is why the Mercedes-Benz S-class is the benchmark that all luxury cars measure themselves to.
To learn more visit www.mbusa.com or www.RusnakOnline.com. Photos courtesy of Mercedes-Benz USA. Continue ruminating with Preeth Kumar on Instagram @itspreethkumar or www.itspreethkumar.com.
