2. Mercedes-Benz S-Class
BMW may have knocked it out of the park with the latest 7 Series, but the Mercedes-Benz S-Class is still the default option for good reason. It was last redesigned in 2020, embracing digitisation more than ever before.
In that respect, it has undoubtedly succeeded. The cabin feels reassuringly traditional yet avant garde, and the scope of the vast displays manages to avoid the jarring omnipresence seen with other manufacturers’ cars.
Ambient lighting and connectivity are very well executed, and beneath it all, barring one or two ergonomic shortfalls, resides one of the most materially comfortable and cosseting places to sit while the miles ease by, for driver and passenger. In an age of ever more ludicrously grandiose grilles, the S-Class’s relatively subtle exterior design should also stand it in good stead in Europe.
If you want your big Merc with a big battery pack instead of an engine, you need to look towards the Mercedes EQS, which is an entirely fresh take on the electric luxury car and shares next to nothing with its more traditional counterpart, unlike the BMW 7 series and i7 twins.
There’s very little wrong with the S-Class’s range of petrol, diesel and hybrid powertrains, though. The line-up tends to shift with availability, but you usually get a choice between the S350d or S400d diesel, or an S500 petrol, which also gets mild-hybrid assistance.
The diesels are pleasingly real-world frugal and smooth, and the S400d has all the performance that a car of this brief would ever need, but the S500 offers an even quicker (and yet still suitable quiet and smooth) 400bhp-plus option should you want it. There’s also the plug-in petrol-electric S580e with a combined might of 503bhp, the ability to travel up to 64 miles in electric-only mode and a more manageable company car tax bill than the combustion-only models.
In some ways, though, it feels as though progress has stalled somewhat. The plug-in hybrid powertrain of our S580e sets new class standards for efficiency and versatility, but cabin isolation and ride quality seem no better than before. Where an S-Class used to challenge Rolls-Royce in terms of road manners, the British marque is now a clear step ahead. The new S-Class is a fantastically opulent way to travel, but no longer is it breathtakingly so.
