Mercedes have always been synonymous with class, and the new S 500 L has all the refinements we’ve come to expect of the marque. Although I usually test aeroplanes for Lusso, when the opportunity arose to evaluate this magnificent machine you can imagine that I didn’t need asking twice!

The S 500 L is powered by a 5.5 litre V-8, which puts out 388 of the finest German horses at a leisurely 6,000rpm. All that power is transmitted to the road via a 7-speed G-tronic automatic gearbox (although there are also tipfunction paddles on the steering column. The S 500 L has all the standard features you’d expect of a luxury car, such as an excellent Cockpit Management and Navigation Display (COMAND), electric parking brake, adaptive brake lights, automatic multi-zone climate control, massaging seats and a multi-function steering wheel. It also had two features I’d never experienced before (at least in a car) radar and Forward Looking Infra Red (FLIR)!

Of these features, the radar (which is coupled to the Distronic Plus cruise control, Brake Assist and Park Assist) was fabulous. I particularly approved of the Distronic Plus cruise control, which can be set to keep the car not only at a selected speed, but also a certain distance from the car in front. Mercedes describes it as an ‘intelligent cruise control system’ and I fully concur. It did indeed demonstrate a level or artificial intelligence which really was quite remarkable. If you were slowly overhauling the car in front, in eased off on the power at a suitably commensurate rate to maintain adequate separation. However, should some turkey suddenly lurch across two lanes and pull out in front of you, it applied the powerful brakes most convincingly.

I was less enamoured with the Night View Assist system. Basically, this uses two forward-looking infrared lights, plus a special windscreen mounted camera. The image information is processed and displayed on the dashboard display - and really does work very well. However, although it really does let you see a lot further ahead, the absence of any peripheral cues makes it very different to drive with, at least in my limited experience. Conversely, the Parktronic camera, which is mounted in the boot and is automatically actuated when reverse gear is selected, is excellent. A view of the area behind the car is displayed on the COMAND screen, with coloured lines superimposed upon it. These lines show where the car is heading, which makes parking this reasonably large car very simple.

Anyway, enough of the dry facts and figures, what’s it like to drive? Actually, very nice. It is a supremely comfortable machine, which tends to glide along in a very stately, dignified fashion. However, should the occasion require it, it will accelerate from 0-60 in a little over five seconds, and top out at a very creditable 155mph. Should you want to drive that little bit quicker, you have the option of switching between three different modes - Sport, Comfort or Manual - via the S/C/M mode selector on the centre console. In Comfort mode, the Airmatic suspension is quite soft, the car pulls away in second gear and also changes up at lower rpm. In Sport mode the suspension is stiffer and the automatic gearbox uses all seven gears over the full rpm range. I also noticed that when I ‘kicked down’ on the accelerator from a relatively high gear, that instead of changing down through the gears sequentially, it changed straight down (ie from 5th to 2nd) immediately. In manual, you change gear using the tipfunction paddles on the steering column, which was great fun. As the S 500 L has a seven-speed gearbox, it is possible to drive the car very precisely, making it easy to optimise which gear to select for which situation.

In conclusion - I was very favourably impressed. The big Mercedes reeks of class, and has sufficient ‘presence’ to ensure that the parking valet understands that this is the type of car owned someone who appreciates the finer things in life.