I can't believe my eyes. I can see into the dark as if wearing night-vision goggles. Thanks to technology, night has been turned into day, albeit in black and white.
I'm driving the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class, which is not only the company's flagship limousine but the vehicle it chooses to load with the latest in technology. And the aptly named "night view assist" is its latest gadget.
It's an imposing car, delivering great presence on the road. Yet, while the individual design elements are all well executed they don't seem to combine with the same cohesiveness evident on the old S-Class.
While attention to detail is second-to-none, it has a fussy exterior with lots of stark geometric cues and menacing contours - not the least of which are the bulbous wheel-arches, meant to make the car look shorter but which end up giving it a bloated look from some angles. The front and rear ends appear to have been styled independently from one another - the nose coming across as sleek and purposeful, while the square tail is tall and business-like, clearly drawing on the larger Maybach for inspiration.
0-100kmh acceleration time has been cut by 0.9 seconds to just 5.4 seconds - making it 0.9 seconds, 0.4 seconds, 1.2 seconds and 0.9 seconds quicker to that mark than the Audi A8 4.2, BMW 750i, Jaguar XJ 4.2 and Lexus LS430 respectively.
Although it has grown in every dimension and put on weight, the new S500 doesn't feel bloated. On smooth, sweeping roads in the hills outside Stuttgart, it proves hugely competent, almost sporting. The rear-wheel-drive chassis imparts a secure feel and, like its predecessor, the new S500 proves easy to drive quickly with clear reference points marking out its dynamic ability.
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