Test drive Mercedes Benz S-class w220 1998-2002 sedan

Flagship

In the mass consciousness of the Russian layman, the social status of an individual is directly linked to the means on which the latter moves. It so happened that the Mercedes brand is available in this sense - in the same place, in the indicated consciousness. And there is nothing surprising in the fact that in recent times the leader of the car racing behind the prestige was precisely Mercedes-Benz W-140, called the six hundred hundredth. The fact is obvious - of every ten cars of the representative class sold in Russia over the past three years, eight - six "s. These are the statistics of official sales, the statistics of gray dealers are not very different from it. The title of the new Russian car Mercedes -Benz W -140 also won for objective reasons - primarily due to the characteristic heavy appearance, according to many, personifying prestige and stability - in combination with power and pressure.

It should be recognized that Daimler-Benz experts, designing in the late 80s W-140, gave a swing: abandoning the traditional style, they did not guess the direction of the development of automobile design for the next decade. In the 90s, buyers preferred angular massiveness, swift, flying silhouettes - with smoothed corners and exquisite surfaces smoothly flowing into each other. In general, connoisseurs of an elegant Mercedes branded style have met a new tank -like limousine cool. Of course, there are consumers for whom to have the last model of a prestigious brand is a matter of principle or image, there are various official structures that need a large number of representative cars (they actively bought a S-class for the first two or three years after the premiere) ... and Here are a large number of private owners of the previous version, W -126, they were in no hurry to exchange their cars for new ones - contrary to the calculations of manufacturers. In this regard, it was decided to update the exterior. However, the light restyling carried out in 1994 did not radically improve the situation, and next year the development of a new car began.

According to the creators, it should have been the most perfect serial machine in the world, and it seems that it turned out. Before starting the development of the body, Daimler-Benz experts studied the opinion of both their regular customers and potential for a long time, analyzed the causes of market successes and failures of competing models and even discussed body options among various population groups.

The resulting machine, which resulted in the title of the most beautiful car not only for the year, but possibly decades. An elegant and stylish look, harmonious proportions are its main trump cards.

No matter how much the designers say about the absolutely original appearance of the S -class, there is a return back - the new car greatly resembles the W -126: the rear wings returned the relief in the joints with the racks of the roof, the hood is a more convex middle part, the trunk is not as massive as in W-140. Compared to the predecessor, the car looks more traditional - for Mercedes. In front of only two haloid forms of the headlight (this time they decided not to experiment with them). In this case, the new stylistics manifested itself in their upper edges, which are wavy lines, crowning two merging circles and setting the relief of the wings and sidewalls of the hood- the same as in E- and C-classes.

The front part of the car is somewhat scooped down - falling to the ground, it gives the silhouette swiftness. The effect is enhanced by swimming moldings, starting behind the front wheel arches and smoothly turning behind the rear to the bumper lining. To visually facilitate the structure, and make the sedan similar to the compartment, the middle racks of the body were painted black. (Due to this, it seems light from the nearby dark and light cars that are more dynamic.) Chrome -made door handles (recently fashionable nostalgic detail of the exterior) are beautifully inscribed in oval deepening.

For the new machine, wheels' wheels were specially developed - different sizes (from 15 to 18 inches), but all with seven knitting needles and in the same style.

According to the manufacturer, in the process of creating a car, more than thirty new technical solutions were used. True, in our opinion, they are new only for Mercedes - when familiarizing themselves with their list, it is found that all this has already been used in one way or another earlier. For example, the automatic turning on the headlights when dusk was onset on Nissan (and not only luxury) cars in the early 90s. You can’t call the stop -signal panel a novelty from the LEDs either - in Moscow, half of the traffic lights are arranged in the same way. Another thing is that no other car has and there are so many convenient and useful functions. So, after all, this is what technical progress, so that the fairy tale finally becomes the past ...

The innovations regarding the power unit are more interesting. At the moment, the car is equipped only with V-shaped 6- and 8-cylinder gasoline engines. The famous merced Mercedes, which were considered the most balanced and balanced engines, are no longer used on representatives. In the five -liter motor, a device is used that turn off the injection of gasoline into half the cylinders - this allows you to save fuel in modes that do not require full power. By the end of 1999, the range of S-class engines will be replenished with diesel and 12-cylinder 6-liter gasoline.

A five -speed automatic with the possibility of manually selection of gears is placed on all modifications of the car. The idea is also not new, but it was not previously used on the S-class. To switch one step down or up, the driver needs to make only one movement with a lever - to the right or left. The checkpoint is controlled by electronics that can evaluate the leading style of the owner and adapt to him.

Traditional transmission - rear -wheel drive car. The anti -circus and anti -lock systems, as well as the system for maintaining exchange rate stability are included in standard equipment. If, nevertheless, the collision occurs, numerous safety systems will be used: belts with pretense, front pillows, side curtains, amplifiers in the doors, crushed areas in front and back ...

The infamous Parisian accident, which was in 1997, Mercedes S280 forced Daimler-Benz designers to tighten the already dragon security requirements and conduct a series of Crash tests at high speeds. Their results confirmed that the new car has all the necessary qualities to preserve passengers in the extreme situation.

Depending on the alleged features of operation, either separate chairs with a full set of adjustments, or a sofa with a variable inclination of the back, equipped with a built-in central armrest for trifles, and as options-a bar-knitted and (according to a special order) workplace, can be installed. table under Notebook.

Climate management, audi- or television system can be carried out from any place in the cabin. For boring comfort, seats ventilation are provided (the idea was born several years ago at the SAAB design bureau). Each seat is covered, as it were, an additional rug made of porous material, lined with perforated skin, inside which air is pumped up with a fan. Naturally, all seats adjustments are equipped with electric drives. The size of the salon is quite representative.

In the interior decoration, some dissonance was found: thin, velvety to the touch, the skin of the upholstery and natural wood belts are poorly combined with a hard slippery plastic, from which the lower parts of the door panels and overlays on the central racks are made. Previously, on S-Class cars (W-116 and W-126), even with sitz sheathing in these places, soft plastic of much more noble quality was used in these places.

The trunk is quite consistent with the dimensions of the machine. The loading platform is located on the same level with the bumper, and the vertical position that occupies in the open state allows, without bending, to come close to the car. The emergency stop, traditionally strengthened on it, is made folding, although there is enough space for the usual one.

The dashboard is quite concise. Despite traditional, enlightened on a dark background, and then illuminated lines, symbols and numbers, it looks like a monitor. In the center of the speedometer is a liquid crystal display, which display secondary parameters and recommendations of the navigation system, such as a turn to the right after 57 km.

The bright backlighting of the instrument panel, forcibly included when starting the engine, allows you to read the readings, practically not distracting from the road, out of the corner of the eye. It is interesting that the automation that monitors the illumination on the street and turns on the headlights also commands the devices inside the cabin - changes the brightness of the backlight and the contrast of the screens.

Management of additional equipment (adjustment of suspension rigidity, the inclusion of the stabilization system, etc.) is carried out to the upper part of the central console. Its center contains a large screen, an employee of a TV, and a monitor of an on -board computer, and the main screen of the navigator. To the right of the screen are the keys of the phone, and below - the front remote control of the climate installation.

The ignition key inserted into the nest to the right of the steering column is electronic, but in it, like a blade of a penny knife, a metal plate with a complex profile is hidden, which can be opened in the case of a battery discharge.

As an option for a new S-class, a format of a conventional credit card and a thickness of 4.5 mm is proposed. If you have it with you, the key is not needed at all - the door lock (or trunk lid) will work as soon as the owner touches the handle, and the engine can be launched by pressing the button on the automatic transmission selector.

We did not have this device, so I just turn the key - the car comes to life and requires the belts to fasten. Made! The nasty sound of the zummer is silent, and the quiet rustle of the engine becomes heard. I transfer the selector to position D. The car shudders barely noticeably, but remains motionless. Usually, in the rear -wheel drive machines with a properly configured fodder automatic at such a moment, it cries a little, but this does not happen on the S -class - pneumatic self -leveling suspension with shock absorbers of variable hardness and electronic control interferes.

It was worth putting the leg on the accelerator pedal, Mercedes smoothly started off. The speed set occurs instantly and imperceptibly for those in the cabin. It was difficult to call the road on which I was moving perfectly, but the car seemed to soar over it, without reacting to small potholes. When moving through wide transverse recesses with the smoothed edges, the body moved up and down, not for a moment deviating from the horizontal position ...

I quickly accelerate and twice in a row I shake the checkpoint of the checkpoint to the left, switching to the lower gears - I try to achieve, if not breakdown, then at least a small suspension lap. No reaction! Rather, there is a reaction, but not the one that was expected: the car slows down sharply, but does not peck and does not squat. I repeat the attempt, trying to brake sharply. In just a few seconds, the speed close to 100 km/h falls to zero, but again - the body does not deviate from the horizontal one millimeter. In turns, the car behaves a little differently. Passing a bunch of multidirectional turns, the car is a little rushed - inside the turn!

Thanks to the large area of \u200b\u200bglazing, a rather high landing, as well as large mirrors, the review in all directions is almost perfect. But the dimensions of the car are not felt very well - a rather big trunk obscures the panorama behind, and the front bumper protrudes much further than the driver seems. It doesn’t matter: the car is equipped with distances detectors - both in front and behind. Their screens are located on the top edge of the torpedo - near the windshield itself, and are duplicated by indicators above the rear window.

Using them is simple: on the left is the front, on the right - the rear. The yellow color of the window indicates that there is no interference in front/behind. Three meters three before the obstacle, a red strip appears, expanding as the distance is reduced. If the whole screen has blushed - count, something has already pecked with a bumper.

These detectors work at short distances and are useful, for example, in parking. Since the spring of 1999, the Distronic system will be offered for the new S-class as additional equipment, which, working together with a cruise control, will automatically not only support the selected speed, but also move at a safe distance from the passing car.

City streets with their tense movement, pedestrians and traffic lights do not allow to fully enjoy the comfort and obedience of a huge car - when I see a departure to the autobahn, I immediately turn it. Passing the denouement, I taxiing to the acceleration strip and I give the pedal to the floor. The body with increasing power is pressed into the chair. The pressure of the back reaches the maximum by about 160 km/h, and then smoothly weakens - in full accordance with the intensity of overclocking. The operation of the engine and the checkpoint is agreed so clearly that it is impossible to catch the moment of gear shift.

Manually switching up occurs quite peculiarly - not at all like a machine with a manual box. If you turn on the transmission at too low for this speed, the car first accelerates, gaining the necessary km/hour, and only after that switching occurs. Since the speed gained corresponds only to the minimum acceptable for this transmission, the intensity of further acceleration is initially small. After a triple repetition of such a maneuver, the computer decided that it was my driving style, and accordingly adapted to it - when it reaches a certain speed, it stops overclocking for 3-4 seconds, waiting for the next gear to it. If at this moment it does not intervene in the operation of the automatic transmission, the electronics will forget the previously remembered switching algorithm. When operating the box in normal mode (i.e., when switching gear manually in the region of 2500-3000 revolutions), it behaves as a regular mechanical ...

The speedometer arrow reached the mark of 220 km/h - I stop putting pressure on the gas, turning on the cruise control and holding my legs. Amazing! The car flies completely over the road. The work of the steering wheel does not count - at a straight line, like an arrow, it is minimized to be minimized. (By the way, the steering was enjoyed - a good reactive moment, the force required to turn the steering wheel increases with speed growth.) That the motor works can only look at the tachometer arrow. There is no noise of wheels or whistle of dissected air in the cabin.

A short -term click on the minus button located on the hub of the steering wheel, and the speed drops 10 kilometers. If you keep the key longer, then it occurs incomprehensible. In the sense that it is not clear how ... the car slows down intensively, but due to what? Either the brake system turns on, or we slow down the engine ... Of course, the box is automatic, but who knows what they came up with on Daimler? The body's invariably horizontal position prevents the understanding of whether the brakes were turned on. Be that as it may, I dropped the speed, and now I calmly move in the general stream, without scaring anyone.

The test version is the smallest, the engine is only 3.2 liters, but it is 224 hp. It is enough for dynamic and even aggressive driving. However, I don’t want to do anything like that on this car. The stroke and comfort of the S-Class are tuned for calm and balance, and I do not want to emerge from this state close to the nirvan for the sake of dubious pleasure for someone to show their rear overall lights. Just as I do not want to leave the salon after the trip. But you have to ... What to say? This car, which opens the flagship series of Daimlerchrysler, is fully consistent with the motto chosen for it: elegance, dynamism, reliability.

Teskt: Evgeny Romatovsky
 

A source: Motor magazine [No. 8/1998]