2019 Mercedes Benz S Class Cabriolet
When it comes to versatile luxury then Mercedes Benz S Class is extremely tough to beat. Why’s it just so versatile? Well, few other manufacturers offer their top of the range car in quite so many body styles. If you want a Mercedes Benz S Class then you can have a four-door saloon, a two-door coupe or the car we’re looking at in our review, the drop-top four-seater S Class Cabriolet. Even though super-luxury drop-tops may seem like a bit of a niche it still faces some tough competition from the likes of the Aston Martin DB11 Volante and the upcoming Bentley Continental GTC.
Just because this car is a convertible don’t think for one minute that it’s any less glamourous or luxurious than its four-door saloon and two-door coupe cousins. There’s plenty of fine leather on the dash, doors and seats while the metallic switches really do hep to give the interior a suitably high-end look. There’s a huge range of electric seats and steering wheel adjustment so there’s no way that you’ll not be able to find a suitable driving position. The seats themselves, which are supremely luxurious for long journeys, are so comfortable and hug you in all the right places when you’re going around corners. You get Mercedes Command infotainment system as standard in this car. So you get is a 12.3 inch screen that’s both visually impressive and logically laid out. Unfortunately, it’s still not quite as easy to navigate around as BMW’s iDrive system though. When you’re spending this much money on a car and it’s an S Class then you expect to be able to travel in comfort with plenty of room for you passengers and their luggage. In the front there’s plenty of room for two adults and they can sit side-by-side in supreme comfort. However, the story is a little bit different in the back where passengers might find it a little bit more of a squeeze. The head and shoulder room in the back is fine with the roof up but it’s really the leg room that’s a bit of an issue when two adults are sitting one in front of the other. When it comes to everyday storage you’ll find plenty of places to put your belongings. The cubby in the central console is extremely generous in terms of storage space and glovebox is a decent size too. Our only issue on this front is the size of the doorbins as you won’t really be able to fit much in them.
With the roof up the boot space is pretty generous by convertible standards and you’ll certainly fit a lot more of your things in here than you would in the DB11 Volante. However, put the roof down and you’ll find that you’ve got a little less space available because of the compartment that accommodates the roof.
You have three engines to choose from with the Cabriolet. Kicking off the range is a 4.0 litre turbo charged V8 which is badged as the S560. Then you’ve got the AMG tuned 4.0 litre V8 which is badged as the S63and finally there’s the mighty turbocharged 6.0 litre V12 which is the range topping AMG S65. We don’t mind telling you that both the AMG engines are ferociously quick. However, it’s the S560 that’s the real sweet-spot of the range. It’s a brilliantly refined unit where the V8 engine is extremely quiet under soft acceleration. However, if you put your foot down then all hell breaks loose and you have what we can only describe as a muscle car on your hands. The 9-speed automatic gearbox is simply excellent. Rather than shifting down unnecessarily when you accelerate it’s clever enough to rely on the S560’s massive 516 pounds foot of pulling power to pull you along. If you put this car into Sport or Sport+ mode you’ll find that the gearbox actually keeps the engine revving harder in lower gears and the accelerator pedal response sharpens as well. Sport mode also adds weight to the steering and stiffens the suspension all of which helps make this S Class remarkably agile around corners.
There’s no getting around the fact that when you drive this car it feels very much like a two tonne machine. So its actions aren’t quite as immediate as the Aston Martin DB11 Volante. However, what this car does do is somehow manage to maintain a relatively level body going around corners and makes the car more fun to drive than you might think. We mustn’t forget that this is a luxury S Class and therefore comfort must always come first. Due to this fact this car really does feel at its best at a steady and stately cruise and feels more soothing then the DB11 Volante. Switch this car to Comfort mode and you can really feel things relax even more. The suspensions softens, the steering slackens and the exhaust quietens. Speed bumps are soaked up easily in this car and typically scruffy British roads are a breeze making it just so comfortable to drive. With the roof up the road and wind noise is kept to a minimum and you can put the roof down in about 20 seconds while at speeds of up to 30 miles per hour (mph). We have to say that this car is one of the most refined convertibles on the market. Finally, adding the Mercedes Benz Air-Scarf really does add to the comfort.
The S560s price actually looks quite cheap when compared to the mega expensive Aston martin DB11 Volante. Though you’d struggle to describe anything on this car or about this car as cheap. The AMG models will jump the price up a staggering amount beyond that of the DB11. However, if you can afford this type of car then this won’t really matter to you. However, you’ll need to bear in mind that it’s not just the upfront costs but the servicing, depreciation, insurance and fuel that will all try to ring your wallet or purse dry. For all of this money you are getting a car that’s generously equipped. Our favourite S560 model only comes in AMG Line trim and gets you air suspension, 19-inch alloys, climate control, heated seats along with a whole host of other luxuries as standard.
The Mercedes Benz S Class Cabriolet is certainly one of the best luxury convertibles that you can buy. Ok, you’ll end up spending a lot of money to get one on your drive and run it but it’s a car that handles really well for a car of its size. There’s also a brilliant selection of engines to choose from and it’s surprisingly quiet with the roof up or down. If you want to take a look at some S Class cabriolets on the market or you just prefer to look at some used Mercedes S Class cars for sale then we have one of the widest selections available on the DesperateSeller.co.uk website.
