A marvel from Mercedes

FOR YEARS, the Mercedes `S' class has been the top-of-the-line machines produced by Mercedes Benz, and I have had the privilege of owning, driving and working on almost all of them from 1954 till date.

Recently I had the opportunity of driving the latest Merc `S' class and was really amazed at the features it carried. One could compare this machine to a spacecraft that runs on the road and has features that one could not even think of. Safety and comfort, of course, is the main forte but its other features are unbelievable.

It has an unlimited number of them that I will explain a little later - but what it does not have from its counterpart available in Europe is the GPS on board and the `Key Less Go'. The GPS, as we all know, is the Global Positioning System.

But the 'key less go' is a small chip in the form of an electronic card - the size of a credit card - kept in the pocket of the owner, with which he has access to his `S' class even without a `key'. He has to just pull the door handle and it opens up, and further press a small knob of the gear shift lever and the car starts to purr, and then you know what next to do with it.

More than 340 patents were applied for and 30 innovations were incorporated, to produce this automobile. Mercedes Benz has been a trendsetter for the global automobile industry.

Though the competition will differ, the fact is that it has set standards, not only for car manufacturers but for the automobile regulating authorities as well all over the globe.

We had the privilege to test drive the car at the rather small test track (for this car) in the Pune Telco factory. The track is only 1.5 km long and one has to drive back the same length and that makes three km in total.

The first time we were chaperoned by MB's test driver - who gave instructions all the way and also told us where to lift off before turning back - and he could manage to touch 160 kmph. , in that short distance.

Then, the steering was handed to me with another journo friend, who wanted to take a photo of the speedometer reading at its max., as a passenger.

We managed to touch 198 kmph, but did not lift off at the recommended place and had to apply brakes to test all the faculties of the automobile that included the ABS, ASR, the traction control and what have you.

We were able to bring the car to a near stop within 50 metres from 198 kmph. Our chaperone on the rear seat had his eyes almost on his lap.

This is one of their most intelligent vehicles that has multiple `CPUs' (more than 40 microprocessors) on board - there is one that can identify who the boss is, headlights that can tell a sunrise from a sunset, wipers that know if it is drizzling, raining or pouring.

One of the safest automobiles, which has all the safety features of a Mercedes Benz including the crumple zone, side impact beams and what have you - constant research and development is done at the factory and actual accidents involving MBs are studied (probably the ill-fated one that killed Princess Diana as well) and multiple airbags including window and side airbags have been incorporated as standard for passenger and driver safety.

The airbag gets triggered within 25 milliseconds of an impact and stretches like a curtain between the A and C pillars thereby giving full head and chest protection to the passenger and driver. A sensor fitted in the upholstery of the front passenger seat deactivates the air bags if the front seat is unoccupied thereby reducing repair costs in the event of an accident.

As the decal suggests, it has a 3.2 litre engine with three valves to a cylinder, a dual ignition system with two spark plugs to each cylinder and the conventional and the most reliable and compact `V' 6 engine that conforms to the Euro-4 norms with four catalytic converters.

Besides being a very efficient power plant to the car it powers a small generator of 150 Watts to look after the multiple electronics on board and can do 0 to 100 km in just 8.2 seconds thereby making it the fastest car in India also.

All the features like the BAS (brake assist), ABS (automatic braking system), traction control, Airmatic & ABC (active body control), ADS (adaptive damping system), and ESP (electronics stability program) come in as standard in this automobile.

The newest `Maybac' is being developed as a steering-wheel-less automobile, which obviously means that in times to come one will only need to talk to /instruct the automobile as one does to a chauffeur, and soon you would be where you desired.

Priced at Rs. 59 lakhs, ex-showroom Delhi, the big Mercedes has all the creature comforts you could wish for. Its four passengers can individually regulate their own temperature zone in the cabin.

The seats themselves have built-in heating and cooling facilities. Each seat has hot and cold control with every passenger and also has `Thigh' and lumber support for each passenger.

This car has infinitely adjustable seats, including lumbar support and headrests, which of course can be committed to memory for upto three different persons and a steering wheel that tilts up for ease of getting in and out. In fact, the car keys memorise upto two positions for the driver.

There is also a `summer opening' function that automatically lowers the windows and sunroof, before switching on the driver's seat ventilation system if the car has been left for long in the sun.

The doors and the boot have a pneumatic closing system - just bring the door to the edge of the frame and the motors will quietly draw it in. No more banging! The audio system with its 10-speakers and a CD-changer uses fibre optics to carry signals between the receiver, amplifier and speakers, so as to ensure minimal loss of quality.

There are four radio aerials built into the car and the radio automatically selects or combines reception from these aerials to give the best possible reception clarity. There is also a remote integrated into the steering wheel. An electric blind and power headrests look after your comfort and safety at the rear.

Even the side window glasses are laminated and come from Pilkington, the specialists. Of course, we should not omit to mention those gorgeous alloys...

The instrumentation itself is a marvel of technology. When the doors are opened, they light up in a magical shade of blue. There is a trip computer in the main speedometer which gives the distance travelled, amount of fuel left in the tank along with the distance that the car will travel on the same, car system warnings and a speedtronic system.

The speedtronic essentially is a speed limiter. One can individually set a speed which the car will not exceed. The speedometer portion corresponding to that speed only lights up and the car stays locked within that range.

Cruise control of course is standard. The dot-matrix display also gives you such information as current audio source, including the name of the radio station (if programmed)! There is a sensor even for the wipers - to switch them on and vary their speed according to the amount of rainfall.

Incidentally, did I mention the air-conditioning that automatically cools that part of the car more which gets warmer due to greater sunlight falling on it ?

Headlamps that switch on automatically when you enter a tunnel, rear view mirrors that dip automatically and fold down so that you can see the curb when parking, parktronic which helps you park the vehicle safely despite the congestion all around.

Some of the most remarkable innovations worth mentioning, that have been incorporated are the all around laminated glasses, a multifunctional steering wheel by which one can control the radio and the phone as well, a climate control system - a sensor that detects the position of the Sun and controls the air-conditioning of the car also, a `summer opening' by which on a single touch of a button all the windows and the sun roof open up for ventilation.

These are some features worth highlighting and the rest come as standard, which Mercedes does not consider worth mentioning anywhere.

The other most unique feature worth mentioning is that this car's shell comes fully painted in CKD form from Germany, and, under supervision of qualified engineers, then hand-assembled with special care to keep the quality control and the torques in mind. Relatively speaking, it is literally a hand-built car.

The manufacturers have 84 confirmed orders with 100 per cent advance in hand, and not surprisingly 30 of such orders are from North India! With such a hi-tech automobile, I am afraid your back yard garage owner will be able to help you change only a wheel.

All diagnosis of this car needs to be read on the mother computer available only with the dealer. Some of the defects come onto the on-board computer and some get stored in it, which can be retrieved, at the dealers' outfit. This introduction to the world of automobiles is a marvel of sorts and is going to be a trendsetter for many.

Tutu Dhawan

(The author can be contacted at: anything@thtudhawan.com)

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Business
Previous : The games they play
Next     : Italy's showcase for machine-tools