Mercedes-Benz E-Class review

The E-class is a refined and relaxing return to old Mercedes qualities

Has there ever been a car offered for sale with a broader remit than the Mercedes-Benz E-class?

We’re not just saying this because the car is offered for sale as a saloon, estate, coupe and cabriolet, for there are many others you can buy in just as wide a number of configurations.

But we know of no other car that can claim on the one hand to be a supercar with more power than astandard SLS, on another the most capacious estate money can currently buy and, on a third, far and away Germany’s most popular taxi. If versatility alone decided such things, the E-class would be the class leader at a canter.

Its competition, however, is stronger than ever: the BMW 5-series is an ever-present threat while the Jaguar XF is always going to attract the eye of aesthetes and enthusiasts alike. Even the Audi A6, the one car in the class you could once always have counted upon to fail to beat the best is now a formidably able contender.

Now comfortably past its mid-life facelift, the current generation of E-class comes with a rationalised range, though to see how much choice remains available it may be hard to believe it.

However ninety per cent of E-classes sold in Britain are powered by diesel and here the choice is between two standard 2.2-litre four cylinder engines producing 168 and 201bhp respectively, a diesel hybrid based on the same unit with 228bhp or a V6 3-litre diesel offering 249bhp and only a fraction less torque than that aforementioned SLS.

For those not yet persuaded by the black pump you can either have a 2-litre petrol engine with either 181bhp or 208bhp or a 5.5-litre twin turbo V8 in the AMG developing 549bhp in standard trim and that SLS-busting 577bhp for the ‘S’ model. Between these poles there is no middle ground.

Mercedes-Benz S-class review

The self-proclaimed ‘best car in the world’ is back. Or is it?

When Mercedes-Benz sets out to make a new Mercedes S-class, it sets itself a simple if somewhat daunting brief: to make the best car in the world. No half measures. No modest ambitions.

The millions of hours and euros the company spends on research and development are, it’s true, for the good of the range as a whole, but Mercedes’ most advanced technologies receive their debuts here, on what is the flagship of industry flagship models.And if that sounds mean to Rolls-Royce, BMW, Audi, Lexus and Bentley, then so be it; engineers from every car company in the world respect what the Mercedes S-class can do.

And in this latest generation, it has been tasked with doing even more, because the S-class effectively picks up the baton that the now-defunctMaybach sub-brand failed to carry with any great finesse.

That gives the new model a perilously broad brief: at the lower end of the scale, the S-class will find itself transporting mid-level executives to and from airports, while at its top end, it has to indulge its occupants like no other luxury car in the world.

Read on to see whether the new Mercedes-Benz S-class obliges.

Mercedes SLS AMG Final Edition teased

Two teaser images of the Mercedes SLS AMG Final Edition have been released on the AMG Facebook page, and it's set to be unveiled at the LA Motor Show 2013 in the coming weeks. Mercedes hasn’t commented on what the model is but Internet speculation suggests it could be the SLS Final Edition.

• Mercedes SLS review

This Final Edition model will be a last hurrah for the Mercedes SLS AMG supercar, as it is set to be replaced in 2015 with a new model codenamed C190 – expected to be called the Mercedes SLC.

The images show a carbon fibre front splitter and a black alloy wheel, with AMG stating ‘over the next few days we will uncover a new member of the AMG family, bit by bit.’

Details on the new model are scarce but the SLS Final Edition is likely to receive subtle exterior modifications such as a carbonfibre body kit, revised air intakes and vents.

Power is expected to come from the same 6.2-litre V8 found in the regular Mercedes SLS AMG but a modest performance boost from the standard 591bhp output is a possibility.

Prices are yet to be announced but a slight premium over the standard £165,000 price tag is likely. Production is also expected to be in limited numbers.

Mercedes-Benz G-Class

Up until now, the best chance you'd have to get to drive this monster 6x6 AMG would be to join the Australian army, which signed a contract with Daimler in 2008 to procure 2,100 of these unstoppable desert chasers. But now Mercedes has decided - rather brilliantly - to make a civilian version, ready to order by millionaires before the end of 2013.

From the original military blueprint, it keeps six driven wheels, an off-road low-range ratio in the transfer case, portal axles, five differential locks and a tyre-inflation control system that allows the pressure in the 37-inch tyres to be adjusted in record time, on the move.

But once you climb into the cabin, there's a much less utilitarian bent. Four heated and ventilated leather armchairs, a leather-finished dash with contrast stitching, carbon-fibre trim and Alcantara slathered on the roof headlining and pillars. Pure AMG opulence. And the weirdness doesn't end there. Once you've got over the sheer size of the 6x6, it's worth noting the gigantic carbon wheelarch extensions and a pickup load area featuring an exclusive bamboo lining. Normal, this thing is not.

Did we mention it was big? At 5.85m long and 2.3m tall, it's positively huge. And fast. With the G63's 540bhp, 5.5-litre bi-turbo V8, the G63 AMG 6x6 can hit 62mph in seven seconds. And it does so with no hesitation, the 561lb ft being split in 30/40/30 (front, mid and rear axles) with the help of the familiar 7spd dual-clutch 'box. It just stomps its power to the road. Or whatever surface you happen to be on.

Ok, so the strangest product AMG has ever engineered was likely never supposed to corner like a sports car, but its relative agility is mind-blowing, especially considering that, at 3.85 tonnes, it's a VW Golf heavier than the already mighty G63 AMG.

More than that, it just will not be stopped. By anything. It has axle articulation that would make a Land Rover wince, manages 460mm of ground clearance and has a diving - sorry, fording - depth of a solid metre, 40cm more than the bodystyle it has been derived from. You can take it as read that absolute traction is never an issue, and even if you do begin to slip, you just drop the tyre pressures - independently for each axle, I might add - via switches mounted on the overhead console.

It's the best big boy's toy ever invented. Not a cheap one, though, at something over €300,000. But be honest, can you think of a better way to get your off-road kicks?

THE NUMBERS
5461cc, V8, 6WD, 540bhp, 561lb ft, 13.4mpg, 0-62mph in 7.0secs, 100mph, 3850kg