This summer, the Yacht Rock station returns to Sirius XM satellite radio, soothing eardrums with soft-rock jams from the likes of Michael McDonald and Steely Dan.
It’s pure late-1970s, early ’80s indulgence, the sort of thing which makes you wish you had a yacht of your own.
Oh look, here’s one. And it has wheels! Very handy.
Recently refreshed, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class aims to provide one of the finest motoring experiences on the road. Yes, there are Porsches for speed and Rolls-Royces for outright opulence (and Aston Martins for a bit of both), but the S-Class is a little less in your face, while still offering a sumptuous ride. It rocks, but just a little on the soft side.
It is, however, quite incredibly costly at $173,500 as optioned out here. Is it worth booking a ticket on the S-Class at these rates? Come sail away with me, and we’ll have a closer look.
Design
Elsewhere in its range, particularly with vehicles like the AMG GLA45, Mercedes-Benz attempts to appeal to the youth market with raucous styling, huge grilles, and matte paint and stripes. While there is an AMG version of this particular car, the S-Class doesn’t attempt to ply those waters. This is a car for the mature buyer.
How completely refreshing to find a car that doesn’t pretend to be more than it is. The classic long-nosed proportions do all the talking required here, with 19-inch wheels looking suitably subtle, and a minimum of chrome trim work.
Look a little closer and those headlights and taillights are reserved works of art, complex designs that only reveal themselves under close examination. It’s styling as it should be in this segment, the hiding of a light under a bushel.
Environment
As you’d expect from an S-Class, which Mercedes touts as the finest car on the road, this open tourer boasts a cabin filled with exquisite details. If anything, they’ve tried to cram a bit too much in here, with the result that the interior styling isn’t quite as elegantly reserved as the exterior.
However, the quality is excellent, with everything having a weighty, solid feel, from air vents to volume controls. Further, the new dash-wide display adds modernity to old-school attributes like lashings of leather and real wood.
But where the S560 cab really shines is in its seats. These are as comfortable as the sort of thing you used to get in the best Citroëns, but offering much greater lateral support. They’ve got multiple massage features to make a long journey less wearisome, and there’s even a feature Mercedes calls Air Scarf, which blows warm air around your neck.
It’s an utterly relaxing place to be, something that doesn’t change when you press the starter button and set off.
Performance
First, let’s pop down to the engine room to see what kind of power plant our German motor yacht is equipped with. A twin-turbocharged V-8 provides 463 horsepower and 516 foot-pounds of torque, the latter coming on stream at only 2,000 r.p.m.
With a new nine-speed gearbox to keep revs low and mine that low-end grunt – or to snap up into the powerband when passing is needed – the S560 is both quicker than you’d expect, and just as quiet as you’d hoped for. Lean into the throttle and it lifts its nose with elegance, just the way a properly trimmed powerboat might do.
Cornering is better than expected as well. If you really want maximum lateral grip, you’d better walk over to take a good look at the AMG versions. However, if you’re just looking for a level of unperturbed on-road competence, the S560 has plenty of poise.
Steering, of course, doesn’t offer much in the way of feedback. Instead, it’s tuned to require little effort but still provide precision. The suspension is very supple, but isn’t compromised by body roll.
Taken all together, the experience of driving the S560 is one of open-aired effortlessness. The seats massage your cares away, the V-8 burbles unobtrusively, and this big cabriolet wafts eastward to the sounds of Lionel Richie.
Forget all that steely-eyed, high-r.p.m., ten-tenths sports car nonsense. This right here is the essence of motoring, sailing around with no desire in the world except, perhaps, a mild hankering for ice cream. And there’s a shop right there – hard a-starboard!
Features
The S-Class cabriolet starts at $166,600 and runs up to $277,600 for the slightly silly V-12 S65. That’s certainly expensive, but compared to the maintenance costs of a boat, perhaps not so bad.
The COMAND interface system is outdated at this point and can be fussy and frustrating to use. Note that Mercedes is rolling out their new infotainment soon, including more-intelligent voice commands.
Fuel economy is officially rated at 13.9 (litres/100 kilometres) in the city, and 9.2 on the highway. Credit either the new nine-speed automatic or the relaxed driving style the S-class lulls you into, but real-world fuel economy was a very reasonable 10.5.
Green light
Subtle elegance; relaxing drive; huge list of interior amenities.
Stop sign
Expensive to start with and long options list only drives up the price tag; rear seat legroom quite cramped.
The checkered flag
A luxury yacht that sails on tarmac seas.
Competition
BMW 6-Series Cabriolet ($113,000): Tauter than the S-class, BMW offers much of the same big-convertible driving experience, but with a little more poise in the corners. However, it’s still not a corner carver, and is getting a little long in the tooth. BMW has been pouring R&D dollars into the upcoming eight-series instead.
The big Bimmer is a little less expensive, and its infotainment is a bit easier to use. However, the S-Class still gets the best docking berth at the marina.
