When I was a child, my father pointed to the three-pointed star logo that towered in front of the front of the W140 and told me that this is called Mercedes-Benz, which is the symbol of success.
Author: Rao Weihao
Photograph: Lu Weijia
"What's the best car in the world?" This is a stupid and childish question! After reading thousands of sails, you will also get the same answer: no one is perfect, there is no car, there may be the worst car in this world, but there must be no best, and every excellent car can only become the king in a certain field.
Too rational? Yes, this may be an occupational disease as a media person. But if I turn the pointer of time back 20 years, I will not hesitate to take up the question: "S! Mercedes S".
I was fortunate that in that era of material scarcity, not many people had the opportunity to sit in the back row of S-class luxury, although it was only a short ten minutes, but it left me with unforgettable memories that are still indelible, enough to become the capital for boys to brag to their classmates.
Some people say that people experience two deaths in their lifetime, once when they stop breathing and once when they are forgotten. I said, the same goes for cars. The W140 "Tiger Head Ben" may have returned to the oven long ago, but when the brand new W223 Mercedes-Benz S500L in front of me popped the door handle at me, it was revived.
Holding the steering wheel, the first thing I feel is not luxury, in fact, the biggest task that each generation of Mercedes-Benz S has to shoulder is innovation! I suddenly realized that it was the time of the handover of electric and fuel, and in this era of fierce collision between the old and the new, it would not be easy to set the standard for the next decade.
As a result, you can see the naked-eye 3D dashboard, you can see the navigation of AR augmented reality, and you can see the 2.6 million pixel headlights that can play the light projection. The seat can automatically adjust the sitting posture according to the height provided by the driver, automatically tighten the reverse "wings" when you turn to provide lateral support, and automatically fine-tune the sitting posture on the way to high-speed commuting to relieve fatigue. You can enjoy a shoulder massage in the car, let the 4D Sound of Berlin give you a private music appreciation session...
Although I have been in the industry for several years and recognize countless self-reading cars, when I enter the S500L carriage, I am still like a mouse that fell into a honeypot, surprised, admired, enjoyed... I flipped through this answer sheet from Stuttgart carefully, afraid of missing out on any of the elaborate details.
Press the start button, tap the accelerator, the wheels turn slowly, the S500L is like a dressed lady at this moment, I can't bear to trample it with my rough footwork, if you want to taste this pearl of Stuttgart worth more than 1.8 million, you must deceive yourself and imagine yourself as the helmsman of a listed company, or the heir to hundreds of millions of family assets.
The road to work is still congested, unruly, opportunistic guys are still interspersed in front of my eyes, if it was a few hours ago, I would have to argue with it, argue for a high or low, but sitting in the S500L carriage, such evil things can not arouse any ripples in me, I was surprised by the condescending mentality and temperament I have, and even more surprised by the car's ability to let me quickly "enter the play".
This is not metaphysics, from the moment the door is closed, the S500L seems to have built an isolation barrier in the car, the engine roar of the passing car, the rapid horn of the irritable driver, the loud conversation of the pedestrians on the side of the car... No matter how noisy it is, it is carefully filtered and isolated.
Technology giants hold high the banner of environmental protection, vowing to force the internal combustion machine to the end of the road, when the 500 tail mark is no longer towering 8 cylinders, how can Mercedes-Benz serve the public? Communication with electricity is undoubtedly the best answer, the inline 6-cylinder machine is equipped with a 48V light mixing system and an electronic turbine, the water and milk between the old and the new, the power output is smooth and long, 435 horsepower is reserved under the pedal, and the bottom of the 500 tail standard is not reduced in the same year.
Shuttling through the downtown, the 9AT gearbox tries its best to disguise itself, for fear of disturbing the distinguished guests on the car, and no sense of existence is the greatest value of its existence.
Suspension is an empty word full of technology for me, but the engineers in Stuttgart gave me a lesson on "Into Science" on the way to work. The chassis of the S500L is like a high-power iron, smoothing out all kinds of potholes and undulations along the way. In the face of fine vibrations, the shock absorption system is collected according to the order, leaving no trace, even if it encounters a difficult pit and speed reduction belt, the chassis can turn the wind into a drizzle and calmly cope. On the high speed, the suspension turns into a pair of invisible hands, holding the carriage forward, even if it encounters a jump on the road, the performance is still relaxed.
The size of the D-Class didn't bother driving, and although it was a big guy with a length of 5.32 meters, it could still be agile like a bird with the help of rear wheel steering. On the familiar U-turn on the way home, the S500L drew almost the same trajectory as the BMW 1 Series.
Back in the familiar parking space, I was not in a hurry to go home, sitting in the carriage, letting the delicate leather wrap around the body and the pleasant songs wash the soul. I was shocked, and only then did I react that what I had just felt was just foreplay.
Yes, for any executive-class luxury sedan, the seat on the right rear is the jewel in the crown. Enter the boss seat, tap the button on the side of the door, the four sunshades automatically close, the seat cushions slowly forward, the backrest lies down further, the electric foot dragging hidden under the seat slowly rises, and the front passenger seat has already given the distinguished guests luxury legroom. In just a few tens of seconds, I was half-reclined in the first class of the luxury airliner, closed my eyes, forgot my troubles, and waited for the flight attendant to wake up.
If you feel bored, the armrest is also prepared for you with a tablet computer that can control the whole car audio and video, air conditioning, lighting, seat massage to relieve boredom, and the office-specific folding table board will not be absent.
Not all the rich people who spend millions of dollars to buy a car have the time and energy to understand every intimate function of the car, memorize every string of engine parameters, they just need to make sure that what they buy back is the best car of the moment, the car comes to this level, the fight has long been not hardware, but soft power. High-grade leather wrapping can be done by anyone, and the precision mechanical structure is no secret, and the precipitation behind the three-pronged star is the core that other competitors cannot reach. Under the accumulation and precipitation of many years, the Mercedes-Benz S Class has long become the Jerusalem of luxury cars, which is the secret of Mercedes-Benz prying open the wallet of the rich: I am the benchmark.
Today's topic
If you had the chance to own a D-Class sedan, which one would you choose?
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