2018 Mercedes-Benz S-Class S350d Engine and Performance
The 2018 S-Class gets two new engines. The S450 gets a 3.0 V6 unit putting out 367 horses but what we drove is the S350d diesel that will garner most sales for the three pointed star. The engine is in the S350d is Mercedes’ all new OM656 motor. The 2925 cc unit has an inline 6 cylinder layout, a departure from the 20 year tradition of V6 diesels. Whats big news is that it is the only engine so far in a car in India that meets the new BS VI stage emission norms and that too on BS IV fuel. That itself is an engineering marvel. The engine gets 2 stage turbos, engine block and cylinder head made of aluminum that reduces weight, ‘NanoSlide’ coating on the cylinder walls that reduce friction (tech taken from Formula 1), new gen common rail direct injection with high injection pressure of up to 2500 bar, larger catalytic converter, diesel particulate filter and Selective Catalytic Converter with AdBlue tank. Open the fuel lid and you find two openings, one for diesel and one for the AdBlue. The AdBlue liquid helps the BS IV fuel achieve BS VI norms. The liquid is stored in a 25 litre tank next to the fuel tank. The liquid will be topped up during every service.
The new diesel engine develops 286 horsepower and 600 Nm of torque. It comes mated to an all new nine speed automatic gearbox. This motor is easily the best diesel I have driven in a long time and is simply brilliant. It is extremely responsive and there isn’t even a hint of any turbo lag. Downshifts are also quick thanks to the new transmission and the big S-Class just surges forward at the tap of the accelerator. It does the 0 to 100 kph dash in 6 seconds and has a top speed of 250 kph. The engine is on a completely different level when it comes to refinement. It is super quiet at all times and doesn’t get noisy even at higher rpms. Stand next to the car at idling and you would hard pressed to tell if there’s a diesel under the hood. Thanks to all these characteristics and the power, this is one S-Class you would love to take to the wheel of, rather than relaxing in the back seat at all times.
Coming now to the ADAS, first up is the Mercedes Distronic system. This a kind of adaptive control where once activated, the system checks distance with the car in front and accelerates or slows down, even stops relative to the car in front. The Active steering keeps you in your lane with reference to the car in front and even turns on slight bends. This feature however is useless if there are no proper lane markings. Other notable features are Active Brake Assist and Blind Spot Assist. Active Brake Assist will warn the driver if it detects an accident risk with a pedestrian or car in front and if the driver fails to respond the car will brake itself. Blind Spot Assist warns the driver of cars coming in the blind spot during a lane change.
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