Mercedes-Benz S600 reviews

2006 Mercedes-Benz S600 Interior Features

Sit in a Mercedes S-Class and you immediately feel like a master of the universe. The interior exudes serious class. A long strip of burl walnut sweeps across the instrument panel from door to door, its bend and taper reminiscent of the graceful lines of an archer's bow.

The S430 isn't as lavishly equipped as the S500, but it's hardly spartan. The S430 comes with premium leather on the seats, seat backs, side panels, head restraints, magazine pockets, and door trim inserts. The seats are firm and multi-adjustable. We were surprised our S-Class didn't come with seat heaters, and it turns out they are optional on the S430 ($670, or $900 with heated steering wheel), standard on the S500.

The S500 adds premium leather to virtually all interior panels, including the center armrest and doors. It also gets glove-soft Nappa leather on the seating surfaces, though we were happy with the stiffer (and seemingly sturdier) standard leather. The S600 gets the glove-soft leather throughout.

The rear bench seat feels like an expensive sofa. There's a cavernous 40.3 inches of legroom back there, just one inch less than the front. The rear seats recline individually, if you check off that option, and heat with electric elements ($670). Four-place seating is available, providing rear occupants with bucket seats (a steep $6,010). Active ventilation is also available for the rear seats.

Mercedes says the design goal was to reduce driving stress as much as technology and good design sense would allow. Watch out for an ambush by oxymoron, however: Technology and good design sense often fight for control, and, at least initially, stress is sometimes increased rather than decreased. The instrument panel includes about six dozen switches and controls, some labeled with baffling icons, as if the translation from German to sign language had somehow come out Greek.

This car comes with its own video training course. The glovebox is crammed with operating manuals in black leather packets, including a separate one for the standard COMAND (COckpit MANagement and Data) system. This includes the GPS navigation, stereo and climate controls, and Tele Aid, which is basically a cellular help line for specific problem situations, including accidents and lockouts. In its latest incarnation, Tele Aid even includes traffic reports and concierge services. The Info Services provides web-based customized information including news, stock quotes, sports and weather.

Reduce driving stress? The sheer mass of the manuals is stress-inducing. It's daunting to think about all the controls you have to learn to master so you can feel like a master of the universe. And even if you fully understand them, it would take so much attention to keep all the auxiliary systems perfectly tuned, all the potential for information fully optimized, that a co-pilot would be helpful. Maybe that's where the voice command feature comes in. Some stuff you can just tell the car to do, and hope it understands you. But first you have to learn its language, and it yours.

Ergonomics-wise, the center console has great support for your right knee, bracing your throttle foot. But there's nothing on the left, no real dead pedal, and not enough support on the standard seats for your thighs, so your legs get pitched during aggressive cornering. We know, the S500 is a luxury car, not a sports car, but if you offer a suspension that boasts level cornering, as Mercedes ABC system does, the driver might be expected to use it. The S55 AMG solves this problem with aggressively bolstered sport seats.

The S430 we drove featured a substantial cupholder sprouting from the left side of the passenger seat. It works well, but it rubs against the passenger's left leg and we couldn't figure out how to remove or stow it. Speaking of stowing things, there aren't enough places to stow things in the S-Class. Also, drivers who are not familiar with the Mercedes s