Introduction

There are certain situations that make you feel that you have made it big in life. Sure, getting a big house or gifting your wife a diamond set worth lakhs is a sign of things you have achieved. But the one thing that confirms it and shows to the world that you have become a big-shot is when you buy an ultra-luxury car.

Well, I got to live the kings life (albeit just for 24 hours) when we got to test out a new luxury super sedan from Mercedes-Benz. About 40 minutes into the drive, I was sitting in the back all snug and feeling luxurious but when I looked closely, I realised that I was sitting in the back of an ultra-luxurious and brand new Maybach S600!

It is the German automaker’s latest offering to appeal to its traditional client base. Buyers who have been with the brand for a while now as well as those who have come up in life and can now enter the luxury fold. For them, even the standard S-Class is not enough now.

To keep the ‘Elder Statesman’ happy and coming back for more, Mercedes has expanded its S-Class range and revived the famous Maybach moniker, but this time around, the Stuttgart giant has played it safe. This has given them some serious credibility but also robbed the Maybach of some identity.

Maybach S600

At first glance, the Maybach S600 would get eyeballed but could easily get passed off as just another S-Class. It is when you get closer that you see some of the minor details that make this car stand out. There are some lovely double M badges on the side and of course, there is the word Maybach splashed across the top of the boot lid. What differentiates the Maybach from the standard S-Class is its length, which is 27cm longer and also gets an additional 20cm between the wheels.

The design of the alloy wheels impressed me. It is reminiscent of the design that Mercedes-Benz used to offer on its cars in the early 2000s; a time when luxury cars were not so common on our roads. Although to some it may look too similar to the standard S, but considering it’s a German car, they go by the philosophy of lots of go and little show. Further, the less dramatic the car, the more importance the occupants get when they step out in front of the paparazzi (it’s really a question of sharing screen time).

Now a car like this is meant to make the occupants feel like royalty, and so were lucky enough to experience just that in this Rs 2.65-crore chariot. This called for a ‘uniform’ which comprised a formal jacket sunglasses and a nonchalant grin on my face. Donning my gear, I climbed into the backseat which is pretty much where most Maybach owners would plant themselves.

The interior is opulent in a subtle way thanks to a generous spread of glossy wood, white leather and high-quality plastics for most of the control surfaces. Business-class travel is perhaps the best term I could use to describe my experience at the back of the Maybach S600. You are cocooned in splendour and have a wide variety of toys at your disposal to make your journey as comfortable as possible.

You can be massaged in about 16 different ways (hot or cold) while enjoying a movie on the screen in front of you whose sounds will assault your senses through a 24-speaker Burmester music system. I found the COMAND system a bit confusing to use but it is something that takes time getting accustomed to. The left rear seat also has the option of stretching out completely (at the cost of the front passenger though) allowing you to recline in maximum comfort.

Other noticeable bits of luxury includes a glass roof which you can darken during sunny days, ambient colour options, rear cup holders with heating and cooling function, an optional fridge and fold out tables which reside inside the rear armrest when not in use. The sound insulation is just fantastic thanks to the thickly padded cabin and double-paned glass which keeps out the outside noise. This is also the first car in India to be fitted with inflatable seat belt airbags.

A car like this will spend most of its lifetime with someone in the backseat. But what if the owner wants to shuffle over to the front and spend some time behind the wheel? There seems to be more than enough to justify their brave venture.

I had used the term all go and little show earlier in the feature and perhaps one of the most apt things to fit this description is the S600’s power plant. It’s a massive 6.0-litre twin-turbo V12 that produces 530bhp and a mammoth 830Nm of torque all going to the rear wheels via a seven-speed AT. The power figure may not seem that high when you consider the size of the engine but that is mostly because this car is all about cruising in comfort, refinement and arriving somewhere rather than racing to the destination. The V12 configuration means it has been easier for Mercedes-Benz to make the engine refined and quiet.

Thumb the starter button and the V12 comes on with a muted growl and quickly settles into an idle. On the move, the car is very refined and smooth and you can achieve triple digit speeds north of 140kmph without making the engine put in any real effort. However, this is a very bizarre kind of fast thanks to the extreme insulation and would take some getting use if you are the one behind the wheel.

Given the large engine and pedigree of the car, we just had to find out what the real world numbers were for the Maybach S600. Firstly, it does the 0-100kmph sprint in 5.4 seconds and will go on to hit an electronically limited top speed of 255kmph in just under 30 seconds. These sportscar (ish) numbers are even more incredible when you consider the fact that this car weighs 2.3 tonnes! The throttle has been programmed to match the characteristic of the car and is quite laid back, a sign that you are meant to cruise rather than fly.

Considering its size, we also found it easy to drive in bumper-to-bumper traffic though it will take a while to get your head around the proportions of the car. Aids like multiple cameras and proximity sensors help the Maybach carve out its own space in the urban jungle.

After spending a whole day with the car going fast, going slow, soaking in luxury and observing it from all angles, I concluded that it seems worth the money. It may have lost some of its individuality after coming under the S-Class banner but that does not matter as the S-Class by itself is a damn good car and this is an even better version of it. This is also an option for those who want comfort but just very little of the flashiness that the luxury British marquees offer with their machines.

Range Round-up

The Maybach is being offered in two variants: the S600, which we drove, is a CBU priced at Rs 2.65 crore (Ex-showroom Delhi) and the Rs 1.70 crore S500 which is locally assembled. They are virtually identical save for the change in the engine.

Photos: Kapil Angane