Back in June 2021, India received the all-new S-Class. Unfortunately, courtesy of the direct import route it took, the starting price of Rs 2.17 crore was a bit too much. But now, Mercedes-Benz India has started the local assembly of the limousine in question. And because of that, the ex-showroom prices have come down. There are two variants – the 350 d and the 450 4MATIC. The former now costs Rs 1.57 crore, whereas the latter demands Rs 1.62 crore. The 400 d variant is no longer on offer.

The petrol-powered S-Class, 450 4MATIC, gets a 3.0-litre, six-cylinder powerplant that pumps out 362bhp/500Nm. Coupled to it is a 48-volt mild-hybrid system which, in specific circumstances, aids the engine with an additional 21bhp/250Nm. On the other hand, the diesel-fed version packs a 2.9-litre turbocharged unit that produces 282bhp/600Nm. A 9-speed automatic transmission harnesses the oomph and feeds it to all four wheels in the petrol variant and only the rear ones in the diesel. As a result, the petrol S-Class can hit 100kmph from nothing in 5.1 seconds, whereas the diesel takes 1.3 seconds longer to complete the same sprint. In both cases, the top speed is electronically limited to 250kmph.

There’s another reason why the locally assembled S-Class is more affordable than the ‘Launch Edition’ from earlier this year. What is it? A few toys are missing. But that isn’t something to worry about because the S-Class still have buckets loads of them. The list includes a panoramic sliding sunroof, Keyless-Go with flush door handles, connected-car tech, a 12.8-inch touchscreen infotainment system with the latest MBUX and 64-colour ambient lighting. Features such as four-zone automatic climate control, two wireless mobile chargers, a 15-speaker Burmester sound system and a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster are also available.

Of course, there’s a lot more. On the safety front, the S-Class packs stuff like Active Lane Keeping Assist, Pre-Safe Plus, Active Blind Spot Assist, Active Brake Assist with Cross-Traffic and Active Distance Assist. Mercedes-Benz has even introduced the Car-to-X tech. That simply means cars equipped with this tech can virtually connect via a cloud server. As a result, they can send out alerts upon detecting potholes, heavy rain, a speed bump and traffic.

In India, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class competes directly with the Audi A8 and the BMW 7 Series. Out of the three, which one is your dream car?