Locally assembled Mercedes-Benz S 500 L goes for just under RM1 million!

Mercedes-Benz S 500 L

Mercedes-Benz Malaysia can probably enter the Malaysian Book of Records now for the most expensive locally assembled car sold in Malaysia if they wish thanks to their new CKD Mercedes-Benz S 500 L.

The local boys from Stuttgart claim that the quality control adheres to the same strict level as the European plant or else the car would not be allowed to be sold, as the S-Class is a very important model for them and there are standards to adhere to. The reason for the local assembly is so that the price can be brought down as a CBU S 500 L could cost over RM400k more than its current price of RM998,888.00.

Under the hood is a 5.5 litre V8 engine producing 488 horsepower and 530Nm of torque between a wide-ish 2,800 to 4,800rpm, decent for a normally aspirated engine. This engine is mated to Merc’s own 7G-Tronic transmission with 7 cogs. 0 to 100km/h takes only 5.4 seconds but although I’ve yet to (and probably never) try it, I bet the car does it with a refinement that’s very different from powerful small cars with that kind of power.

The AIRMATIC system is still there of course, a trademark S-Class feature – the 7-Series only recently added air suspension to the F01 but for the rear axle only. AIRMATIC works together with Adaptive Damping System (ADS) which continuously regulates within 50ms the shock absorber characteristics and takes into account the road conditions, driving style and vehicle load. When the car is in sport mode, the suspension is automatically lowered by up to 20mm to improve handling and aerodynamics.

With such a high-end model, there’s also lots of driver-aid gadgets. The Brake Assist PLUS system detects cars ahead by radar and gives a warning if the gap is too small or the approach speed is too high. It will pre-arm the brakes and brake appropriately even if the driver puts too little pressure on the brake pedal for the kind of stopping power that the system calculates is needed.

DISTRONIC PLUS also uses radar and keeps the S 500 L at the pre-set distance and speed from the vehicle ahead of it, and even works when the car needs to stop to a stand-still. Once the car in front moves again, the S 500 L will accelerate back to the pre-set speed and maintains the pre-set distance.

The instrument cluster can display an infrared view of the road ahead during the night. It uses two infrared headlamps to illuminate the road to a range that’s extended beyond the driver’s range of vision on low beam.

GPS navigation is via the COMAND APS system, which also manages the in-car entertainment and other interior controls. The maps are stored on a hard drive and maps of Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand are pre-loaded. The S 500 L also adds a TV tuner, Harman Kardon Logic7 audio, and a 6-disc DVD changer to the in-car entertainment system. Rear passengers have their own display (2 displays – one 8 inch display installed on each front seat headrest) so they can watch DVDs or TV or other entertainment devices without distracting the driver.

The front seats have 12-way adjustments, and both the front and rear seats have this design called “multicontour technology” which uses multiple air chambers in the seats which can be individually adjusted. Depending on the steering angle, lateral acceleration and road speed, the piezo valves in the air chambers vary the inflation pressure and volume of the air chambers in the sides of the backrests within fractions of a second, providing the driver and front passenger with better lateral support. The rear seats also have the benefit of a massage function. All seats bear the seal of approval of “Aktion Gesunder Rücken”, a German organisation which tests products for spine-friendly design.

Mercedes-Benz also claims they conducted a scientific study between the S-Class and competing models on an approximately 500km long route and they found that the same driving and traffic conditions, the average heart rate of drivers in the Mercedes saloon was up to six percent (or five beats per minute) lower than that of drivers in competing models.

This probably means the S-Class driver is relaxed and less stressed, allowing him to concentrate on the traffic situation and maintains his performance reserves for safe, confident responses in critical situations.

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Paul Tan

After dabbling for years in the IT industry, Paul Tan initially began this site as a general blog covering various topics of personal interest. With an increasing number of readers paying rapt attention to the motoring stories, one thing led to another and the rest, as they say, is history.

 

Comments

  • wrong-turn (Member) on Nov 27, 2008 at 12:45 am

    great,,, i want to order one soon!

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  • chee89 (Member) on Nov 27, 2008 at 12:52 am

    cool! now to pick up my rm1million lying on my floor and buy one of these for lower heart rate while driving : )

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  • kahing (Member) on Nov 27, 2008 at 1:22 am

    In this car, the driver can even read newspaper while cruising down the freeway. Or maybe make a pot of tea to go with it. Or even better, take a nap and only wakes up when the car auto-stops itself. LoL

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  • droll (Member) on Nov 27, 2008 at 8:08 am

    what? a lower heart rate? and lose out on burning calories while driving or being driven? LOL

    still, it’s quite an achievement that we have the expertise and equipment to assemble this techno-car locally. kudos.

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  • narrowband (Member) on Nov 27, 2008 at 9:15 am

    Lower heart rate — Certainly handy when driving ’round KL roads. Should sell well in Penang.

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  • ardley (Member) on Nov 27, 2008 at 10:32 am

    applause also to workers of DRB-HICOM Pekan (AMM) which assembler this car…

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  • pirate (Member) on Nov 27, 2008 at 10:56 am

    Local assembly quality from Merc’s Pekan plant is of same quality as the ones imported from Germany?

    You seriously buying that, Paul? I have been driving an E200K (CKD) for 3 years now. The difference in built quality and finishing is palpably inferior from the ones from Germany. E.g. check out the rear bumper left-hand side panel gap with the body of all pre-facelift CKD W211 models. Also check out the allignment of railings of its CKD panoramic roof versus the CBU units.

    What a load of bull shite and propaganda coming from MBM’s Marketing & PR Dept.!

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  • pirate (Member) on Nov 27, 2008 at 11:08 am

    Lowering of heart rate of 5 beats per minute? There are many more other cost-effective ways of achieving this (exercise is one of the healthier option), you don’t need to foolishly splurge RM1 million for that. After all, this is a bloody chauffeur-driven limo, so does the filthy-rich owner experience lowered heart rate as well?

    In due course, when all the electronics gizmos start flagging error codes in the form of Xmas tree lights in the intrument panel, I wonder how the heart rate of the driver would be. Driving to such an overpriced Merc to an authorised SC, will the owner (or driver) still enjoy his slower pulse…or otherwise?

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  • LittleFire85 (Member) on Nov 27, 2008 at 11:45 am

    Maybe the merc is aiming this model to those rich ah pek or dude which have heart problems… :P

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  • pirate (Member) on Nov 27, 2008 at 11:59 am

    Remember Mercedes-Benz Msia’s (MBM) infamous screw-up with their new C-Class (W204) production capability (or the lack thereof), resulting ridiculously long waiting time for owners-to-be?

    Now MBM has the decency to claim this ASSEMBLY plant is of world class, of the same standard as their parent MANUFACTURING plant in Germany? What a bloody joke!

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  • Gallardo1988 (Member) on Nov 27, 2008 at 12:02 pm

    Hah Pirate, you’re completely missing the point. Here’s an advice, stop pissing on things if your aim is off centre.

    The point they’re trying to prove is that the S-class has an overall better ambience compared to its competitors, hence the more relaxed feel when driving. They’re not making you pay that amount for that perk. Ur line of logic is completely tangent to the norm.

    You do have a point at electronics failing, but come on, you’re depicting the scenario as if the instant the guy drives off the Merc showroom premise, he’ll have enough illumination going on his instrument panel to induce heart palpitations.

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  • realALPINAowner (Member) on Nov 27, 2008 at 12:54 pm

    cannot comment too much due to not driving a Merc.but is the quality too bad? I really hope to believe our Malaysian people can do same as what German people capable of…..

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  • pirate (Member) on Nov 27, 2008 at 2:54 pm

    Gallardo1998,

    Do you own a Merc? Have you had a W204 C-Class booking cancelled? Have you been to a Mercedes authorised SC countless of times?

    How can you be cock sure that the S-Class have better overall ambience? Just based on their claim of lower resting pulse rate? Have you actually drove the new Jaguar XF? Seen and felt its interior on the go?

    I wouldn’t want to pay RM1 million for a CKD Merc, would you?
    Do you work for Mercedes-Benz Malaysia?

    This is an open online forum, I am sure I can relate to Mercedes-Benz and its issues better than you. So think hard (and twice!) before accusing me of missing my aim dude!

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  • kington (Member) on Nov 27, 2008 at 6:21 pm

    Of late the quality of Mercs have somewhat suffered. Not just here in Malaysia but also in many other parts of the world. My uncle’s E240 is one of the many examples of him being frustrated and regretted leaving the Volvo stablemate to join the Stuttgart outfit.

    Rattling noises, loud engines, faulty power window are among some problems he’s been stuck with since his E240 arrived in 2007.

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  • csv (Member) on Nov 27, 2008 at 8:17 pm

    is “insert any state here ” government buying this to replace Perdana V6?

    hahahahaha!

    close to 1 million leh. thats like 2 semi d, 1 bungalow, hell lot of FD interest , 300 proton saga, on the road….

    i know for damn sure, if i had that much money, i would spend it on 1 car alone……dang.

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  • mitlanevo (Member) on Nov 27, 2008 at 11:40 pm

    aiyo guys, come on lah…… nothing in this world is perfect, right? if really want the BEST, then pray to God and hope that God makes u kaya so u can immediately order a Maybach or Rolls Royce…. (but i bet these 2 brands also got minor problems….. nothing is perfect, really……)

    anyway, this S-class is definitely going head to head against 7-series….

    so many tech stuff, fuyohhhhh….

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  • cheaka (Member) on Nov 28, 2008 at 9:12 am

    Still prefer the CLS!!!!….more sporty lookin’….

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  • ALPINA Burkard Bovensiepen GMBH + Co. KG (Member) on Nov 28, 2008 at 9:45 am

    stupid purchase , i rather have the Audi S8, bmw 750li, jaguar xjr or maserati quattroporte, plus all imported some more

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  • BanyakMasukWorkshop (Member) on Nov 28, 2008 at 10:49 am

    no surprise on the price.. this car has always been expensive whether CBU or CKD.. even the old S600 V12 15 years ago sold for over a million.

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  • Xx- Ferrari -xX (Member) on Dec 02, 2008 at 12:16 pm

    CKD—- u mean locally assembled….. plz think twice though u can save a lot !!!!

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  • ALPINA Burkard Bovensiepen GMBH + Co. KG (Member) on Dec 03, 2008 at 2:19 pm

    Xx- Ferrari -xX said,

    December 2, 2008 @ 12:16 pm

    CKD—- u mean locally assembled….. plz think twice though u can save a lot !!!!
    —————————————
    ckd – cars easily knocked down : in 3 months rosak.

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  • --pininfarina-- (Member) on Dec 05, 2008 at 9:49 pm

    mitlanevo said,
    anyway, this S-class is definitely going head to head against 7-series….
    so many tech stuff, fuyohhhhh….
    ———————————————————————–
    Better wait for the all-new BMW 7-Series. Chris Bangle and his team will thrash the Mercedes’ S-Klasse. Totally sucks. All hail BMW.

    p.s. The current International Engine Of The Year powers the BMW 740i.

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  • --pininfarina-- (Member) on Dec 05, 2008 at 9:49 pm

    mitlanevo said,
    anyway, this S-class is definitely going head to head against 7-series….
    so many tech stuff, fuyohhhhh….
    ———————————————————————–
    Better wait for the all-new BMW 7-Series. Chris Bangle and his team will thrash the Mercedes’ S-Klasse. Totally sucks. All hail BMW.

    p.s. The current International Engine Of The Year powers the BMW 740i.

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  • justin (Member) on Dec 10, 2008 at 4:29 am

    this car is producing 388 PS/382HP instead of 488HP

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  • Kiyoshi Manabe on Apr 25, 2009 at 10:26 pm

    I admire this car, and the Malaysian's buying power!!!!

    The locally-assembled Mercedes S500L costs as much as the comfortable condominium on the suburbs of Kuala Lumpur, doesn't it!?

    I suppose the Mercedes S500L would be used as an official car for Malaysian prime minister. That's just gorgeous!

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