Get back on board with the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class

Even as I drive the brand-new Mercedes-Maybach S-Class on the beautiful rural roads of Santa Barbara in California, it’s difficult to imagine anyone who lives here actually buying one. Santa Barbara is the embodiment of quiet, discreet money, where everything looks like it could have been designed by a 1960s Hanna-Barbera cartoonist. It’s sleepy, with affluent agricultural communities nestling alongside the homes of the great and the good. It’s a place where people take up flying lessons just for something to do on the weekends; a place where practically every home has its own swimming pool; and the American dream is writ large in the minds of all who reside here or visit from afar. But the Maybach, as luxurious as it undoubtedly is, just doesn’t fit in.

Reach Los Angeles after a 90-minute drive south on the world-famous Pacific Coast Highway, however, and it would be an entirely different story. Beverly Hills, the sprawling backstreets and lots of Hollywood, the relatively compact downtown area, the palm tree-lined broad boulevards and enclaves of Santa Monica are this heavyweight’s natural stomping ground – and you can safely assume that, soon enough, LA, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and other bustling cities will be hosting plentiful collections of the most exclusive and opulent S-Class there ever was.

Maybach built its first car in 1919 and quickly carved out a niche for opulent vehicles that are now highly prized by collectors. Mercedes-Benz bought the company in 1960, using the name occasionally, whenever an ultra-luxurious, practically hand-built model was produced. Then in 2002, Mercedes launched two stand-alone Maybach models to compete with Rolls-Royce and Bentley (both of which it had had the chance to buy in the 1990s but missed out on). But there was no disguising the cars’ inherent weaknesses, based as they were on old S-Class platform technology. Sales tanked and over the ensuing decade only 3,000 were sold worldwide.

Mercedes built its last Maybach in December 2012, but the name would not die. In November 2014, the company announced the imminent arrival of a new S-Class “sub-brand”, the new Mercedes-Maybach S-Class, although “sub” doesn’t do this car any justice. It is superior in just about every respect.

Its maker has been doing some serious homework – entirely necessary when resurrecting the name of a brand that previously failed and one that will be aimed squarely at what Mercedes calls the world’s “ultra-rich”. In 2014, according to those in the know, 211,275 people had among them US$30 trillion (Dh110 trillion) in cash reserves and assets. Within the next five years, that figure is expected to change to 250,000 people sharing some $40 trillion (Dh147 trillion). That’s an average wealth of $160 billion (Dh587.7bn) for each of those individuals. To put this into some perspective, Mercedes-Benz as an entire global company is worth “just” $34.34bn (Dh125bn).

Yet despite planning to supply Maybach S-Classes to unimaginably wealthy customers, the pricing of its new flagship isn’t as outrageous as you might imagine (Middle East numbers are still to be confirmed, but in Europe you can buy the V8-engined S-500 for what is, frankly, a steal at €134,053 [Dh569,072], while the S-600 model starts at €187,841 [Dh800,000]). The company is making no secret of the fact that it’s gunning for Bentley and Rolls-Royce clientele, and the product is a worthy adversary for the Flying Spur, as well as the extended wheelbase Ghost, respectively. But can a company whose three-pointed star mascot is attached to articulated lorries and a burgeoning fleet of 1970s Beirut taxis ever have the cachet required to sway those about to spend with the two aforementioned British institutions?

Even on the briefest of first acquaintances, I’m inclined to say yes, particularly considering the inestimable brand loyalty that Mercedes enjoys around the world. Sure, it’s had its ups and downs quality-wise, as have the others, but the past few years have seen it improve everything from engineering to styling. Take a long, lingering look at the devastatingly handsome S-Class Coupé and you’ll see what I mean – this is no car for retired dentists; rather, it’s a beast of a machine that appeals to those with an appreciation for aesthetic beauty and, depending on what engine is under its bonnet, brutal performance.

Mercedes isn’t saying how many Maybachs it hopes to sell each year but it’s expecting only five per cent of global sales to take place in our region (half what it expects to be taken up by the whole of the United States). Sixteen per cent is expected to be Russia’s share but it’s Asia and the Pacific Rim countries that will make up the lion’s share with 60 per cent, the vast majority going to China. This makes perfect sense because many wealthy Chinese have no interest whatsoever in driving themselves. They prefer to take the back seat while someone else deals with the stresses of the road. And who can blame them?

It’s an experience I get to enjoy myself, chauffeur-driven from the main launch venue back to my hotel in Santa Barbara. How is it? I can’t really tell you because I am fast asleep for the majority of the 90 minutes it takes to complete the journey. But that’s as good a recommendation as any because I cannot remember the last time I felt comfortable or relaxed enough in a car’s rear quarters to nod off.

Before I slip into deep slumber, however, I manage to prod and press as many buttons as possible, all in the name of research. And I discover some incredibly useful functionality that would otherwise have escaped my attention. Technology that’s been harnessed and utilised to actively improve the journeys of those fortunate enough to be here.

On the rear of each front seat is a large, high-definition television screen, much like you’d find in Etihad’s newest business-class cabins. These are used as infotainment displays that allow complete functionality, with such things as multi-option massage programmes and live traffic updates just a touch away, all controlled via the smartphone that’s nestling in one of the centre consoles. And when I say live traffic updates, I’m talking full visual information, with traffic camera footage from your chosen route fed directly to your retinas. Like the systems on-board passenger jets, the information constantly cycles, showing weather systems (current and predicted) and a host of other information that’s actually useful for the executives who’ll be using these things.

Open up the leather-covered upper centre console between the rear seats and you’ll discover a fridge, complete with bottle rack. Ahead, once you’ve opened a lengthy veneered timber cover, you’ll find special recesses to house your chosen type of glass, with a thermal pad beneath one of them to keep hot drinks hot and cold drinks cold. Opening yet another cubby box reveals two foldaway tables – one for each passenger – like you’d find within the armrest of a passenger jet, only these ones are sturdy enough to write cheques and sign contracts on. I wonder out loud if there’s anything that hasn’t been catered for in the back of the new Maybach, but no; everything you could possibly need or desire is right here at your fingertips.

How does it drive? That’s an irrelevance for most potential owners, but if you are interested in how your personal chauffeur will find life behind its leather and wood steering wheel, I did spend an hour or so up-front earlier on. As my driving partner was sprawled out behind the front passenger seat (it conveniently folds itself up like it’s assuming the brace position, so as to facilitate maximum legroom), luxuriating on his almost flat rear armchair, I took the tiller. And I can confirm that it’s a much heavier, more demanding steer than the S-Class it’s based upon. But it suits its character, with a regal, imperious air that encourages a smoother, more relaxed driving manner. Lest we forget, there is still a V12 engine with two turbochargers helping it punch out 530hp so, when you need it to, the S-600 will leap like a cat that’s just had its tail trodden on. One never knows when one might need to escape the unwanted attentions of others, after all.

But this car isn’t about the drive. It’s about providing its rear occupants with the ultimate experience and this it does with aplomb. It’s actually the quietest production car in the world and refinement courses through its veins. And despite my initial reservations that it would be little more than an extended wheelbase S-Class with another 200mm added to its wheelbase, the Maybach model is so much more. It’s a stunning return to form and represents the very finest that Germany has to offer. It’s a landmark vehicle in every respect and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the UAE proves to be an even bigger market for it than Mercedes-Benz has predicted. It’s no Santa Barbara cruiser, that’s for sure, but as a way of travelling across the emirates, I can think of nothing finer. Cancel that order for the LearJet – you don’t need it. You’ll want to take the Maybach S-Class instead; it is a majestic automobile in the finest possible tradition.