Mercedes car is day spa on wheels

It’s not a car, it’s a day spa on wheels. The most advanced car in the world -- the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class limousine -- has gone on sale in Australia.

But its increased ability to avoid a crash thanks to six radar beams, eight cameras and 12 parking sensors -- and the ability to smooth out potholes before you hit them -- has been overshadowed by a “hot stone massage” function in the two front seats and the claim it can improve the breathing of asthma sufferers by 15 per cent.

Seat massagers are not new but the $220,000 mega-Mercedes takes it to new levels, with a "hot stone" function that heats sections of the seat at up to 55 degrees Celsius.

The 14 air chambers in each of the two front seats can be programmed to give up to six different types of massage, one of which is called "workout".

Mercedes says the massage function is a safety benefit, not a distraction, because the body is being kept active. "If the driver is more alert and more comfortable, they’re less fatigued and therefore better able to respond to critical driving situations," says Gordon Jones, Mercedes-Benz Australia’s product manager for the S-Class.

Mercedes-Benz claims "charcoal filters made from coconut shells" and a special ioniser can "increase lung capacity by 15 per cent" by reducing dust, pollen, air pollution and farming chemicals.  

With safety technology reaching its peak, the company credited with inventing the automobile has turned its attention to driver comfort. A world first, two cameras in the windscreen scan the road ahead looking for potholes -- then prepare the suspension in milliseconds to soften the bump.

The Mercedes-Benz S-Class can also slam the brakes automatically from 7km/h to 200km/h (for German autobahns) if it detects you’re about to hit the car in front. And it can park itself at the press of a button (just as a Holden Commodore, Volkswagen Golf or Ford Focus can).

But Mercedes has fitted a radar beam to the back of the car to detect if it is about to rear-ended. If an impact is imminent, it tightens the seatbelts and adjusts the headrests in milliseconds. The headrests, incidentally, are filled with goose down. In addition to the heated and cooled seats, there are now heated arm rests to go with the Business Class reclining rear seats (that come with seatbelt airbags).

They complement the heated and cooled cup holders -- and the heated steering wheel. There are also four different types of fragrances built into the air-conditioning -- which the company claims won’t leave a scent on your clothes or overpower the new-car smell -- although Mercedes-Benz resisted the urge to join Lexus with a built-in moisturiser.

Auto electricians may be in for a shock trying to get their head around the S-Class’s 734 wiring harnesses, 2400 wires and 5km of cables -- driven by 144 computer-control units. The telephone, navigation, audio and TV “telematics” system is run by 30 million lines of code -- and there is an optional 24-speaker, 1540-watt sound system.

Before you scoff at such automotive excess, it’s worth noting that luxury cars eventually drive new technology into affordable vehicles. Across seven generations over 62 years the S-Class sedan was the first Mercedes to have a crumple zone (1959), anti-lock brakes (1978), an airbag (1981), and stability control (1995), safety equipment now standard on every car from a $12,990 Suzuki Alto.

This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling

Mercedes-Benz S-Class

Price: from $220,000 (estimated)

Safety:

Nine airbags (plus two optional for a tally of 11)
Six radar beams
- 2 x short-range radars at the front (30 m, 80°)
- 1 x long-range radar at the front (200 m, 18°) with medium-range (60 m, 60°)
- 2 x short-range radars on the sides at the rear (30 m, 80°)
- 1 x multi-mode radar at the rear (30 m, 80° and 80 m, 16°)
Eight cameras
- 2 x cameras in the windscreen (range 500 m, incl. 3D capability for approx. 50 m, 45°)
- 4 x cameras as part of a 360° camera system (1 each in the radiator grille, bootlid, exterior mirrors), vertical angle of approx. 130°, horizontal > 180°, resolution 1 MP (1280-800 pixels)
- 2 x for optional night vision system
12 ultrasonic parking sensors
- 4 x front and rear, plus 2 each on the left/right in the front and rear bumpers
Radar cruise control slams the brakes between 7km/h and 200km/h if a crash is imminent
Rear radar beam scans for a rear-end shunt, prepares seatbelts and headrests before an impact
Lane-keeping camera will “steer” the car into its lane if you wander without indicating
Camera scans the road ahead for potholes, prepares suspension to soften the bump

Technology:

Front seats have 14 motors for six different types of massage including a “hot stone massage” up to 55 degrees Celsius
Heated arm rests
Reclining “Business Class” rear seats with seatbelt airbags
Filtered air-conditioning said to improve air quality by 15 per cent and help asthma sufferers
Four built-in perfume settings in the air-conditioning
500 LEDs lights (first car in the world without a conventional light bulb)

What the brochure says:

Gudrun Schönherr, a physiotherapist and psychologist, explains: “Sitting in a car in a position imposing sternocostal stresses (i.e. with the back arched) often leads to tension in the neck/shoulder area, a constrained chest cavity and therefore less freedom to breathe.”

Following a pre-massage, heat is centrally and locally applied along the entire spine from the coccyx to the neck vertebrae. The centre chambers are fully inflated with air. Thanks to this pressure the warmth … is perceived very intensively -- feeling similar to successively laid-down, heated stones on the hot-stone principle.

While the heat and pressure of the "hot stones" are taking effect, the back, pelvis and shoulder areas are massaged and mobilised. The programmes of the energizing massage function have a duration of 12 to 15 minutes.