Mercedes-Benz S300 News

Mercedes-Benz's expanding Australian line-up is nearing 100 options, but each model, including niche and low volume vehicles has to pull its weight, according to the German car-maker.

6149 vehicles have been recalled including the Mazda RX-8 and new Volkswagen Tiguan.

There is so much convenience in today’s basic cars, even something like a Kia Cerato, that the top-end brands are changing their approach to luxury.

A vote by 75 motoring journalists from 22 countries has awarded the compact prestige car the World Car of the Year award for 2015.It finished on top of a 24-car field and eventually beat the two other finalists, the Ford Mustang and Volkswagen Passat.The other big prizes for 2015, Green Car of the Year and Performance Car of the Year, went to the plug-in hybrid BMW i8 and the Mercedes-AMG GT coupe.The winners were announced at the New York Motor Show today at an event hosted by Bridgestone Corporation and Autoneum at the culmination of a six-month voting process.The C-Class delivers levels of refinement, luxury, safety, ride and handling that challenge best-in-class.The awards are in their 11th year and previous winners include the Audi A6, BMW 3 Series, Lexus LS460 and Volkswagen Golf, Polo and Up.To be eligible for the overall World Car award, candidate cars must have become available for sale on at least two continents between January 1, 2014 and May 31, 2015.The WCOTY wins by Mercedes-Benz follow its victories in the Green Car contest in 2007 with the E320 Bluetec and 2012 with the S 250 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY and its Luxury Car success with the S Class in 2014.“We are extremely delighted of winning the honour of World Car of the Year,” says the chairman of Daimler, Dr Dieter Zetsche.The WCOTY victory follows a similar success for the C-Class in the CarsGuide Car of the Year award.The WCOTY judging panel says: “Taking its design and technological cues from the S-Class, the C-Class employs an all-new aluminium/steel hybrid platform and updated rear-drive powertrains that delivers levels of refinement, luxury, safety, ride and handling that challenge best-in-class.” WORLD CAR OF THE YEAR AWARDS 2015Overall winner: Mercedes-Benz C-ClassGreen Car: BMW i8Performance Car: Mercedes-AMG GTLuxury Car: Mercedes-Benz S CoupeDesign: Citroen CactusPREVIOUS WORLD COTY WINNERS:2014: Audi A32013: Volkswagen Golf2012: Volkswagen Up2011: Nissan Leaf2010: Volkswagen Polo2009: Volkswagen Golf2008: Mazda22007: Lexus LS4602006: BMW 3 Series2005: Audi A6

New S-Class Coupe to make Australian debut at Motorclassica, along with appearances from Maserati, Jaguar, Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin and Lotus.Melbourne's Royal Exhibition Building will play host to Motorclassica this weekend, as over 500 cars and motorcycles fill the world-heritage listed building and its surrounding grounds.Celebrating classic cars and bikes, Motorclassica started as a concourse event but has since grown to become a motor show-style exhibition which has attracted attention from several iconic sports car marques.Among the classic cars at this year's event will be new models from Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, Porsche, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin, Lotus, Caterham and Morgan.Each of these brands have rich histories, and Motorclassica gives manufacturers a platform to build on this heritage with their latest models.S-Class Coupe will be available with a number of powertrains, including the 430kW/900Nm AMG 5.5-litre twin-turbo V8Mercedes-Benz was the first contemporary manufacturer to debut a new model at Motorclassica last year, and will use this year's event to reveal its new S-Class Coupe to an Australian audience for the first time.The new model is Mercedes' flagship luxury coupe, replacing the CL-Class range, and will rival the Bentley Continental when it goes on sale locally in the first quarter of next year.Though Australian specifications are still unconfirmed, the S-Class Coupe will be available with a number of powertrains, including the 430kW/900Nm AMG 5.5-litre twin-turbo V8 aboard the S63 performance flagship.Maserati will celebrate 100 years in the automotive business at this year's show and is expected to be represented strongly with iconic past models. The Italian marque's new Ghibli and Quattroporte sedans will also be on display, along with the Gran Turismo and Gran Cabrio two-door models.Jaguar will showcase its F-Type R Coupe, the firm's most powerful production model ever, while fellow British brand Aston Martin will have a Vanquish and V8 Vantage on display.Lotus will also show a pair of mid-engine Exige S sports cars, one hardtop and one roadster.The show will also celebrate 50 years of the Ford Mustang with a special display featuring the most desirable and classic Pony cars, although the new 2015 model due to go on sale in Australia next year won't make the show.Motorclassica 2014 will run between October 24-26 at Melbourne's Royal Exhibition Building.

THE Audi A3 small car -- which owes much of its DNA to the Volkswagen Golf -- has won the 2014 World Car of the Year, as voted by 69 jurors from 22 countries. The luxury hatch toppled the widely-tipped favourite, the Mazda3 from Japan, in the awards announced at the New York motor show today.The Audi A3 was among five German cars that took out a cleansweep of the 2014 World Car of the Year categories, and it was Audi’s second win in 10 years, having won the inaugural award. Indeed, German cars have won seven of the past 10 World Car of the Year awards, Japanese brands have won the remaining three.Accepting the award on behalf of the company, Audi's North America president Scott Keogh said: “The Audi A3 has only been on sale three weeks and already it’s off to a flying start.”Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management of Audi, said: “This major award win is an achievement that the whole company can celebrate.”The Audi A3 was among 24 finalists that included the BMW i3 electric car, which won the Green Car of the Year and the Car Design of the Year. The Mercedes-Benz S-Class was the Luxury Car of the Year while the Porsche 911 GT3 was awarded top performance car honours.But the Mazda3 had emerged as an early favourite for the outright World Car of the Year award following rave reviews globally since it went on sale late last year. The previous generation Mazda3 has been Australia’s top selling car for two of the past three years, and was the vehicle that ended the Holden Commodore’s record 15-years as the market leader, in 2011.The Mazda3 is returned to the top of the sales charts so far this year -- after being overtaken by the Toyota Corolla in 2013 -- and is likely to take out top-seller status this year buoyed by the new model which went on sale in January.World car of the year winners2014 – Audi A32013 -- Volkswagen Golf Mk72012 -- Volkswagen Up2011 -- Nissan Leaf2010 -- Volkswagen Polo2009 -- Volkswagen Golf Mk62008 -- Mazda22007 -- Lexus LS4602006 -- BMW 3 Series2005 -- Audi A62014 World Car of The Year category winnersGreen car of the Year -- BMW i3 electric carCar Design of the Year -- BMW i3 electric carPerformance Car of the Year -- Porsche 911 GT3Luxury Car of the Year – Mercedes-Benz S-ClassThis reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling 

The starting price of the flagship Mercedes-Benz S-Class limousine has dipped below $200,000 for the first time in seven years.The latest introduction to the Mercedes-Benz S-Class range, the S300 diesel hybrid, will start at $195,000 plus on-road costs when it arrives mid-year.The last Mercedes-Benz S-Class to get close to this price was the S320 diesel in 2008, priced from $198,810 plus on-road costs.There will be one other sweetener for plutocrats on a budget: the new S300 diesel hybrid sips just 4.5L/100km, not much more than a Toyota Prius despite weighing close to two-tonnes.The S300 is powered by a 2.1-litre four-cylinder diesel engine matched to a 20kW electric motor that boosts acceleration from rest and when on the move.It can reach the speed limit in a respectably brisk 7.6 seconds thanks to the instant torque available from the electric motor.Australian versions of the S300 hybrid are due to go into production in April, with the first shipments arriving in local showrooms by June.The new S-Class has made a flying start to the 2014 sales race, outselling the BMW 7 Series by more than two-to-one in the first two months of the year, and 10 times more than the Audi A8.This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling 

Mercedes-Benz has revealed the two-door coupe version of its flagship S-Class, featuring everything from Swarovski crystal blinged headlights to world-first technology that lets it 'bank' on corners.The crystals are an extra option -- 17 for the daytime running lights and 30 for the indicator lights in each cluster -- that combine with the standard LED light clusters.The 'curve tilting' system allows the car to lean into bends in the same way a motorcycle would "reducing the lateral acceleration acting on the vehicle's occupants," the press statement says, adding that it improves ride comfort particularly on country roads. By which they mean European country roads rather than the rutted goat tracks with which some parts of Australia are blessed.Integrated into the vehicle's 'Magic Body Control' and 'Active Body Control' systems that monitor the road ahead and adjust the suspension in preparation, the tilt tech works to counter the laws of physics by leaning the vehicle almost instantaneously up to 2.5 degrees. The new system uses cameras to scan up to 15 metres ahead and calculate when and how far to tilt.Apart from the bedazzled headlight clusters, the styling is largely a toned-down version of the coupe concept that was unveiled in Frankfurt last September, with a face set off by an imposing grille and sleek roof line.Under the bonnet in S500 form is a twin-turbocharged 4.6-litre V8 engine developing 335kW of power and 700Nm of torque, driving the rear wheels. More versions will join the line-up after the unveiling, paralleling the sedan with an S63 carrying a 430kW/900Nm 5.5-litre turbo V8, while an AMG variant is also in the works.The S-Class Coupe is expected to arrive in Australia in the final quarter of this year, and while pricing has not yet been confirmed, it's unlikely to move too far from the CL-Class coupe it replaces as the S sedan's companion."We don't expect there will a significant change in pricing (from the CL-Class which opens  with the $336,500 CL500)," Mercedes-Benz Australia spokesman David McCarthy says, adding that there could be some increase on the usually single-figure annual sales."There'll be some uplift in volume -- there always is," he says. Plus CL buyers are some of our most loyal. After the launch of the last one, a customer stopped by Mercedes-Benz Express to drop his three-year-old CL off before a flight, saw the new one sitting there and bought it the next day."McCarthy says the Australian range will over time grow to four variants. "We will of have V12 models in Australia -- there are customers that, no matter how good the V8 is, will always want the V12."So the S500 will be followed by the AMG, the S600 and S65 -- we're not bringing the 65 in the sedan but we will with the coupe.  The time frame is probably a bit stretched out for them to arrive, and at this stage don't know definitely what it will beAnd the Mercedes-Benz Australia is keen on getting the new curve tilt technology here as an option. "If it's available to us, we will have it. This is what our technology is about -- improving your life. If live is a matter of degrees, in the case of the S-Class coupe it's actually 2.5 degrees to make a difference."And having seen the car in the flesh, it's ... gorgeous isn't the right word, nor is stunning. It's just ...right."Watch the desktop version of the 2014 Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe trailer video here. This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

Confectionary brand M&M’s has also delivered a Super Bowl treat this week, with a new ad for the colourful button-shaped candies.Yellow – the peanut M&M character – is unknowingly taken captive by Russian underworld types, in the boot of an oh-so Russian baddie black S-Class Mercedes-Benz.The head mobster has his eye on tasty chopped peanut M&M icecream topping, and the oblivious Yellow is all for it. Watch the desktop version of the M&M's Super Bowl ad here. This reporter is on Twitter: @Mal_Flynn 

Earlier this week, Jaguar released an ad that spoofed Mercedes-Benz's 'chicken' ad -- which used the gimbal-like qualities of a chook's head and body to highlight the high-tech suspension of the German brand's flagship S-Class.The Jaguar video ad pooh-poohed the idea of the Mercedes 'Magic Ride' system, with the British brand saying "we prefer cat-like reflexes" and introducing the fowl to the Jaguar -- with the expected results.Today Mercedes has fired a returning salvo, with the ad below, showing they're not averse to a bit of luxury brand banter.We're hoping this turns into a similar car ad war to the battles fought in the US by Audi and BMW with a series of ads, kicked off by a billboard in California, with a later skirmish in Hong Kong. That volley started on the theme of which brand had the best claim to being a luxury badge, and later moved to a comparison between beauty and performance -- with some other brands tipping in. The point and counterpoint kept us all amused, and social media aflame, for some time.In the end, nothing is decided by the exercise. But there are no losers when the major car brands show they have a sense of humour behind all the usual marketing spin.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincottWatch the Jaguar chicken ad on or desktop site.Watch the Mercedes-Benz chicken ad on or desktop site.