As you step into the car, you are greeted by what is one of the best cabins, its more like a swish living room and less like a car's interior. There’s plenty of wood and chrome trim carefully garnished all around the cabin to go with the bucketfuls of fine-grain Nappa leather. It is equipped with the insanely comfortable rear-seat package that offers two cooled/heated bucket seats worthy of being called 'thrones' with the Hot Stone massage function. These can make the comfiest recliner you've sat yourself in look like ordinary chairs. Open the centre armrest console, and you find cup holders that are heated and cooled, as well as two airliner-inspired foldaway aluminium tables.
These first class-spec seats can be reclined by 43.5 degrees, and can be converted into a sofa for a quick nap. At the mere press of a button, the backrest reclines, the seat squab moves forward, and the extendable leg rest folds out. When you do that, the front passenger seat slides forward, creating acres of legroom for you, before an ottoman slides out for you to rest your feet on. Merc offers a brilliant 1540-watt Burmester 3D surround sound system with 24 speakers that come very close to giving you a live performance-like experience. And, like the regular S-Class, the Maybach, too, uses Mercedes’ Air Balance system of air ionisation and filtration, with the addition of an expensive agarwood essence.
As you would expect from Mercedes’ ultra luxury sedan, the Maybach gets the brilliant Magic Body Control function that works damn well in conjunction with the air suspension. The active dampers soak up bumps with poise, and almost completely smooth out road imperfections. You can even adjust the ride height, so you can raise the car while tackling those monstrous speed bumps our roads are full of. Plus, you can switch to Sport mode for dealing with sweeping corners and mountain roads. Body roll is kept to a bare minimum, and the car stays as flat as the laws of physics would permit. As mentioned, if you are buying one of this, you ought to be seated at the back. However, if you feel the urge of getting behind the wheel occasionally, this 2,405kg, 5.453-metre long swanky living room on wheels wouldn’t disappoint you much. And that’s because Mercedes has sourced a 6.0-litre, twin-turbo V12 from AMG that’s good for 523bhp and 830Nm of pulling power, coupled with a beautifully calibrated seven-speed auto 'box.
The Maybach comes with two driving modes: Comfort and Sport. In the latter, the Limo lunges forward with great intensity. Yes, it weighs in excess of 2.4 tons, but the V12 does a stellar job of getting this beast up to incredible speeds in no time. Handling, too, isn’t bad for a limo. The electronic steering wheel, along with the Magic Body Control, makes piloting the Maybach easy. With the Maybach S600, Mercedes has redefined limousines. Although it’s effortlessly quick and butter-smooth, the Maybach S600 is a car you won’t mind paying up additional money over the S, despite knowing you won't be driving it at all. It’s quieter than most meditation halls; comfortable enough to make you never want to get out of it. And, once all four doors are shut, the Maybach does a brilliant job of cosseting its passengers; isolating their world from the crazy one outside.
Overall, there are features that even the heads at Rolls-Royce and Bentley would applaud the German carmaker for. The Rolls and the Bentleys have more distinct identities, which the S-Class-turned-Maybach doesn’t have. But, if understated luxury is what you seek, then this is something special that’s worth your money. The Maybach is everything Merc knows about making an opulent car. And, compared to the Rolls and the Bentleys, the Maybach is a true bargain. The vehicle is priced at ₹2.6 Crore.
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