Overview

The Mercedes-Benz S-Class Cabriolet is a luxury soft-top with a hard edge – a bonnet-full of old-fashioned, big-displacement brute force.

Blasting down a country lane with the roof down and the cabin full of V8 or V12 bluster is a distinctly retro experience brought straight from the pages of The Great Gatsby or The Wind in the Willows.

Yet from behind the wheel it’s as technologically adept as rivals such as the Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet, Ferrari California T and BMW M6 Convertible, and as easy to live with as a family hatchback.

Enormous pace and luxury

Despite the four wheels and engine, it’s easier to think of the S-Class Cabriolet not as a car but as a combination of land-yacht and intercity train – the fine-grained wood dashboard inserts and body-hugging leather armchairs set against a sub-five second 0-62mph time, whichever of the three massive engines you pick.

Here you can have a V8 in 4.7-litre or 5.5-litre flavour, or the full powder-keg 6.0-litre V12. It goes without saying that none are slow, and that the larger motors use notably more fuel.

Linked to the engine choice is the roster of standard equipment – there aren’t any trim levels to speak of, just an increase in gadgets and luxury as you climb the ladder of S500, S63 and S65.

Three levels of standard kit

Kicking things off is the S500 which comes with Airmatic air suspension and 19-inch AMG alloy wheels, plus a suite of parking sensors, LED headlamps and the COMAND Online sat nav system.

Top of the tree is the S65 which comes with baffling luxuries including 47 Swarovski crystals in each headlight, larger 20-inch alloy wheels and exclusive nappa leather upholstery, plus an upgraded Burmester 3D surround sound stereo.

There are many options, as you’d imagine, from carbonfibre exterior trim to a collection of roof colours and a top speed hike from 155mph to 186mph.