2015 Mercedes Maybach S600: Your Car Is Ready, Sir
This week Tire Rack presents another episode of Ignition where Carlos Lago tests the new Mercedes Maybach S600. Though it has a twin-turbo V-12 and more than 600 lb.-ft. of torque
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MotorTranscript
00:00 This is the Mercedes-Maybach S600.
00:03 Yes, Maybach, the very same name that once adorned the Uber
00:07 luxury cars meant to compete with Bentley and Rolls-Royce,
00:11 the most expensive of which would cost you over a million
00:14 dollars.
00:16 This new Maybach S600, though, starts at around $200,000.
00:21 So it's a bargain.
00:22 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:25 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:27 To answer why, we must first take a closer look at the car.
00:37 If you think this looks like a standard S-Class,
00:39 you'd be on the right track.
00:41 It starts out as an S600, featuring all the latest
00:43 goodies and doodads you'd expect from a top-of-the-line
00:46 Mercedes.
00:47 But this one's longer, much longer.
00:49 In fact, it's nearly eight inches longer
00:51 than the long wheelbase S-Class, with most of that increase
00:55 enlarging the room around the back seat.
00:58 Now, think of all the modifications
01:00 done to make an AMG more sporty, faster, and crazier.
01:03 Now apply that level of modification
01:05 to make the car more luxurious and quieter.
01:08 And that's kind of how you get a Maybach.
01:11 You could drive a Maybach S600.
01:14 You have a wheel that makes the car turn when you do this.
01:17 You have pedals that make it go and stop.
01:20 You have a clever bit of glass in front of you that's
01:23 see-through, so you don't drive into things.
01:25 Underneath that long piece of metal with the Mercedes badge
01:28 on it is an engine.
01:29 It's a V12 with a turbo on each side that gives it 523
01:33 horsepower and 612 pound-feet of torque.
01:37 That's a lot of power, but it's not
01:39 meant for crazy acceleration.
01:40 Instead, it's meant for gracefully passing
01:43 other less important motorists on the road.
01:46 We, of course, tested the Maybach,
01:48 but doing that felt wrong.
01:50 This isn't what the car wants to do.
01:51 But here are the numbers.
01:53 You can see them here, here.
01:57 Let's put one right there and right there.
02:01 That's probably good.
02:02 Yeah.
02:04 Still, though, when you drive the Maybach,
02:06 you feel like you're doing something wrong.
02:08 [MUSIC PLAYING]
02:11 But in order to fully appreciate how well the S600 works,
02:17 we have to look at it from the perspective of the back seat.
02:20 So let's pretend like we're going to be chauffeured in it.
02:22 Let's pretend like we're leaving a restaurant
02:24 into the foggy night.
02:26 Ideally, we'd have a driver here to help us open the door.
02:28 We can't afford one on our budget, so I'll do it myself.
02:32 But let's take a look inside.
02:33 So what do you notice when you hop in the back of a Maybach?
02:38 Well, everything's really nice.
02:41 The materials are excellent everywhere.
02:43 Wonderful leather on the things you touch, like here,
02:46 and leather on the things you don't touch, like up here.
02:49 The seat is supportive and comfortable.
02:51 There's a pillow thing on the back of the headrest
02:54 that feels really nice just to dig into.
02:56 The floor mats, even, are like this wonderful shag carpet
03:01 that you kind of just want to feel with your bare feet.
03:03 So I've actually taken off my shoes just
03:04 because it feels nice back here.
03:06 Toys at your disposal.
03:08 You have so much.
03:10 It's almost hard to remember exactly what you have.
03:14 You have toggles here to control the windows, of course,
03:17 but also to control the shades, which cover all the back glass.
03:20 You can control the rear sunroof.
03:22 Yes, you have a sunroof back here.
03:24 You can control the shade, which will open and retract.
03:27 But you can also control the opacity of the glass.
03:30 So if you want to see the sun but not feel the heat,
03:33 you can do that.
03:35 Down here, you have your Mercedes Maybach ashtray.
03:38 Down here, you have your Mercedes Maybach wireless headphones,
03:43 if you want to block out the world
03:44 and not talk to your driver and just listen
03:46 to the music or whatever.
03:49 Down here, you have a remote.
03:52 Now, that side has a remote.
03:53 This side has a remote, of course,
03:55 because we have our own screens, but of course,
03:57 because we also want to control the main display up front.
04:00 Through this, I can control the intensity and type
04:03 of my seat massage.
04:05 All four seats in this car have massages in them.
04:08 The armrests are heated.
04:10 I can control that through here.
04:11 The seats are heated and cooled.
04:13 I can control that here.
04:15 This can control navigation options.
04:16 This can control stereo options.
04:18 This can control the entire car.
04:20 See this red mood lighting here?
04:22 Well, through this, I can control what color that is
04:25 and how bright it is.
04:26 It goes on and on and on and on.
04:28 Down here, of course, you have cup holders
04:35 with fancy water and a fancy glass bottle.
04:37 But you can also get Maybach champagne flutes,
04:40 which are magnetized so they hold into the cup holders
04:42 better and don't fall over while you're driving.
04:44 You have all kinds of power outlets--
04:46 12-volt, USB, all that.
04:48 You have tables for your tablet, for your laptop,
04:56 for your dinner to have right there.
04:59 Behind that, you have a little cubby hole
05:03 with a fridge with divots cut out perfectly
05:07 for your champagne bottles.
05:09 But let's say you don't want to do any of that.
05:11 Let's just say you want to relax and try
05:13 to sleep on route to your next appointment.
05:15 Well, through this button here, I press that.
05:18 The front passenger seat goes towards the dash
05:22 to give me more room for my feet.
05:24 The headrest on the front passenger seat
05:26 will actually drop down so the driver can still see.
05:29 The rear screen on the front seat
05:30 will articulate so I can still see it.
05:32 This seat will recline.
05:34 The headrest will go back.
05:35 The leg rest will go back.
05:37 Out of the front seat, a footrest will appear.
05:40 And voila, you are riding in comfort.
05:43 Now, this is important because, well, it's comfortable.
05:46 But also, you've relocated where you're at in the car.
05:48 And sound changes when you move around in the car.
05:51 To that end, Mercedes says this is the quietest production
05:54 sedan in the world.
05:55 They've gone through great lengths
05:57 to make sure you can't hear the outside world once you're
06:00 on the inside.
06:01 They've massaged the airflow around the car.
06:03 They've changed the air flow.
06:05 They've changed the windows.
06:07 This construction here, the way they've moved this,
06:09 was done to make sure it's quieter
06:10 and to make sure you have more room.
06:12 All in all, it's very nice.
06:15 Absolutely ridiculous.
06:17 Absolutely absurd.
06:19 But very nice.
06:20 To test out how well it works, we'll
06:22 need to use it for its intended purpose.
06:25 What better way to test out its capabilities
06:27 than by chauffeuring a well-known internet celebrity
06:29 to their next shoot?
06:31 This celebrity is known for their shriek.
06:33 This celebrity is known for their shrewd eye
06:35 and utmost in luxury appointments.
06:38 He's a legend in the world of style.
06:40 And he'll be the best to judge the Maybach's capabilities.
06:43 Good afternoon, Mr. Freiberger.
06:50 Thank you, sir.
06:52 [MUSIC PLAYING]
06:54 I thought I told you to bring the good car.
07:08 What is this junk?
07:15 I believe you'll find it quite adequate, Mr. Freiberger.
07:18 This is the Mercedes Maybach S600.
07:22 My what?
07:23 Maybach.
07:23 [LAUGHTER]
07:25 I know, Mayblow.
07:27 So think of Maybach as the luxury equivalent to AMG.
07:31 You're familiar with AMG, right?
07:32 That's not too far out of the realm of--
07:34 Not so much.
07:35 --old American cars.
07:36 So AMG makes hot rods, basically.
07:39 I've heard that.
07:41 AMG is the performance arm of Mercedes.
07:45 OK.
07:45 Maybach is the obscene luxury arm of Mercedes.
07:50 So how much is this thing?
07:51 It starts at $190,000.
07:53 Oh, that's a bargain.
07:54 Actually, it is.
07:55 I thought you were going $250,000 and up.
07:57 You may actually be surprised to hear that is a bargain.
08:00 Yeah.
08:01 No, I'm not surprised.
08:02 I've seen what you drive.
08:04 Yeah.
08:04 Well, that's not bad.
08:06 So under the hood, you'll be with me on this.
08:09 Twin-turbo V12.
08:10 That's approved.
08:11 523 horsepower.
08:13 What?
08:13 600.
08:14 How do you have twin turbos, 12 cylinders,
08:16 and only 500 horsepower?
08:18 Because you have 613 pound-feet of torque.
08:20 And it still doesn't add up.
08:22 So we're not talking about peak power.
08:24 Think across broad power band.
08:26 It better be making peak power at 4,000 RPM
08:28 for that kind of number.
08:29 It might be making peak power at 1,000 RPM.
08:32 It better.
08:32 My junk makes that power at idle.
08:34 But your junk doesn't run.
08:36 Well, it does at idle.
08:38 [LAUGHTER]
08:41 Over your left shoulder, you'll see a compartment.
08:44 Oh, not over.
08:45 I mean underneath.
08:46 Underneath my left shoulder?
08:47 So right behind your left shoulder,
08:48 there's a compartment right there.
08:49 Ah, this one.
08:49 Drop that.
08:50 And then drop the one behind that.
08:51 Well, there's an eject button.
08:52 The second to the other one.
08:54 This is making me work too hard for it.
08:56 I disapprove of this design.
08:57 I'd reach back there, but you don't pay me enough.
08:59 Oh, is this my cooler?
09:00 That's your fridge.
09:01 Yeah.
09:01 And you'll find some bottles of water in there.
09:03 How do you open it, though?
09:05 There should be-- there you go.
09:06 Ah-ha.
09:06 All right.
09:07 So you've got to be smarter than the fridge.
09:07 So it should be a bottle of water.
09:08 Ready to go for you.
09:10 Not bad.
09:11 OK.
09:11 No corona.
09:12 What?
09:17 I just realized I haven't told you about the cologne
09:20 system in this car.
09:21 There's a cologne system?
09:22 Cologne.
09:23 Cologne?
09:23 Well, you could--
09:24 Not clone.
09:25 Cologne?
09:25 Cologne?
09:26 I thought you said clone.
09:27 Clone.
09:28 I thought you were going to clone me back here.
09:29 There's cologne.
09:30 So in the glove compartment--
09:32 Yeah?
09:33 --there is a scented tub of scented, like, Mercedes juice.
09:37 Mercedes juice.
09:40 Let me see it.
09:42 Oh.
09:42 So take a whiff of that.
09:44 This is Maybach juice.
09:46 Scented Mercedes Maybach juice.
09:48 Agarwood.
09:50 Oh, wow.
09:51 If I open this, you're going to make me spill it on myself.
09:54 Oh, please do not open that.
09:55 So the way that works is the filtration system
09:58 goes into the glove box.
09:59 Yeah.
10:00 And the scent from that goes into the filtration system
10:03 and goes through the rest of the car as a result.
10:06 Can we put 90 weight in this?
10:08 You see the screen?
10:09 Is that on?
10:10 No.
10:10 Let me fire that up, too.
10:11 There's an on button.
10:12 Oh, seat settings.
10:13 Wow.
10:14 This is wazoo.
10:15 So you can control the seat massage through there.
10:17 You can do a hot stone massage.
10:18 Wow.
10:19 Am I-- is there a screen so I can have a moment to myself?
10:21 [LAUGHTER]
10:24 I thought that it would be more like, you know,
10:32 when you go to those high-end hotels
10:33 and put the quarter in the bed.
10:35 I thought it was just going to be a Vibramatic.
10:37 Right.
10:37 I thought it would, like, need me more.
10:39 I mean, not to full release or anything.
10:44 So you would be happier if there was a slot
10:47 that you drop a quarter in and the seat just shook.
10:50 I'd feel like I got ripped off from my quarter
10:53 if I paid $0.25 for what I'm getting right now.
10:57 So when you think of fine dining establishments,
11:00 I know exactly what's on your mind.
11:02 It's over here next to the Walmart.
11:04 Yeah, hook me up.
11:05 I'm fantastic, can't you tell?
11:12 I would like a green bean burrito, a churro,
11:18 and a medium iced tea.
11:20 And what would you like, Minion?
11:21 Spicy grilled chicken burrito for me.
11:23 Medium?
11:25 That's correct.
11:26 Thank you.
11:28 Oh, you're hitting curb.
11:29 Am I?
11:30 Yes, you are.
11:30 Where?
11:31 The left rear tire's up on the curb.
11:32 Is it really?
11:33 Yeah.
11:33 I can't hear it at all.
11:36 Thank you.
11:37 When you go home, will you tell everybody
11:39 that you served me today?
11:40 What?
11:41 That you served me today.
11:43 Do you not know who I am?
11:45 I'm Brad Pitt.
11:47 Hello.
11:48 [LAUGHTER]
11:50 You almost had her, man.
11:51 You almost had her.
11:52 I think there was a moment of doubt in her mind, but--
11:56 But she didn't fall for it.
11:57 You came on a little strong.
11:58 Yeah.
11:59 [MUSIC PLAYING]
12:03 [CHEWING]
12:05 When you have a Maybach, you can eat your churro first, right?
12:08 [CHEWING]
12:11 Sweet potato fries are a massive oversell under deliver.
12:15 Really?
12:16 You don't like sweet potato fries?
12:17 Nah.
12:18 I gotta-- I gotta disagree with you on that one.
12:21 Really?
12:22 Yeah, I like sweet potato fries a lot.
12:23 Do I have to just go ahead and disagree with you there?
12:26 Yeah.
12:27 Wait, am I in disagreement?
12:28 I'm disagreeing with your disagreement.
12:30 Yeah.
12:31 Well, I'm going to disagree with that disagreement.
12:33 Your opinion is wrong.
12:35 Next.
12:37 So where are we going to next, sir?
12:39 You know Alana from Hot Rod?
12:40 Yes, of course.
12:41 We're going up to her place because I have to drop some junk off and pick some junk up.
12:45 Was that the junk in the box?
12:46 Junk in the trunk.
12:47 Junk in the trunk.
12:48 We literally have junk in the trunk.
12:50 Mm-hmm.
12:50 Yeah.
12:51 [MUSIC PLAYING]
12:54 It's cute when he's all tuckered out.
12:59 [MUSIC PLAYING]
13:02 Here we are, sir.
13:06 Ah, good vehicles.
13:11 So Alana and Tom have this amazing backyard.
13:14 They're totally into Mopar stuff.
13:16 And they just got this Dodge pickup.
13:18 It's a '77 extended cab.
13:20 Check out the '69 Satellite wagon over there.
13:22 There's a crew cab.
13:25 I feel way more at home now.
13:28 I'm beginning to feel a certain betrayal for spending that much time in the Maybach.
13:32 How many miles are on this thing?
13:35 62,000.
13:36 I'm guessing that's original.
13:38 And appropriately, it completely smells like gasoline inside.
13:43 Wow, that's way better than the little Mercedes juice jar.
13:47 Ah, home.
13:51 So you're letting me borrow this and take it home?
13:53 Yeah, why not?
13:54 You can probably lift the battery up.
13:56 I need to return to my roots.
13:58 I need to cleanse myself after having ridden here in the Mercedes.
14:03 So any secret to slamming and not gacking fenders or anything or doing that?
14:09 It has strong springs.
14:10 It has strong springs.
14:12 Sorry about that.
14:13 Oh.
14:14 I'm sorry, man.
14:15 That is strong.
14:16 But see, you've been out of it.
14:17 I did it twice.
14:18 You've been out of hot rodding for like, what, half an hour with that car?
14:21 And you can no longer even close a hood?
14:24 That car's not good for you.
14:25 I've never had that before.
14:27 That's like-- sorry about that.
14:29 Uh-oh.
14:33 I am breaking things left and right.
14:36 This is what happens when you start going all fancy.
14:39 I slammed the hood and your badge fell out.
14:41 Just hold on to it.
14:42 This is so much more roadkill.
14:46 Well, I can't deny the Mercedes is really, really good.
14:49 But it just ain't me.
14:50 So I'm going to take this thing home.
14:51 [MUSIC PLAYING]
14:55 Guess the life of luxury isn't for everybody.
15:20 Well, you might be able to take the Fry Burger out of a hot rod.
15:23 But you can't take the hot rod out of Fry Burger.
15:26 Even if the Maybach didn't win him over,
15:28 I like to think its seemingly unending luxury features left a lasting impression.
15:33 Whether it's the massaging and reclining seats, or the cabin's quietness,
15:37 or even that Mercedes juice.
15:40 Maybe in the future, these things might make him expect a bit more out of his own cars.
15:45 Or at the very least, a tray for his fast food.
15:49 So the magic steering system--
15:51 I forget the official name that Mercedes gives it.
15:54 But I'm going to call it magic steering, because they call everything else magic.
15:57 My fingertips literally just touching the steering wheel, and the car's steering itself.
16:01 What happens when their fingertips are not touching it?
16:07 We hit the wall?
16:08 Let's find out.
16:10 Ah.
16:12 It's actually steering away from the wall, isn't it?
16:15 Yep.
16:15 You're not touching it, are you?
16:17 It's actually telling me to put my hands back on it.
16:19 This is wrong.
16:21 That is completely wrong.
16:25 Magic steering.
16:26 Wow.