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"There are very few cars where sitting in the back seat is more exciting than the front, but the new Mercedes-Benz S Class is most definitely one of them. Why exactly? Well here&amp;#039;s a good example. I&amp;#039;m writing this from the back of an S 350 via the car&amp;#039;s built-in 4G Wi-Fi network while having a hot stone massage from its vast leather seats. From a tech perspective, the S Class is like a gigantic moving Apple store. It&amp;#039;s put together as nicely as an iPad Air and has more buttons to press and gadgets to play with than any vehicle we have ever sat in.  Let&amp;#039;s start with the big guns first. The car we are testing here has a \u00A36,000 Burmester sound system fitted to it. It is, quite frankly, hands down the best sounding thing we have ever heard in a car. But then it should be at that price. Just recently we ran an article explaining how to get the perfect home Hi-Fi setup. For the most part, we got things sounding fantastic. But in a car, the sound engineers and designers have a set space to work with and, as such, can ensure speakers are set up perfectly.  The S Class with the optional Burmester system is basically an audiophile&amp;#039;s dream.  There is enough bass response to blow your head off, or if you play around with the car&amp;#039;s hugely complex EQ, treble and fidelity that will make classical music lovers swoon. The fact that it has a set of 22 speakers helps as well. Just in case you don&amp;#039;t fancy listening through the Burmester system, you can of course opt to use one of the two wireless headsets in the back of the car.  The real meat of the S-Class&amp;#039;s tech offering is up front, however. Rather than opting for traditional analogue displays, the driver instead is treated to a pair of bright and vibrant 12.3-inch HD screens. On the left, you have the main infotainment system, while the screen on the right shows speed and rev-count as well as a few other functions. There is so much to talk about with the &amp;#039;Command&amp;#039; system (what Mercedes calls its nav) in the S Class, we really can&amp;#039;t get to it all here. Highlights include an optional night vision camera, as well as a 360 parking camera which can give you a birds-eye aerial view of the S Class. The standard navigation system sports incredibly accurate voice recognition, while the entire user interface is logical and easy to use. What really stood out for us was the ability to control the left hand nav screen, as well as optional displays in the rear, using a remote. It&amp;#039;s possible for example for a rear passenger to change the destination, or the password on the car&amp;#039;s Wi-Fi network.  Each screen also operates independently from the other, so if you fancy listening to different music to another passenger, via your wireless headphones, you can. Features like Magic Body Control, which uses cameras to sense upcoming bumps in the road and prepare suspension for them, are impressive. We also tested something called Distronic Plus, which is like a highly advanced cruise control system that matches the car&amp;#039;s speed in front. Mercedes has opted not to put a single bulb into the new S Class, instead fitting the entire thing with over 500 LEDs. The result is something not unlike an in-car Philips Hue system. Every nook and cranny of the car glows with a soft ambient light, the colour of which can be selected via the Command system up front. Last but by no means least has to be the rear seats. They come heated as standard but an optional setup sees the front passenger seat fold completely flat, a footrest extend out and then the seat itself give you a hot stone massage. Even the arm rests can be heated should you so desire.  Really then, in terms of gadgetry, the S Class is absolutely unparalleled. We were blown away by the amount of gadgets and gizmos to play with, but also how simple and easy to use they were. If we had to make a few criticisms, it was that the screens in the back of the model we tested could have done with being higher resolution. The included remote for passengers in the back also feels a touch counter intuitive when you are used to the controller at the front. At close to 100k for the test car we sat in, it&amp;#039;s difficult to say anything is decent value for money, but from a pure &amp;#039;toys&amp;#039; perspective, the car also feels a lot better value than competitors at this price point. Really though, we are clutching at straws. From a technology perspective, the S Class feels unparalleled. It&amp;#039;s exciting to think such a moving gadget showcase will eventually filter down into the more affordable end of the Mercedes product lineup. It also shows just how far cars are coming in terms of technology. The cruise control and driver assistance systems in the S Class hint at just how close we are to driverless cars. Not long until we can completely let go of the steering wheel. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/tech/cars/feature/a562832/the-new-mercedes-benz-s-class-the-most-tech-ever-seen-on-four-wheels/>