**The Luxury Car Showdown: Audi A8 vs Mercedes S-Class vs BMW 7 Series**

As a motoring journalist, I have had the pleasure of testing some of the most luxurious and technologically advanced cars on the market. In this article, I will be comparing three of the best executive saloons available today: the Audi A8, the Mercedes S-Class, and the BMW 7 Series. Each car has its unique strengths and weaknesses, but which one comes out on top?

**Insulation and Comfort**

One thing that stands out when driving each of these cars is the level of insulation and comfort they provide. The Mercedes S-Class is renowned for its exceptional soundproofing, with a cabin that feels like it's floating on air. However, I found that this insulation isn't quite as effective in my experience of driving it compared to other cars. The Audi A8 also has excellent soundproofing, but the level of comfort is slightly compromised by the car's stiffer suspension.

In contrast, the BMW 7 Series has a more conventional suspension setup that doesn't quite match the level of comfort provided by the Mercedes S-Class and Audi A8. However, this doesn't mean it feels uncomfortable – it's just not as soft and floaty as its rivals. Another difference I noticed was the level of tire noise, which is slightly more pronounced in the BMW 7 Series.

**Suspension and Handling**

Speaking of suspension, each of these cars has a unique setup that affects how they handle on the road. The Mercedes S-Class has a particularly soft and forgiving suspension, but it can get upset by small bumps and potholes. In contrast, the Audi A8 has slightly stiffer suspension than normal, which provides more stability and consistency at its height.

The BMW 7 Series also has slightly stiffer suspension than normal, but it doesn't quite match the level of comfort provided by the Mercedes S-Class. However, this stiffness does give the car a more dynamic feel and better handling in corners. Overall, the Audi A8's suspension is probably the most balanced, providing a comfortable ride without sacrificing too much performance.

**Gearbox and Performance**

When it comes to the gearbox, each of these cars has its own unique strengths and weaknesses. The Mercedes S-Class has an eight-speed automatic gearbox that responds quickly and smoothly, but it can sometimes feel slightly less polished than the BMW 7 Series' equivalent unit.

The BMW 8-speed automatic is definitely one of the best in this class, providing seamless shifting and quick acceleration. However, I found it to be only slightly better than the Mercedes S-Class' gearbox – both are excellent, but not quite on the same level as some other cars.

**Cruise Control and Technology**

One feature that's becoming increasingly important in modern cars is advanced cruise control systems. Each of these three cars has its own system, which can keep you centrally in lane and maintain a safe distance from the car in front. I'm pleased to report that all three systems work extremely well, but I did find that the Mercedes S-Class' system was slightly more intuitive and responsive.

**Final Verdict**

So, which of these cars is best? In my opinion, it's not the BMW 7 Series – while it's a great car, it doesn't quite match the level of luxury and technology provided by its rivals. However, I do think that if you're looking to save money, the BMW 7 Series is worth considering – it may not be as expensive as some other options in this class.

Ultimately, the Audi A8 is my top pick for this group of cars. It's a beautifully luxurious car with a reputation for exceptional comfort and performance. However, I do have to admit that if I was buying one of these cars, I would probably end up going to a dealership and saving around 30 thousand pounds on the BMW 7 Series – it just doesn't feel quite as special to drive in.

**The Verdict**

So there you have it – my verdict on three of the best luxury executive saloons available today. While each car has its strengths and weaknesses, I think that the Audi A8 is the clear winner in terms of luxury and technology. However, if budget is a major concern, the BMW 7 Series is definitely worth considering.

If you're interested in watching more content like this, be sure to check out our other videos on executive cars – we have plenty more reviews and comparisons waiting for you!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwhat is the best luxury german saloon is it i'm gonna stop with that stupid accent is it the new mercedes s-class the audi a8 or the bmw 7 series well in this video we are going to find out i sort of look like i run a chauffeur firm and i'm about to pick up a load of celebrities to take them to the movie premiere anyway i'm matt watson and you're watching car wow buying a new car then head to car wow and my team will help you find your next car at a fair price car wow your one stop car buying comparison site let's start this video by talking about the price and these cars are reassuringly expensive the most expensive one is the new mercedes s-class so it starts from around 78 000 pounds the audi a8 it starts from around 74 000 pounds yeah i know we've got the rain stopping s8 version that's because it's the only one audi had to lend us but let's move on comparing the ranges not the individual cars that we have here the least expensive car but still quite expensive is the bmw 7 series it starts from 72 000 pounds but what really matters is the price you pay when you buy it from a dealer and you can get discounts on all of these if you buy them through car wire now because the mercedes is so new the average saving is just under 4 000 pounds however because the out is older the average saving on an a8 through carbide is 12 000 pounds that's nothing because through wow you can save an average of almost 30 000 pounds on a new seven series based on that saving i think i'll just take this i mean how much better can the other two be we need to find out don't we now before we do if you want to check out how much you can save on a new car click on the pop-out banner up there to go to car wow alternatively just simply google help me car wow my team and i'll help you choose the right car for you and get it for a fair price from one of our trusted dealers right let's talk about these cars design starting with their grills because everyone goes on about bmw it's huge grills but actually if you look at the area they cover i think it's the smallest here easily the biggest is the audi it's whole nose is grill it's just that with the bmw there's nothing slightly wrong about it i think it's the way it just goes up slightly into the bonnet the aud this one looks a bit better than the standard a8 because being the s8 you get some shinier bits of trim a bit more aggressive it's good looking though there's something of the basking shark about that huge mouth i think overall the best looking face is on the s-class it's just kind of elegant reserved and of course you've got this three-pointed star there's just something about that that adds to the appeal the best and nothing if you're a vip being chauffeured to an event you'll pull up sideways on to get out and that's why the side profile of these cars matter they need to look elegant and this bmw sort of doesn't so much it's all a bit fussy in the design from the wheels this hockey stick affair going on here and this is even worse because it's the plug-in hybrid so you've got this extra port there for your charging sockets and stuff like that moving on to the audi this is a cleaner simpler design if a little bit unadventurous being the s8 you can't get it in the long wheel based versions like you can the other two cars but the long wheelbase version of the a8 which i'll show you now can look a little bit like a slab of car finally we come to the s-class which for me does look the most elegant of the three really love the wheel designs like the swooping roofline the chrome effect and the smooth body panels it's very modern it also has these poppy audi door handles look they pop out so it just keeps the design nice and smooth also the car can recognize when you're just walking towards it and it'll automatically sense that you're nearby with the key and it will pop out the door handles like that neat finally then let's compare these cars rear ends because there are some similarities notice how they all have this full width chrome strip to make them look sophisticated and posh then there's a fact that they've got these exhausts which are real though to be fair the mercedes and the bmws have exaggerated surrounds with normal exhaust inside whereas the ones on this audi are genuine proper pipes though that's because it's the s8 with the high performance v8 engine if you have a normal a8 then you get fake exhausts stop it get some help though overall i do think this car has the nicest looking rear end then the mercedes although it's a little bit like the bmw's just seems a little bit over styled like they didn't know when to stop designing it it's like stop put your pens down put your pens down stop stop stop stop you know like at the end of an exam i said stop writing will you stop writing on the inside the seven series design is much better i think their interior designer is slightly more talented than their exterior designer sorry for saying that if you're watching it exterior designer anyway it's not just the design which is nice simple and clean so the materials very high quality lovely leather here and here with some soft whatever it is here what's nice every material is beautiful you won't find any cheap bits in here at all nothing you can look as long as you want you won't find any yeah it's lovely audi's are famous for having brilliant interior quality so having said that i don't think the materials feel quite as solid as in the bmw the main culprit is this dash it's a bit hollow listen see what i mean and the materials just don't feel quite so expensive can't fault the design though i do prefer it slightly than the bmw's it's just cleaner and more minimalist especially when you've got the car turned off because then these screens are blanked out i'm going to tell you i'll watch this not only do the screens come to life but also the air vents rise and revealed in the dash that's really nice i like that what i'm not so sure about though is what the person was thinking when they spec this car these weird brownie burgundy seats and light headlining god here on the inside the mercedes seems even more futuristic than the aud and that's mainly because of these big screens you've got here now i'll come back to those in a moment because i want to talk about the rest of the interior design which generally is pretty nice and quality is good but once again like the audi the hollow dash doesn't feel quite as well screwed together as the bmw and i have found a really nasty piece of plastic which is right in your eye line so yeah look why did they fit that into the s-class another thing i'm not so keen on are the vents up here they can sort of spoil the design and they kind of remind me of the multiple eyes that you get one of those jumping spiders it's like it's going to jump on me this being the range-topping version of the s-class has all the bells and whistles and the seats are just so luxurious uncomfortable especially with these billows and the steering wheel is lovely to hold and then some cool features such as the door mirrors if you want to operate them you look at the door mirror you can see where your eyes are looking and it will activate that door mirror i look over there don't have to press a button here i'll just look over there and then i can move that door mirror it's crazy another thing that it can do is when you put the temperature up you get red flashing in these led strips here to signify that the temperature is getting hotter and then when you cool it down you get blue flashing in there as well very well thought out this car and there's a tech with the screens and everything which is just insane so mercedes infotainment system is absolutely brilliant really easy to use but there's so much you can do with it here i could bore you senseless but the thing about it is that it takes the tech on not only incrementally but a whole sea change over what's in the other cars so you can do things such as recognize when you're driving home that at a certain point you make a phone call to your mother and then it will automatically phone her when you reach that point in your journey so you can be a good son it has fingerprint recognition like that so you press that there reads your fingerprint and it sets the cob exactly as you left it it even has face recognition like your mobile phone and that'll do the same thing with face recognition it's got all-round cameras for parking which are brilliant and so high depth that you have no excuse for dinging your car and if someone does ding your car by mistake say by reversing into it then the cameras will pick up that accident and it will actually send a video clip of that to your mobile phone just to let you know what happened there is so much tech then there's a main digital driver's display which has loads of information you can swipe through all the different menus you can have it in this 3d view which you can't actually pick up on camera because you need two eyes for it to work but it's incredible and a massive heads-up display which can do things like superimpose arrows on the road ahead so you never make a wrong turn this thing is just an absolute tech fest and it's useful tech really is the bmw's infotainment system is very good it works reasonably well it does pretty much all you need it to it just looks so funny how small the screens are compared to those of the mercedes it's a bit like comparing an apple iphone 5 to a 12 max but graphics are sharp it works smoothly pretty much does all that you need to do apart from the digital driver's display which is one of the most disappointing ever because all dark and miserable not the biggest fan of that the infotainment system in the aud is a bit more like the iphone 10 so you've got bigger screens than in the bmw it's no easy to use really and having the climate down here and a touchscreen means that you have to take eyes off the road a little bit longer to set the temperature you want though as with all the cars you can use voice commands if you prefer to do that i do prefer the digital drivers display on this audi compared to the bmw though it's brighter it's clearer it's nice and it does a really good job not quite as fancy as the mercedes but easily good enough i know what you're thinking it's hard to believe that this a8 is actually the short wheel based version because there's loads of knee room there's even more space obviously in the long wheelbase version and with a long wheelbase car you can spec it up with loads of stuff such as fancy seats which you can go into like a first class mode they fully recline got massage and all that kind of stuff you can get rare infotainment systems galore when you fold down this you can get a little tablet there where you can control various things like the interior lighting and stuff like that it's all very clever but this car doesn't have any of that now one thing i want to show i do like this though look at this this is quality for you look how smooth that goes back ah well it's not so smooth are the seats when i say smooth i mean soft audi seats are just a little bit on the firm side they're not on comfy they're actually quite supportive but you don't feel like you're on a big comfy sofa in them they're quite taut moving on to the seven series and this is the long wheelbase version and it's well kitted out with all the goodies now one thing i've noticed is that i'm getting blinded by the sun so i'm gonna shut all the blinds and everything but before i do look this has some special features in the roof which allow you to shine some ambient lighting in there anyhow let's darken things down stop the riff raff looking in and all that kind of thing yeah that's better now these seats a bit more comfy than the ones in the audi there they are the upgraded seats and i can do stuff such as this look press this button i want to go into recline mode it's not quick obviously you can't do that if someone's sitting there or if you're in a rush the last bit is the best bit actually do you know what i might just press the massage on mine for this to happen there we go come on oh that's a good little foot rest that though look quite padded nice also got my massage on i've got my feet up got my infotainment screens there got my little tablet which i can flop out there we go and control the infotainment system do whatever i want to do really oh i want to do a test just like on the audi let's look at this right that's for god knows what i think you can get fridge in there but look watch how this shuts is this more expensive this action than the one in the audi oh yeah oh massage it as well finally we come to the s-class now let's check out just how luxurious it is by testing how well bits of it are damped so this armrest that's all right let's check the cup holder out oh actually looking at a little phone holder there well if it's not in the case and then you press it again and that comes out that's all right so look at this come on be good it's not so good what about this what mercedes what have you done i can't believe i'm bothered to damp that right that's just rubbish this caused crap no i'm stopping sorry i'm just being the not funny is it um yeah you pretty much got all the same kind of tech and luxury that you have in the seven series so i can put up my blinds i can move this seat out of the way go for business class mode it takes a while like in the bmw and to be fair if you have it in the audi it's a similar story now let's just check out whether i can get as comfy in this as i did in the seven series what's it gonna do about what it's doing now i'll just get this tablet out you can control loads of the infotainment system functions through this and interior features i don't have the extra screens like in the back of the bmw but of course you can pay extra if you want those come on board of that now that fits in there nice and neatly here comes the footrest so i'm a little bit disappointed by this footrest because it really is just more of a part of your heel rest but still there's loads of room and these seats are just a little bit more comfortable than in the bmw and certainly the aud the most comfortable bit though these pillows are they're especially comfy they're a bit like resting your head on a big fluffy cloud now we need to compare the car's boot capacities which could be quite dull so to liven things up i'm going to mountaineer between the boots yeah so the audi a8 big capacity is 505 liters though if you get the hybrid version because you've got batteries in the boot it reduces to 390 liters come on let's see if we can make it across thankfully it's quite a square boot so it's easy to walk along not as easy as this seven series nice big wide opening so the big capacity of this as standard is 515 litres but you have the plug-in hybrid which is what this car is it reduces to 420 liters so still better than the a8 finally then we come to the mercedes and its opening isn't quite so big so it's tricky to load and to mountaineer into but once you're in you've got the most space here 550 liters there's no hybrid version yet so i can't tell you if that will reduce the boot capacity but in the oldest class the hybrid had the same beat capacity as the standard car i think you'll agree that was the perfect way to test these cars i hit my head that hard thankfully i've escaped from the boot and now i'm going to drive this s-class finally i say finally i've already driven it once before it's good to request myself though because it's a lovely thing to travel in absolutely lovely the thing that you really notice or don't notice is the noise it's so quiet in here mercedes has packed this car full of soundproofing it's just serene relaxing chilled the seats are really comfy the steering wheel is gorgeous to hold the air suspension generally it's just glorious it's like you're just floating along it really does feel like you're riding on air however it's not perfect over smaller bumps and if you're going slowly around town and like those sharp edge bumps suddenly catch it out and you get like a like a shimmy it's a bit like well i wasn't expecting that it's just so comfy and soft and like you're floating that why did i feel that bump it's just not what you'd expect and then sometimes some bad ones really just kind of confuse it so i was driving here today and i did this thing where i was accelerating around the corner and i went over some bumps i'm gonna try and describe it to you in pure engineering terms what happened to the suspension because i was accelerated over these bumps the suspension went it basically just shut itself i'm sorry if that was too technical an explanation for you but that's pretty much what the car did it's unusual because normally as long as the road's fine it's so luxurious it's only occasionally so that's me splitting hairs on this car though i've got to try and pull it apart and try and discern the differences between these three great limousines one thing that i was pleasantly surprised about with this car though was the handling so when you turn it into a bed it does lean a bit but you get a lot of feel through the steering and through your bottom you can really get a sense of how it's driving at the moment you can only get a six-length diesel and a 600 petrol there will be a hybrid version along there will be a va and a high performance amg as well so lots of choice the gearbox in this car is really nice as well nine speeds but you wouldn't know because it's very good at finding the right gear when it needs it and it's smooth you hardly know it's actually changing gears adds to the whole relaxation now if you want to find out more about the engines and some of the tech on the car then i'll put a link just up there popping down in the top right hand corner of the screen and you can watch my full in-depth video review of the s-class full information on engine ranges economy and all that kind of stuff there is one thing that i'm a little bit annoyed about and that's the fact that this s-class in the uk won't come with rear-wheel steering which is a shame because this mercedes s-class has the best rear wheel steering of any car it can turn the rear wheels by up to 10 degrees which is insane but not in the uk we don't get it why not i don't know i guess i can live with it because otherwise this car is pretty blooming lovely to just waft about in that's my being wafted face now let's see what this audi a8 well the s8 is like to drive and seeing as it is the s8 the performance version let's do this first off let's experience that twin turbo 4 liter v8 and it absolutely flies good job the car can grip well when you go around a bend as well in fact he can go around corners surprisingly quickly for such a big car obviously got quattro all-wheel drive is standing across the range so you've got that traction which is handy if it's a bit slippy it's a real confidence-inspiring car this now i don't think it's quite as quiet as the mercedes to travel in the insulation isn't quite as good it's very little the difference but if you're looking out for it and trying to be a motoring journalist that's earning his living you can notice it ever so slightly another thing you notice is the suspension so this s version has slightly stiffer suspension than normal a8 but it's still very very good you don't get that floaty feel in the same way that you're getting the mercedes which is like you're being rocked to sleep but what you don't have either is the suspension getting upset by little bumps like you do in the mercedes so it's more consistent at its height at the very best it's not quite as soothing as the mercedes suspension but also it doesn't have the low points of the mercedes suspension so it averages out as a slightly better riding car i think the gearbox is pretty much as good as the mercedes as well eight speed one less ratio probably doesn't respond quite as well it's not as smooth as the mercedes but very little in it it's a deeply impressive car this lovely to drive in fact it feels a little bit more like just a slightly larger a6 than say a full-on luxury limousine in the way that the mercedes s-class does i like it just doesn't feel quite as special to travel in is that s-class finally then the bmw 7 series so bmw it's going to be the best to drive the most fun right no it's not bizarrely the audi seems a bit sharper and in a way so does the mercedes there's a slight disconnect in the driving experience with this seven series i just don't know why it's not terrible and it doesn't think it'll grip well and it won't topple over in the bends but it just doesn't seem quite as on it as the others it's not helping that this is the hybrid and that obviously means it's heavier than normal running wide there because you've got the added weight of the batteries but even so the seven series isn't quite as sharp to drive as an s-class or an a8 in terms of comfort it's not far off you know it's not quite as soft and floaty as the s-class and it's not quite as polished as that a8 it's good and it's good enough but when you're back-to-backing them you do notice the difference whereas if you just got them cold you'd be more than happy in any of them another thing about the bmw is that you do notice a bit more tire noise than the other two cars they just create a bit more as you're driving along although that's anything that you notice when you're going at motorway speeds so as for engines with this car there's quite a wide choice three liter straight six petrol three little straight six diesels this hybrid version you can get v8 all the engines work well with the gearbox the eight speed in the bmw is lovely is it better than the mercedes one it's close it's definitely responsive you don't notice it working away when you're just peopling around and when you need it to react it reacts for you which is exactly what you want really in it now all these cars are available with clever cruise control systems which can keep you centrally in lane and keep you safe distance from the car in front they all work very very well and i use them all whenever i drive these cars but overall the mercedes system is the best then what's my final verdict which of these cars is best well it's not the bmw 7 series because it's not quite as good as the audi a8 which isn't quite as good as the new mercedes s-class because this car leads the field in terms of luxury technology and image and that's why it wins this test though actually if i was buying one of these cars i'd just gone to car wow and save almost 30 thousand pounds on the bmw 7 series because it's not 30 000 pounds less good than this s-class so i suppose the bmw is actually the moral victor i hope you enjoyed the video if you did please give it a like if it didn't why don't you share it to show other people how rubbish the video was now what do you think of my verdict did you agree with me if not let me know in the comments below if you want to watch some more executive car content just watch those videos there just click on those you can go check them out and if you click on that box there i've actually found an even more interesting deal on another german car which is not quite as high-end as these cars but it's one you're more likely to buy so click on that box to go check out what the car is and what the deal iswhat is the best luxury german saloon is it i'm gonna stop with that stupid accent is it the new mercedes s-class the audi a8 or the bmw 7 series well in this video we are going to find out i sort of look like i run a chauffeur firm and i'm about to pick up a load of celebrities to take them to the movie premiere anyway i'm matt watson and you're watching car wow buying a new car then head to car wow and my team will help you find your next car at a fair price car wow your one stop car buying comparison site let's start this video by talking about the price and these cars are reassuringly expensive the most expensive one is the new mercedes s-class so it starts from around 78 000 pounds the audi a8 it starts from around 74 000 pounds yeah i know we've got the rain stopping s8 version that's because it's the only one audi had to lend us but let's move on comparing the ranges not the individual cars that we have here the least expensive car but still quite expensive is the bmw 7 series it starts from 72 000 pounds but what really matters is the price you pay when you buy it from a dealer and you can get discounts on all of these if you buy them through car wire now because the mercedes is so new the average saving is just under 4 000 pounds however because the out is older the average saving on an a8 through carbide is 12 000 pounds that's nothing because through wow you can save an average of almost 30 000 pounds on a new seven series based on that saving i think i'll just take this i mean how much better can the other two be we need to find out don't we now before we do if you want to check out how much you can save on a new car click on the pop-out banner up there to go to car wow alternatively just simply google help me car wow my team and i'll help you choose the right car for you and get it for a fair price from one of our trusted dealers right let's talk about these cars design starting with their grills because everyone goes on about bmw it's huge grills but actually if you look at the area they cover i think it's the smallest here easily the biggest is the audi it's whole nose is grill it's just that with the bmw there's nothing slightly wrong about it i think it's the way it just goes up slightly into the bonnet the aud this one looks a bit better than the standard a8 because being the s8 you get some shinier bits of trim a bit more aggressive it's good looking though there's something of the basking shark about that huge mouth i think overall the best looking face is on the s-class it's just kind of elegant reserved and of course you've got this three-pointed star there's just something about that that adds to the appeal the best and nothing if you're a vip being chauffeured to an event you'll pull up sideways on to get out and that's why the side profile of these cars matter they need to look elegant and this bmw sort of doesn't so much it's all a bit fussy in the design from the wheels this hockey stick affair going on here and this is even worse because it's the plug-in hybrid so you've got this extra port there for your charging sockets and stuff like that moving on to the audi this is a cleaner simpler design if a little bit unadventurous being the s8 you can't get it in the long wheel based versions like you can the other two cars but the long wheelbase version of the a8 which i'll show you now can look a little bit like a slab of car finally we come to the s-class which for me does look the most elegant of the three really love the wheel designs like the swooping roofline the chrome effect and the smooth body panels it's very modern it also has these poppy audi door handles look they pop out so it just keeps the design nice and smooth also the car can recognize when you're just walking towards it and it'll automatically sense that you're nearby with the key and it will pop out the door handles like that neat finally then let's compare these cars rear ends because there are some similarities notice how they all have this full width chrome strip to make them look sophisticated and posh then there's a fact that they've got these exhausts which are real though to be fair the mercedes and the bmws have exaggerated surrounds with normal exhaust inside whereas the ones on this audi are genuine proper pipes though that's because it's the s8 with the high performance v8 engine if you have a normal a8 then you get fake exhausts stop it get some help though overall i do think this car has the nicest looking rear end then the mercedes although it's a little bit like the bmw's just seems a little bit over styled like they didn't know when to stop designing it it's like stop put your pens down put your pens down stop stop stop stop you know like at the end of an exam i said stop writing will you stop writing on the inside the seven series design is much better i think their interior designer is slightly more talented than their exterior designer sorry for saying that if you're watching it exterior designer anyway it's not just the design which is nice simple and clean so the materials very high quality lovely leather here and here with some soft whatever it is here what's nice every material is beautiful you won't find any cheap bits in here at all nothing you can look as long as you want you won't find any yeah it's lovely audi's are famous for having brilliant interior quality so having said that i don't think the materials feel quite as solid as in the bmw the main culprit is this dash it's a bit hollow listen see what i mean and the materials just don't feel quite so expensive can't fault the design though i do prefer it slightly than the bmw's it's just cleaner and more minimalist especially when you've got the car turned off because then these screens are blanked out i'm going to tell you i'll watch this not only do the screens come to life but also the air vents rise and revealed in the dash that's really nice i like that what i'm not so sure about though is what the person was thinking when they spec this car these weird brownie burgundy seats and light headlining god here on the inside the mercedes seems even more futuristic than the aud and that's mainly because of these big screens you've got here now i'll come back to those in a moment because i want to talk about the rest of the interior design which generally is pretty nice and quality is good but once again like the audi the hollow dash doesn't feel quite as well screwed together as the bmw and i have found a really nasty piece of plastic which is right in your eye line so yeah look why did they fit that into the s-class another thing i'm not so keen on are the vents up here they can sort of spoil the design and they kind of remind me of the multiple eyes that you get one of those jumping spiders it's like it's going to jump on me this being the range-topping version of the s-class has all the bells and whistles and the seats are just so luxurious uncomfortable especially with these billows and the steering wheel is lovely to hold and then some cool features such as the door mirrors if you want to operate them you look at the door mirror you can see where your eyes are looking and it will activate that door mirror i look over there don't have to press a button here i'll just look over there and then i can move that door mirror it's crazy another thing that it can do is when you put the temperature up you get red flashing in these led strips here to signify that the temperature is getting hotter and then when you cool it down you get blue flashing in there as well very well thought out this car and there's a tech with the screens and everything which is just insane so mercedes infotainment system is absolutely brilliant really easy to use but there's so much you can do with it here i could bore you senseless but the thing about it is that it takes the tech on not only incrementally but a whole sea change over what's in the other cars so you can do things such as recognize when you're driving home that at a certain point you make a phone call to your mother and then it will automatically phone her when you reach that point in your journey so you can be a good son it has fingerprint recognition like that so you press that there reads your fingerprint and it sets the cob exactly as you left it it even has face recognition like your mobile phone and that'll do the same thing with face recognition it's got all-round cameras for parking which are brilliant and so high depth that you have no excuse for dinging your car and if someone does ding your car by mistake say by reversing into it then the cameras will pick up that accident and it will actually send a video clip of that to your mobile phone just to let you know what happened there is so much tech then there's a main digital driver's display which has loads of information you can swipe through all the different menus you can have it in this 3d view which you can't actually pick up on camera because you need two eyes for it to work but it's incredible and a massive heads-up display which can do things like superimpose arrows on the road ahead so you never make a wrong turn this thing is just an absolute tech fest and it's useful tech really is the bmw's infotainment system is very good it works reasonably well it does pretty much all you need it to it just looks so funny how small the screens are compared to those of the mercedes it's a bit like comparing an apple iphone 5 to a 12 max but graphics are sharp it works smoothly pretty much does all that you need to do apart from the digital driver's display which is one of the most disappointing ever because all dark and miserable not the biggest fan of that the infotainment system in the aud is a bit more like the iphone 10 so you've got bigger screens than in the bmw it's no easy to use really and having the climate down here and a touchscreen means that you have to take eyes off the road a little bit longer to set the temperature you want though as with all the cars you can use voice commands if you prefer to do that i do prefer the digital drivers display on this audi compared to the bmw though it's brighter it's clearer it's nice and it does a really good job not quite as fancy as the mercedes but easily good enough i know what you're thinking it's hard to believe that this a8 is actually the short wheel based version because there's loads of knee room there's even more space obviously in the long wheelbase version and with a long wheelbase car you can spec it up with loads of stuff such as fancy seats which you can go into like a first class mode they fully recline got massage and all that kind of stuff you can get rare infotainment systems galore when you fold down this you can get a little tablet there where you can control various things like the interior lighting and stuff like that it's all very clever but this car doesn't have any of that now one thing i want to show i do like this though look at this this is quality for you look how smooth that goes back ah well it's not so smooth are the seats when i say smooth i mean soft audi seats are just a little bit on the firm side they're not on comfy they're actually quite supportive but you don't feel like you're on a big comfy sofa in them they're quite taut moving on to the seven series and this is the long wheelbase version and it's well kitted out with all the goodies now one thing i've noticed is that i'm getting blinded by the sun so i'm gonna shut all the blinds and everything but before i do look this has some special features in the roof which allow you to shine some ambient lighting in there anyhow let's darken things down stop the riff raff looking in and all that kind of thing yeah that's better now these seats a bit more comfy than the ones in the audi there they are the upgraded seats and i can do stuff such as this look press this button i want to go into recline mode it's not quick obviously you can't do that if someone's sitting there or if you're in a rush the last bit is the best bit actually do you know what i might just press the massage on mine for this to happen there we go come on oh that's a good little foot rest that though look quite padded nice also got my massage on i've got my feet up got my infotainment screens there got my little tablet which i can flop out there we go and control the infotainment system do whatever i want to do really oh i want to do a test just like on the audi let's look at this right that's for god knows what i think you can get fridge in there but look watch how this shuts is this more expensive this action than the one in the audi oh yeah oh massage it as well finally we come to the s-class now let's check out just how luxurious it is by testing how well bits of it are damped so this armrest that's all right let's check the cup holder out oh actually looking at a little phone holder there well if it's not in the case and then you press it again and that comes out that's all right so look at this come on be good it's not so good what about this what mercedes what have you done i can't believe i'm bothered to damp that right that's just rubbish this caused crap no i'm stopping sorry i'm just being the not funny is it um yeah you pretty much got all the same kind of tech and luxury that you have in the seven series so i can put up my blinds i can move this seat out of the way go for business class mode it takes a while like in the bmw and to be fair if you have it in the audi it's a similar story now let's just check out whether i can get as comfy in this as i did in the seven series what's it gonna do about what it's doing now i'll just get this tablet out you can control loads of the infotainment system functions through this and interior features i don't have the extra screens like in the back of the bmw but of course you can pay extra if you want those come on board of that now that fits in there nice and neatly here comes the footrest so i'm a little bit disappointed by this footrest because it really is just more of a part of your heel rest but still there's loads of room and these seats are just a little bit more comfortable than in the bmw and certainly the aud the most comfortable bit though these pillows are they're especially comfy they're a bit like resting your head on a big fluffy cloud now we need to compare the car's boot capacities which could be quite dull so to liven things up i'm going to mountaineer between the boots yeah so the audi a8 big capacity is 505 liters though if you get the hybrid version because you've got batteries in the boot it reduces to 390 liters come on let's see if we can make it across thankfully it's quite a square boot so it's easy to walk along not as easy as this seven series nice big wide opening so the big capacity of this as standard is 515 litres but you have the plug-in hybrid which is what this car is it reduces to 420 liters so still better than the a8 finally then we come to the mercedes and its opening isn't quite so big so it's tricky to load and to mountaineer into but once you're in you've got the most space here 550 liters there's no hybrid version yet so i can't tell you if that will reduce the boot capacity but in the oldest class the hybrid had the same beat capacity as the standard car i think you'll agree that was the perfect way to test these cars i hit my head that hard thankfully i've escaped from the boot and now i'm going to drive this s-class finally i say finally i've already driven it once before it's good to request myself though because it's a lovely thing to travel in absolutely lovely the thing that you really notice or don't notice is the noise it's so quiet in here mercedes has packed this car full of soundproofing it's just serene relaxing chilled the seats are really comfy the steering wheel is gorgeous to hold the air suspension generally it's just glorious it's like you're just floating along it really does feel like you're riding on air however it's not perfect over smaller bumps and if you're going slowly around town and like those sharp edge bumps suddenly catch it out and you get like a like a shimmy it's a bit like well i wasn't expecting that it's just so comfy and soft and like you're floating that why did i feel that bump it's just not what you'd expect and then sometimes some bad ones really just kind of confuse it so i was driving here today and i did this thing where i was accelerating around the corner and i went over some bumps i'm gonna try and describe it to you in pure engineering terms what happened to the suspension because i was accelerated over these bumps the suspension went it basically just shut itself i'm sorry if that was too technical an explanation for you but that's pretty much what the car did it's unusual because normally as long as the road's fine it's so luxurious it's only occasionally so that's me splitting hairs on this car though i've got to try and pull it apart and try and discern the differences between these three great limousines one thing that i was pleasantly surprised about with this car though was the handling so when you turn it into a bed it does lean a bit but you get a lot of feel through the steering and through your bottom you can really get a sense of how it's driving at the moment you can only get a six-length diesel and a 600 petrol there will be a hybrid version along there will be a va and a high performance amg as well so lots of choice the gearbox in this car is really nice as well nine speeds but you wouldn't know because it's very good at finding the right gear when it needs it and it's smooth you hardly know it's actually changing gears adds to the whole relaxation now if you want to find out more about the engines and some of the tech on the car then i'll put a link just up there popping down in the top right hand corner of the screen and you can watch my full in-depth video review of the s-class full information on engine ranges economy and all that kind of stuff there is one thing that i'm a little bit annoyed about and that's the fact that this s-class in the uk won't come with rear-wheel steering which is a shame because this mercedes s-class has the best rear wheel steering of any car it can turn the rear wheels by up to 10 degrees which is insane but not in the uk we don't get it why not i don't know i guess i can live with it because otherwise this car is pretty blooming lovely to just waft about in that's my being wafted face now let's see what this audi a8 well the s8 is like to drive and seeing as it is the s8 the performance version let's do this first off let's experience that twin turbo 4 liter v8 and it absolutely flies good job the car can grip well when you go around a bend as well in fact he can go around corners surprisingly quickly for such a big car obviously got quattro all-wheel drive is standing across the range so you've got that traction which is handy if it's a bit slippy it's a real confidence-inspiring car this now i don't think it's quite as quiet as the mercedes to travel in the insulation isn't quite as good it's very little the difference but if you're looking out for it and trying to be a motoring journalist that's earning his living you can notice it ever so slightly another thing you notice is the suspension so this s version has slightly stiffer suspension than normal a8 but it's still very very good you don't get that floaty feel in the same way that you're getting the mercedes which is like you're being rocked to sleep but what you don't have either is the suspension getting upset by little bumps like you do in the mercedes so it's more consistent at its height at the very best it's not quite as soothing as the mercedes suspension but also it doesn't have the low points of the mercedes suspension so it averages out as a slightly better riding car i think the gearbox is pretty much as good as the mercedes as well eight speed one less ratio probably doesn't respond quite as well it's not as smooth as the mercedes but very little in it it's a deeply impressive car this lovely to drive in fact it feels a little bit more like just a slightly larger a6 than say a full-on luxury limousine in the way that the mercedes s-class does i like it just doesn't feel quite as special to travel in is that s-class finally then the bmw 7 series so bmw it's going to be the best to drive the most fun right no it's not bizarrely the audi seems a bit sharper and in a way so does the mercedes there's a slight disconnect in the driving experience with this seven series i just don't know why it's not terrible and it doesn't think it'll grip well and it won't topple over in the bends but it just doesn't seem quite as on it as the others it's not helping that this is the hybrid and that obviously means it's heavier than normal running wide there because you've got the added weight of the batteries but even so the seven series isn't quite as sharp to drive as an s-class or an a8 in terms of comfort it's not far off you know it's not quite as soft and floaty as the s-class and it's not quite as polished as that a8 it's good and it's good enough but when you're back-to-backing them you do notice the difference whereas if you just got them cold you'd be more than happy in any of them another thing about the bmw is that you do notice a bit more tire noise than the other two cars they just create a bit more as you're driving along although that's anything that you notice when you're going at motorway speeds so as for engines with this car there's quite a wide choice three liter straight six petrol three little straight six diesels this hybrid version you can get v8 all the engines work well with the gearbox the eight speed in the bmw is lovely is it better than the mercedes one it's close it's definitely responsive you don't notice it working away when you're just peopling around and when you need it to react it reacts for you which is exactly what you want really in it now all these cars are available with clever cruise control systems which can keep you centrally in lane and keep you safe distance from the car in front they all work very very well and i use them all whenever i drive these cars but overall the mercedes system is the best then what's my final verdict which of these cars is best well it's not the bmw 7 series because it's not quite as good as the audi a8 which isn't quite as good as the new mercedes s-class because this car leads the field in terms of luxury technology and image and that's why it wins this test though actually if i was buying one of these cars i'd just gone to car wow and save almost 30 thousand pounds on the bmw 7 series because it's not 30 000 pounds less good than this s-class so i suppose the bmw is actually the moral victor i hope you enjoyed the video if you did please give it a like if it didn't why don't you share it to show other people how rubbish the video was now what do you think of my verdict did you agree with me if not let me know in the comments below if you want to watch some more executive car content just watch those videos there just click on those you can go check them out and if you click on that box there i've actually found an even more interesting deal on another german car which is not quite as high-end as these cars but it's one you're more likely to buy so click on that box to go check out what the car is and what the deal iswhat is the best luxury german saloon is it i'm gonna stop with that stupid accent is it the new mercedes s-class the audi a8 or the bmw 7 series well in this video we are going to find out i sort of look like i run a chauffeur firm and i'm about to pick up a load of celebrities to take them to the movie premiere anyway i'm matt watson and you're watching car wow buying a new car then head to car wow and my team will help you find your next car at a fair price car wow your one stop car buying comparison site let's start this video by talking about the price and these cars are reassuringly expensive the most expensive one is the new mercedes s-class so it starts from around 78 000 pounds the audi a8 it starts from around 74 000 pounds yeah i know we've got the rain stopping s8 version that's because it's the only one audi had to lend us but let's move on comparing the ranges not the individual cars that we have here the least expensive car but still quite expensive is the bmw 7 series it starts from 72 000 pounds but what really matters is the price you pay when you buy it from a dealer and you can get discounts on all of these if you buy them through car wire now because the mercedes is so new the average saving is just under 4 000 pounds however because the out is older the average saving on an a8 through carbide is 12 000 pounds that's nothing because through wow you can save an average of almost 30 000 pounds on a new seven series based on that saving i think i'll just take this i mean how much better can the other two be we need to find out don't we now before we do if you want to check out how much you can save on a new car click on the pop-out banner up there to go to car wow alternatively just simply google help me car wow my team and i'll help you choose the right car for you and get it for a fair price from one of our trusted dealers right let's talk about these cars design starting with their grills because everyone goes on about bmw it's huge grills but actually if you look at the area they cover i think it's the smallest here easily the biggest is the audi it's whole nose is grill it's just that with the bmw there's nothing slightly wrong about it i think it's the way it just goes up slightly into the bonnet the aud this one looks a bit better than the standard a8 because being the s8 you get some shinier bits of trim a bit more aggressive it's good looking though there's something of the basking shark about that huge mouth i think overall the best looking face is on the s-class it's just kind of elegant reserved and of course you've got this three-pointed star there's just something about that that adds to the appeal the best and nothing if you're a vip being chauffeured to an event you'll pull up sideways on to get out and that's why the side profile of these cars matter they need to look elegant and this bmw sort of doesn't so much it's all a bit fussy in the design from the wheels this hockey stick affair going on here and this is even worse because it's the plug-in hybrid so you've got this extra port there for your charging sockets and stuff like that moving on to the audi this is a cleaner simpler design if a little bit unadventurous being the s8 you can't get it in the long wheel based versions like you can the other two cars but the long wheelbase version of the a8 which i'll show you now can look a little bit like a slab of car finally we come to the s-class which for me does look the most elegant of the three really love the wheel designs like the swooping roofline the chrome effect and the smooth body panels it's very modern it also has these poppy audi door handles look they pop out so it just keeps the design nice and smooth also the car can recognize when you're just walking towards it and it'll automatically sense that you're nearby with the key and it will pop out the door handles like that neat finally then let's compare these cars rear ends because there are some similarities notice how they all have this full width chrome strip to make them look sophisticated and posh then there's a fact that they've got these exhausts which are real though to be fair the mercedes and the bmws have exaggerated surrounds with normal exhaust inside whereas the ones on this audi are genuine proper pipes though that's because it's the s8 with the high performance v8 engine if you have a normal a8 then you get fake exhausts stop it get some help though overall i do think this car has the nicest looking rear end then the mercedes although it's a little bit like the bmw's just seems a little bit over styled like they didn't know when to stop designing it it's like stop put your pens down put your pens down stop stop stop stop you know like at the end of an exam i said stop writing will you stop writing on the inside the seven series design is much better i think their interior designer is slightly more talented than their exterior designer sorry for saying that if you're watching it exterior designer anyway it's not just the design which is nice simple and clean so the materials very high quality lovely leather here and here with some soft whatever it is here what's nice every material is beautiful you won't find any cheap bits in here at all nothing you can look as long as you want you won't find any yeah it's lovely audi's are famous for having brilliant interior quality so having said that i don't think the materials feel quite as solid as in the bmw the main culprit is this dash it's a bit hollow listen see what i mean and the materials just don't feel quite so expensive can't fault the design though i do prefer it slightly than the bmw's it's just cleaner and more minimalist especially when you've got the car turned off because then these screens are blanked out i'm going to tell you i'll watch this not only do the screens come to life but also the air vents rise and revealed in the dash that's really nice i like that what i'm not so sure about though is what the person was thinking when they spec this car these weird brownie burgundy seats and light headlining god here on the inside the mercedes seems even more futuristic than the aud and that's mainly because of these big screens you've got here now i'll come back to those in a moment because i want to talk about the rest of the interior design which generally is pretty nice and quality is good but once again like the audi the hollow dash doesn't feel quite as well screwed together as the bmw and i have found a really nasty piece of plastic which is right in your eye line so yeah look why did they fit that into the s-class another thing i'm not so keen on are the vents up here they can sort of spoil the design and they kind of remind me of the multiple eyes that you get one of those jumping spiders it's like it's going to jump on me this being the range-topping version of the s-class has all the bells and whistles and the seats are just so luxurious uncomfortable especially with these billows and the steering wheel is lovely to hold and then some cool features such as the door mirrors if you want to operate them you look at the door mirror you can see where your eyes are looking and it will activate that door mirror i look over there don't have to press a button here i'll just look over there and then i can move that door mirror it's crazy another thing that it can do is when you put the temperature up you get red flashing in these led strips here to signify that the temperature is getting hotter and then when you cool it down you get blue flashing in there as well very well thought out this car and there's a tech with the screens and everything which is just insane so mercedes infotainment system is absolutely brilliant really easy to use but there's so much you can do with it here i could bore you senseless but the thing about it is that it takes the tech on not only incrementally but a whole sea change over what's in the other cars so you can do things such as recognize when you're driving home that at a certain point you make a phone call to your mother and then it will automatically phone her when you reach that point in your journey so you can be a good son it has fingerprint recognition like that so you press that there reads your fingerprint and it sets the cob exactly as you left it it even has face recognition like your mobile phone and that'll do the same thing with face recognition it's got all-round cameras for parking which are brilliant and so high depth that you have no excuse for dinging your car and if someone does ding your car by mistake say by reversing into it then the cameras will pick up that accident and it will actually send a video clip of that to your mobile phone just to let you know what happened there is so much tech then there's a main digital driver's display which has loads of information you can swipe through all the different menus you can have it in this 3d view which you can't actually pick up on camera because you need two eyes for it to work but it's incredible and a massive heads-up display which can do things like superimpose arrows on the road ahead so you never make a wrong turn this thing is just an absolute tech fest and it's useful tech really is the bmw's infotainment system is very good it works reasonably well it does pretty much all you need it to it just looks so funny how small the screens are compared to those of the mercedes it's a bit like comparing an apple iphone 5 to a 12 max but graphics are sharp it works smoothly pretty much does all that you need to do apart from the digital driver's display which is one of the most disappointing ever because all dark and miserable not the biggest fan of that the infotainment system in the aud is a bit more like the iphone 10 so you've got bigger screens than in the bmw it's no easy to use really and having the climate down here and a touchscreen means that you have to take eyes off the road a little bit longer to set the temperature you want though as with all the cars you can use voice commands if you prefer to do that i do prefer the digital drivers display on this audi compared to the bmw though it's brighter it's clearer it's nice and it does a really good job not quite as fancy as the mercedes but easily good enough i know what you're thinking it's hard to believe that this a8 is actually the short wheel based version because there's loads of knee room there's even more space obviously in the long wheelbase version and with a long wheelbase car you can spec it up with loads of stuff such as fancy seats which you can go into like a first class mode they fully recline got massage and all that kind of stuff you can get rare infotainment systems galore when you fold down this you can get a little tablet there where you can control various things like the interior lighting and stuff like that it's all very clever but this car doesn't have any of that now one thing i want to show i do like this though look at this this is quality for you look how smooth that goes back ah well it's not so smooth are the seats when i say smooth i mean soft audi seats are just a little bit on the firm side they're not on comfy they're actually quite supportive but you don't feel like you're on a big comfy sofa in them they're quite taut moving on to the seven series and this is the long wheelbase version and it's well kitted out with all the goodies now one thing i've noticed is that i'm getting blinded by the sun so i'm gonna shut all the blinds and everything but before i do look this has some special features in the roof which allow you to shine some ambient lighting in there anyhow let's darken things down stop the riff raff looking in and all that kind of thing yeah that's better now these seats a bit more comfy than the ones in the audi there they are the upgraded seats and i can do stuff such as this look press this button i want to go into recline mode it's not quick obviously you can't do that if someone's sitting there or if you're in a rush the last bit is the best bit actually do you know what i might just press the massage on mine for this to happen there we go come on oh that's a good little foot rest that though look quite padded nice also got my massage on i've got my feet up got my infotainment screens there got my little tablet which i can flop out there we go and control the infotainment system do whatever i want to do really oh i want to do a test just like on the audi let's look at this right that's for god knows what i think you can get fridge in there but look watch how this shuts is this more expensive this action than the one in the audi oh yeah oh massage it as well finally we come to the s-class now let's check out just how luxurious it is by testing how well bits of it are damped so this armrest that's all right let's check the cup holder out oh actually looking at a little phone holder there well if it's not in the case and then you press it again and that comes out that's all right so look at this come on be good it's not so good what about this what mercedes what have you done i can't believe i'm bothered to damp that right that's just rubbish this caused crap no i'm stopping sorry i'm just being the not funny is it um yeah you pretty much got all the same kind of tech and luxury that you have in the seven series so i can put up my blinds i can move this seat out of the way go for business class mode it takes a while like in the bmw and to be fair if you have it in the audi it's a similar story now let's just check out whether i can get as comfy in this as i did in the seven series what's it gonna do about what it's doing now i'll just get this tablet out you can control loads of the infotainment system functions through this and interior features i don't have the extra screens like in the back of the bmw but of course you can pay extra if you want those come on board of that now that fits in there nice and neatly here comes the footrest so i'm a little bit disappointed by this footrest because it really is just more of a part of your heel rest but still there's loads of room and these seats are just a little bit more comfortable than in the bmw and certainly the aud the most comfortable bit though these pillows are they're especially comfy they're a bit like resting your head on a big fluffy cloud now we need to compare the car's boot capacities which could be quite dull so to liven things up i'm going to mountaineer between the boots yeah so the audi a8 big capacity is 505 liters though if you get the hybrid version because you've got batteries in the boot it reduces to 390 liters come on let's see if we can make it across thankfully it's quite a square boot so it's easy to walk along not as easy as this seven series nice big wide opening so the big capacity of this as standard is 515 litres but you have the plug-in hybrid which is what this car is it reduces to 420 liters so still better than the a8 finally then we come to the mercedes and its opening isn't quite so big so it's tricky to load and to mountaineer into but once you're in you've got the most space here 550 liters there's no hybrid version yet so i can't tell you if that will reduce the boot capacity but in the oldest class the hybrid had the same beat capacity as the standard car i think you'll agree that was the perfect way to test these cars i hit my head that hard thankfully i've escaped from the boot and now i'm going to drive this s-class finally i say finally i've already driven it once before it's good to request myself though because it's a lovely thing to travel in absolutely lovely the thing that you really notice or don't notice is the noise it's so quiet in here mercedes has packed this car full of soundproofing it's just serene relaxing chilled the seats are really comfy the steering wheel is gorgeous to hold the air suspension generally it's just glorious it's like you're just floating along it really does feel like you're riding on air however it's not perfect over smaller bumps and if you're going slowly around town and like those sharp edge bumps suddenly catch it out and you get like a like a shimmy it's a bit like well i wasn't expecting that it's just so comfy and soft and like you're floating that why did i feel that bump it's just not what you'd expect and then sometimes some bad ones really just kind of confuse it so i was driving here today and i did this thing where i was accelerating around the corner and i went over some bumps i'm gonna try and describe it to you in pure engineering terms what happened to the suspension because i was accelerated over these bumps the suspension went it basically just shut itself i'm sorry if that was too technical an explanation for you but that's pretty much what the car did it's unusual because normally as long as the road's fine it's so luxurious it's only occasionally so that's me splitting hairs on this car though i've got to try and pull it apart and try and discern the differences between these three great limousines one thing that i was pleasantly surprised about with this car though was the handling so when you turn it into a bed it does lean a bit but you get a lot of feel through the steering and through your bottom you can really get a sense of how it's driving at the moment you can only get a six-length diesel and a 600 petrol there will be a hybrid version along there will be a va and a high performance amg as well so lots of choice the gearbox in this car is really nice as well nine speeds but you wouldn't know because it's very good at finding the right gear when it needs it and it's smooth you hardly know it's actually changing gears adds to the whole relaxation now if you want to find out more about the engines and some of the tech on the car then i'll put a link just up there popping down in the top right hand corner of the screen and you can watch my full in-depth video review of the s-class full information on engine ranges economy and all that kind of stuff there is one thing that i'm a little bit annoyed about and that's the fact that this s-class in the uk won't come with rear-wheel steering which is a shame because this mercedes s-class has the best rear wheel steering of any car it can turn the rear wheels by up to 10 degrees which is insane but not in the uk we don't get it why not i don't know i guess i can live with it because otherwise this car is pretty blooming lovely to just waft about in that's my being wafted face now let's see what this audi a8 well the s8 is like to drive and seeing as it is the s8 the performance version let's do this first off let's experience that twin turbo 4 liter v8 and it absolutely flies good job the car can grip well when you go around a bend as well in fact he can go around corners surprisingly quickly for such a big car obviously got quattro all-wheel drive is standing across the range so you've got that traction which is handy if it's a bit slippy it's a real confidence-inspiring car this now i don't think it's quite as quiet as the mercedes to travel in the insulation isn't quite as good it's very little the difference but if you're looking out for it and trying to be a motoring journalist that's earning his living you can notice it ever so slightly another thing you notice is the suspension so this s version has slightly stiffer suspension than normal a8 but it's still very very good you don't get that floaty feel in the same way that you're getting the mercedes which is like you're being rocked to sleep but what you don't have either is the suspension getting upset by little bumps like you do in the mercedes so it's more consistent at its height at the very best it's not quite as soothing as the mercedes suspension but also it doesn't have the low points of the mercedes suspension so it averages out as a slightly better riding car i think the gearbox is pretty much as good as the mercedes as well eight speed one less ratio probably doesn't respond quite as well it's not as smooth as the mercedes but very little in it it's a deeply impressive car this lovely to drive in fact it feels a little bit more like just a slightly larger a6 than say a full-on luxury limousine in the way that the mercedes s-class does i like it just doesn't feel quite as special to travel in is that s-class finally then the bmw 7 series so bmw it's going to be the best to drive the most fun right no it's not bizarrely the audi seems a bit sharper and in a way so does the mercedes there's a slight disconnect in the driving experience with this seven series i just don't know why it's not terrible and it doesn't think it'll grip well and it won't topple over in the bends but it just doesn't seem quite as on it as the others it's not helping that this is the hybrid and that obviously means it's heavier than normal running wide there because you've got the added weight of the batteries but even so the seven series isn't quite as sharp to drive as an s-class or an a8 in terms of comfort it's not far off you know it's not quite as soft and floaty as the s-class and it's not quite as polished as that a8 it's good and it's good enough but when you're back-to-backing them you do notice the difference whereas if you just got them cold you'd be more than happy in any of them another thing about the bmw is that you do notice a bit more tire noise than the other two cars they just create a bit more as you're driving along although that's anything that you notice when you're going at motorway speeds so as for engines with this car there's quite a wide choice three liter straight six petrol three little straight six diesels this hybrid version you can get v8 all the engines work well with the gearbox the eight speed in the bmw is lovely is it better than the mercedes one it's close it's definitely responsive you don't notice it working away when you're just peopling around and when you need it to react it reacts for you which is exactly what you want really in it now all these cars are available with clever cruise control systems which can keep you centrally in lane and keep you safe distance from the car in front they all work very very well and i use them all whenever i drive these cars but overall the mercedes system is the best then what's my final verdict which of these cars is best well it's not the bmw 7 series because it's not quite as good as the audi a8 which isn't quite as good as the new mercedes s-class because this car leads the field in terms of luxury technology and image and that's why it wins this test though actually if i was buying one of these cars i'd just gone to car wow and save almost 30 thousand pounds on the bmw 7 series because it's not 30 000 pounds less good than this s-class so i suppose the bmw is actually the moral victor i hope you enjoyed the video if you did please give it a like if it didn't why don't you share it to show other people how rubbish the video was now what do you think of my verdict did you agree with me if not let me know in the comments below if you want to watch some more executive car content just watch those videos there just click on those you can go check them out and if you click on that box there i've actually found an even more interesting deal on another german car which is not quite as high-end as these cars but it's one you're more likely to buy so click on that box to go check out what the car is and what the deal is\n"