You can, by the way, also see the "intelligent lighting system" at work in that nightvision video: The high beam goes on and off automatically.
Since I realized that this is the updated S-Class after the half-time improvement (they call it "Mopf" at Mercedes, short for "Modellpflege"), I decided to take some additional pictures to make the changes recognizable. They are subtle but effective, if you ask me. The car looks more proportional and elegant and not so "voluptuous" anymore. Also the interior is even better in terms of material and built quality and the standard wood is more pleasing to the eye, too. The whole care makes a more matured impression now. It's also quieter than the ones I had before. They obviously sid some things in the area of noise insulation.
I really like those exhausts.
Again I must say, that while other car makers may also have the gadgets in their cars now, in terms of usability and functionality Mercedes is still always that little bit ahead, that makes a difference.
Take the seat adjustments for example: All car makers mount them to the bottom of the seats, where you have to feel for them with your fingers. But Mercedes places them in the doors, which is probably much more expensive production-wise but ergonomically is miles ahead.
It's the details, you know... For example the fact that the inner door openers are large enough, that even people with big, fat hands like mine can fit four fingers into them and not only two, like in most other cars.
And here are some night videos I cut together, including demonstration of the rear view camera (which -- since it's a Merc -- is again a little bit better to use, than in the 5-Series I recently drove) and the vehicle settings menu, which I think is cool.
[video=youtube;JS5wV2yh-ZQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JS5wV2yh-ZQ[/video]