OKAY, Rolls-Royce is regal and Bentley is brilliant, but only Mercedes has managed to collect seven - yes SEVEN - consecutive Best Luxury Car awards.

The model in question is the S-Class which comes either standard size or L, which means the wheelbase is a tad longer allowing acres of rear legroom. Engines range from a frugal 3.0-litre diesel to a mighty 6.3-litre monster and they are packed with more technology than a product from NASA.

Here are just a few of the gizmos - intelligent lighting system which ‘sees' round corners, Direct Control suspension for a magic carpet ride and Pre-safe Command system which automatically puts on the anchors if you are about to nudge the car in front of you.

I borrowed the S350L BlueTec which is a happy blend of sports car performance and shopping-trolley economy. Amazingly, the 5.2 metre long limo is so miserly at the pump you can squeeze nearly 40 miles out of a gallon of diesel. It's also squeaky clean with a CO2 of just 164g/km.

Mind you, if you can afford £64,005 for your set of wheels, maybe economy isn't your prime concern. Nevertheless, It's nice to know you're not wrecking the planet too much...

Imposing though it is to look at with a long nose dominated by that traditional grille and a muscular, sloping tail, the S-Class shape has been around too long to turn heads today. It's a different story in the cabin which has the air of a luxury boardroom - beautifully polished black ash woodwork and an abundance of Sahara beige hide upholstery.

The front seat not only adjust electrically up, down, forwards and backwards but offer additional and varying degrees of side support depending on the cornering forces. It's like being given a gentle hug on every corner - very reassuring.

Life for the rear seat passengers is equally pampering. The back seats also electrically alter for rake and reach, a separate climate control system looks after the temperature and TV screen are set into the back of the front headrests.

Legroom is so plentiful in the L version that your toes can barely tickle the seats in front. There are even side and rear privacy screen which come up at a touch of a button if you want to pretend you are famous...or perhaps you are!

The boot is big enough most with a capacity of 560 litres.

So, loads of oppulence, but what's it like on the move? Here's the real surprise - despite its considerable bulk and an emphasis on frugality, the CDI picks up its heel with gusto.

The brilliant seven-speed automatic gearbox coupled the silky six cylinder diesel whisk you to 62mph in seven seconds and top speed is a 155mph.

It seems a bit irreverent to hurl a grand saloon around like a hot hatch, but in the interests of testing I can confirm that its hugs the road as well as many sports cars and better than some. The ride is nothing short of of amazing, ironing out all but the worst craters.

Mercedes are past master at designing steering systems that both inform and insulate. That on the S-Class is just as good as more sporting models in the range in its direct communication.