Mercedes-Benz S-Class And Sprinter Retain Their Fleet World Honours

MILTON KEYNES, UNITED KINGDOM – May 20, 2010: The Mercedes-Benz S-Class has been crowned Best Luxury Car at the 2010 Fleet World Honours and the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter scooped Best Large Van. Both vehicles retained their awards from 2009, whilst Sprinter now enjoys a three-year reign.

The Best Luxury Car award for the S-Class was presented to Adrian Freeman, Regional Corporate Sales Manager for Mercedes-Benz UKat a special ceremony at the Royal Automobile Club in Pall Mall on Tuesday 18 May.

Steve Moody, Editor of Fleet World commented: “The luxury sector is about to become even more competitive, but all new entrants have one model to beat, a model that continues to define the very best in corporate motoring and luxury: the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. New more efficient engines have made the line-up even more formidable than ever before.”

The Mercedes-Benz S 350 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY, which accounts for 92 per cent of fleet sales, returns an impressive 37.2 mpg on the combined cycle whilst emitting just 199 g/km of CO2 and later in 2010 will become even cleaner and more efficient. With the introduction of the S 350 BlueTEC, Mercedes-Benz will be the first manufacturer to offer a vehicle that already meets EU 6 standards that don’t come into effect in the UK until 2014.

The unique BlueTEC technology significantly reduces the only gas constituents that are higher in diesel engines than in petrol engines, therefore reducing emissions and improving efficiency.

Colin Niklas, National Corporate Sales Manager for Mercedes-Benz UK said: “We are delighted that the 2010 Fleet World Honours judging panel has once again awarded the S-Class with the accolade of Best Luxury Car. The S-Class is well recognised as being at the fore front of new technology as well as offering the ultimate in luxurious surroundings, extreme comfort and of course great efficiency.”

Many features of the S-Class are unique and remain unrivalled by competitors. New safety features making the S-Class one of the safest cars on the road.

Adaptive Highbeam is now standard on the S-Class and uses eight stages of graduation from dipped to main beam to ensure that maximum visible range from the headlights is available at all time, without dazzling other road users. Another unique standard feature of the S-Class is Attention Assist which monitors over 70 parameters to detect the onset of drowsiness so it can alert the driver to take a break, crucially, before they fall asleep.

Torque vectoring brakes ensure precise cornering without compromising driving dynamics, while Distronic Plus significantly reduces driver strain in start stop traffic through the use of long and medium range radars by keeping the car a set distance from the vehicle in front.

The Mercedes-Benz S-Class continues to impress and be the envy of the boardroom as the halo company car for others to aspire to.

The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter also delighted the judges, winning the Best Large Van award.

Van Fleet World Editor, John Kendall, said: “The Sprinter has taken this award for the past few years and now with Euro-5 engines out in the past year, it does much to consolidate the van’s position. The models have much to offer on all counts. The latest Sprinter has a new 2.2-litre common rail diesel with lower emissions and better fuel consumption, while car-like driving characteristics belie the size of the larger models. Not surprisingly, they have become firm fleet favourites.”

Steve Bridge, Mercedes-Benz Vans Sales and Marketing Director said: “The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter has held the accolade of Best Large Van since 2008, and we’re thrilled it has retained its title again in 2010. The vehicle has repeatedly set standards by offering the van fleet market low whole life costs, excellent fuel economy and a firm commitment to safety.”

Mercedes-Benz was the first manufacturer to achieve Euro 5 – as well as being cleaner, the new Sprinters are smoother, quieter and more powerful, along with being significantly cheaper to run. And, with low fuel consumption and low emissions becoming increasingly important considerations for the van fleet buyer, the Sprinter can also be fitted with the ECO-Start system. This innovative system saves fuel and reduces emissions by automatically cutting the engine whenever the vehicle is stationary for more than three seconds and then re-starts it as soon as the clutch pedal is depressed.

All Sprinters come equipped with class and industry leading levels of passive and active safety. The Adaptive ESP (Electronic Stability Program) anti-skid system constantly monitors the vehicles adjusting load, centre of gravity and yaw angles and dynamically adjusts the brakes, supplying maximum effect, while

the vehicle is on the move.

The Best Large Van award was presented to Julia Elkins, Senior Press Officer – Commercial Vehicles.