Yes, it can get better. In fact, not only can it get better, it can get a whole lot better. The 3.2-litre V6 engine in the S320 lets loose 224bhp on the 225/60 R 16V rear tyres which have to bear the 1770kg burden. Maximum torque is a massive 315Nm and that is available in a wide rev band ranging from 3000 to 4800rpm. The power to weight ratio is an impressive 127bhp/ton which is the highest of any of the 17 cars. The power is delivered through a tiptronic-type five speed gearbox and though one can use it as a semi-manual gearbox and manually shift up or down for that matter, we had found that the best acceleration times we got were by using it in the fully automatic mode as then the gearshifting would be done at precisely the right time. With the left foot pressing down hard on the brake pedal and the right on the accelerator pedal till the tachometer needle gets to about the 2000rpm mark and just before it hits the rev limiter at about 2200rpm, I slip my foot off the brake pedal and keep the accelerator pedal pressed real hard. The behemoth lurches forward slowly at first, getting to 40kmph in 2.95secs. Only three cars are slower to the 40kmph mark than the S-class. As the tacho needle gets up to about 3500rpm, there is a surge of power and the S-class reels in all the other cars by the 60kmph mark except for the torquey E220 CDI and the Honda City VTEC. And these cars it is fast catching up with. The 0-100kmph time of 9.85secs is 0.25secs quicker than that of the E240 and 0.27secs quicker than the Honda City Vtec.With 312mm internally ventilated discs doing duty all round on 16-inch wheels which are shod with 225/60 tyres, braking is just getting your foot off the accelerator and slamming down on the brakes. Though we debated on deploying left foot braking we decided to stick to conventional methods. Despite its heavy weight the car slowed to a stop smoothly in 3.76secs, covering 47.36m during this time. With a total time of 13.61secs for the round trip to 0kmph, the winner for the 0-100kmph-0 mega test is the Mercedes-Benz S320!

MERCEDES BENZ S320

Engine type : V6, SOHC Displacement : 3199cc Max power : 224bhp@5600rpm Max torque : 315Nm@3000-4800rpm Power to weight : 127bhp/ton Brakes (F/R) : 312mm Discs Tyres : 225/60 R16V Wheels : Alloy Kerb weight : 1770 kg

A 0-100kmph-0 test may not tell you everything about a car and it definitely leaves out a lot, but it does tell you how fast a car accelerates and how quickly it stops, and this is crucial to understanding the performance characteristics of the car. In fact it tells you everything about its straightline performance and has been used all over the world to decide on the overall best performance cars. I had expected a lightweight car with a powerful engine to get to the top of the 0-100kmph-0 stakes. This amongst our 17 cars would have meant either the City 1.5 VTEC, the Esteem VXi or maybe even the Baleno especially with the wider tyres. A couple of things caused this line of thinking to be disrupted. First and foremost were the braking parameters. I have realised how much of a difference ABS makes to the stopping prowess of a car and those without ABS stood no chance of making it to the top. And the other thing I have learnt is that if you have raw power, and I mean loads of it, nothing else except the brakes matter much! At the end I would like to acknowledge the hard work that has been put in by the whole of the OVERDRIVE team to bring this test to fruition, especially Aspi, Sirish, Bertrand, and Shailesh who helped with the photography. And not to forget our bossman whose idea it was in the first place and who did most of the planning to make it all happen.