First drive: Mercedes-Maybach S600

Maybach's back? Remind me of the, um, bach story.

Last available in the UK in 2012 in full fat form at a toppy £345,675, Mercedes' bid to reactivate its dormant pre-war luxury nameplate was scuppered by a resurgent Rolls-Royce. That, and the fact that the only people who seemed to fancy this rather ersatz barge were those berks off Dragons' Den. Mercedes sold 3200 in total during its 10-year lifespan, but rather than admitting defeat, this time it's adopted a different strategy.

Which is?

It may seem a little unimaginative, but the reborn Maybach is effectively a reworked S-Class. On the other hand, given that the current model is a) comfortably the best car in its segment and b) shifted in excess of 100,000 units worldwide in its first full year on sale, that's a pretty rational jumping-off point.

Mercedes now prefers to see Maybach as a distinct sub-brand, in the same vein as AMG, whose technical reliance on the Stuttgart mothership is hardly what you'd call an impediment.

What does Maybach stand for? ‘Space, exclusivity, and world-leading refinement,' S-class product boss Martin Hülder tells TG.com. Further Maybach adventures are in the pipeline, a new super-luxury SUV surely the likeliest next step, and there's a freshness to the thinking that was arguably missing first time out.

Anything else?

Where do you start? With the silver-plated champagne flutes by Robbe & Berking, housed in their own dedicated armrest? The rear cupholders, which glow blue when they're cooling your Dom Perignon, red when they're keeping your coffee hot?

Or with the Burmester 3D audio system that has 24 speakers and a 1540 watt total output? Or possibly the airbag that's built into the rear seat cushion, inflating if you're unlucky enough to be fully reclined in the event of a high-speed impact to stop you ‘submarining' under the seatbelt?

This is an engineering powerhouse, underpinned by a sensational and possibly pathological attention to detail. The Mercedes-Maybach is designed to bridge the gap between a refreshingly old-fashioned concept of luxury and 2015's near-frenzied obsession with connectivity. It succeeds.

Can we talk about what it's like to drive?

Nope. We're still too busy fondling those solid silver champagne flutes and playing with the rear seat. There are 24 separate motors in each of them, and they serve up more back-pummelling possibilities than a particularly creative osteopath.

The Maybach is 207mm longer than the long-wheelbase S-Class, although its rear doors are actually shorter. This means two things: firstly, it looks extremely elegant, and doesn't suffer from the aesthetic bloat that usually afflicts stretched versions of existing designs. Secondly, the extra width is in the C-pillar area, and the passenger benefits from that priceless sense of privacy, best served up in the Rolls Phantom.

Mercedes is now so technologically omnipotent it can even manipulate the atmosphere in the cabin, using its Air-Balance system. The Maybach gets an Agarwood scent prepared by the company's in-house perfumier - yes, you read that right - whose Oud essence is apparently more valuable than gold. (The tree, not the perfumier.) Smells lovely, too.

Is it any good to drive?

Wait, will you? Pretty much the only option is the First Class Cabin individual rear seat set-up, which is £7200 well spent. The seat behind the front passenger reclines to a near-flat-bed 43.5 degrees, allowing you to gaze through the Magic Sky Control panoramic roof - translucent or dark at the touch of a button - marvelling at your exceedingly good fortune.

Mercedes has markedly improved its interior quality across its range of late, and the Maybach's is predictably off-the-scale. Naturally, crass aberrations of taste are still possible, but you'd really have to go some to screw it up. There's plush quilted leather all over the place, even on the recessed vanity mirrors. And the door panels are heated.

But for goodness sake IS IT ANY GOOD TO DRIVE?

Only the S600 will be available in the UK. It's powered by Merc's 6.0-litre, 528bhp V12, so 62mph is dusted in 5.0 seconds dead, and there's enough mid-range torque to uproot entire forests. Mercedes claims that this is the world's quietest production saloon, and in normal driving the presence of that huge engine remains almost theoretical.

All sorts of clever sound insulation tricks have been used to suppress NVH, and it's only if you bury your right foot that you think, ‘yep, 12 cylinders'. It weighs 2335kg, but Merc's re-engineering efforts are such that it feels generally un-bargelike. The Rolls Phantom is still the king of making the real world disappear, but the S600 Maybach runs it close. So yes, it's better than good to drive.

Good to know, assuming your name is Simon Cowell. Or Theo Paphitis. Presumably it's monumentally expensive.

Don't shoot us, but at £165,700 we reckon it's actually good value. If not quite as imperious as the Phantom or as imposing as Bentley's Mulsanne, the S600 Maybach is still a profundly impressive achievement.

Put it this way, you could have a Maybach and an AMG S63 Coupe for the price of one Rolls Phantom. Or a Maybach and a Range Rover Autobiography. Or a Porsche 911 GT3. Suggestions on a postcard to the usual address, please.