What does it cost?
Maybach 62 Saloon full 9 point review
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Performance
The 62 use a tuned version of the Mercedes S600’s 5.5 twin-turbo V12 that develops huge power - 550bhp and 664lb ft of pull, to be exact. It shows. An even faster 6.0-litre V12 bi-turbo is also available.
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Ride & Handling
Air springs and adaptive dampers ought to give the Maybach suppleness and composure, but they don't. Vertical bounce is well controlled, but there's too much sideways rock and roll to allow rear passengers to rest or work in peace, and sharp bumps could be better insulated. The car's bulk, softness and light steering also work against tidy control away from motorways.
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Refinement
The drivetrain - engine and automatic gearshifts - are incredibly smooth, while the V12 emits just enough of a woofle under load to involve those who choose to do their own driving. There's a bit of road noise on coarse surfaces, and wind noise above 80mph.
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Buying & Owning
With starting prices close to a quarter of a million pounds, you'll need to be seriously wealthy to own a Maybach, so chances are you'll be unconcerned by the enormous costs of fuelling, insuring and maintaining the car. What might concern you are residual values, and Maybach promises a buy-back scheme for used cars to protect these as much as possible.
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Quality & Reliability
Maybach is an old-money brand (the company last made cars in 1941) reintroduced for nouveau-riche buyers. You might not approve of some of the colour and trim combos, but it's hard to fault the hand-built quality. Mechanically, the Merc-sourced bits are tough, but we'd like to think the electrical glitches that have plagued some models won't be in evidence here.
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Safety & Security
Absolutely everything you need to keep a 550bhp, 2.7-tonne car on the road is fitted as standard, while the four occupants are protected by 10 airbags and the crash structures look deeply impressive. Deadlocks aren't fitted, but then you'll probably be keeping the car in an armoured garage or under the constant gaze of the chauffeur, anyway.
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Behind The Wheel
Though the driver has plenty of space and adjustment of the major controls, the switchgear demands familiarisation and the hefty screen pillars, especially those at the rear, make exiting from junctions hazardous.
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Space & Practicality
Riding in the back of the Maybach is even better than first-class air travel. You enter through doors that swing out to almost 90 degrees, have masses of room, fully adjustable seats that are like airliner armchairs in the 62, and every luxury. The boot is no bigger than a Mondeo's unless you fit a space-saver spare wheel, however.
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Equipment
TV/DVD screens, surround-sound entertainment, reclining rear chairs and even a refrigerator and clamps for your champagne glasses are fitted in the rear cabin. Even so, there are enough options to permit two million different permutations of colour, trim and equipment, so the chances are you won't see another one the same as yours.
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Our pick of the range
Maybach 62 Saloon 5.5 V12 4dr
If you must have a Maybach 62, this is the one to have. The larger-engined version costs just too much. Better still, you could perhaps make do with a 57 and save tens of thousands.
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