Mercedes Benz Safety Driving Experience

I want one of those!

Earlier in July of this year, I was invited by my clients, DaimlerChrysler for the Mercedes Benz Safety Driving Experience in Sepang International Racing Circuit. It is really a once in a lifetime experience and I was told it costs around RM5,000/head for such an event. When my guy friends found out that I was invited to such an event, they called me names....bad names. They were jealous I suspect.

On D-day I woke up really pumped yet a little frightened not knowing what to expect. I got up at 7ish in the morning and drove over in my BMW :p My clients have been trying to convert me into a Merc person. I was told that the other online agency owners drive Bimmers too and they were wondering if there was some kind of co-relation.

To kick off the day, we were separated into 4 different groups so we could cover the 4 sections of the training at the same time. For all exercises, the instructor would take groups of us in the car to demonstrate actual feel of each manoeuvre. During the various manoeuvres, we had the chance to try out the full range of their offering; A-class, B-class, C-class, E-class to the new S-class. This allowed us to have a good feel of the special features of each of the range. I have to say I was very impressed with the E-Class, it is a very complete car in terms of performance.

Our group started off at the "drifting" course or a "curve" manoeuvre. We started at slightly past the pits and headed towards a bend where we would apply the emergency brakes for a complete stop, following which we then accelerate towards a double bend. This is when the drifting happens. As it was still early in the morning and the adrenalin didn't kick in yet, my heart jumped right out when I was in the demonstration with the instructor. He accelerated towards the ramp and hit about 120kmh when he applied the emergency brake. I suspect I dug a hole in seat of the car trying to grab on to dear life. I can imagine the terror of those in an accident scenario...

We did six runs for each of the manoeuvres in three different cars. At the end of each run on the straight stretch of the road, Renee (my speed demon partner) and I would do almost like a handbrake turn with the wheels squealing. We followed through with squeals of delight ourselves. You can't imagine the thrill of how that feels, honestly.

The second manoeuvre involved emergency braking and swerving. For this, we experienced two road surfaces, asphalt and skidpad - to demonstrate ABS. I've realized the utter importance of emergency braking. Throughout the whole experience, emergency braking was central to all manoeuvres and highly stressed upon. Using two different road surfaces, the instructor went on the skidpad at 100mph and without the aid of ABS. We spun around maybe like 3 times, and at those speeds, your life DOES flash by. Of course we didn't duplicate the exercise without ABS, even then the car does do a half spin. I would rate this exercise most scary.

The third manoeuvre was the double lane change where we would charge downhill, accelerating all the way to hit a speed of 85km/h only to release the gas pedal (not step on the brakes) when we hit the first cone marker. During that 100m or so distance, we had to do a double lane change (i.e. swerving to a lane on the left and then quickly to the right again). The lane was marked by cones and boy was it narrow when you were hitting those speeds! This manoeuvre was an exercise on emergency steering situations without the use of brakes. I have to say though that their ESP system was fabulous, I'm usually the first to imagine that my car will fly off the road when taking corners at high speed, but I felt totally stable in the Merc. We tried this manoeuvre with the A, B and class if I recall. The B170 is terrible, the car is probably too heavy, it doesn't hit top speed soon enough, unlike the others.

We went for lunch and most of us decided not to pile it on, fearing that the final manoeuvre will cause the lunch to launch itself out of intestines. One of the guys in our group actually had to sit out the final manoeuvre as he was already throwing up during the 3rd. He partnered with this daredevil girl and boy, she wasn't afraid of speeding! In fact during the test, she came out top 3!

The final manoeuvre was the slalom. The slalom stresses the importance of visual focus, holding and controlling of the steering wheel and adopting a correct driving position. This was when I experienced the amazing capabilities of the E-Class. It was a superb vehicle, it had balance, good feel/control (the ESP was amazing) and power all in one. The new S Class was also fun to drive, the seats and built of the interior was so luxurious that Renee and I almost totally chilled out waiting for our turn! The ML was a nice ride too. Some guys went too fast and the car nearly swayed out of control - which would have resulted in a flip. Our German instructor kept shouting "BWAKE, BWAKE" over the walkie talkie and Renee and I would totally crack up!

When all groups finished the 4 manoeuvres, we got to do the offroad experience in the ML. For that, they demonstrated the ride up and down a 70 degree slope (I swear it was extremely steep). The ML was impressive but doubt people actually put such a luxurious car through so much. Just sitting there and letting the instructor demo the vehicle was fun, for once we didn't have to focus

The intense focusing does get the adrenalin running VERY high. In fact, so much so that Renee and I both got a headache. Anyhow, the HIGHLIGHT of the event was that we got to drive the SLK 55 AMG for 10 laps round Sepang! Gosh, just being next to the car was enough to thrill anyone. They were all custom-made with a racing seat and special seat belts which strapped 4-ways. The sound of the engine was something else, I got a glimpse of what turns men on but I still can't understand why.

Boy, the 10 laps, now that was something else...the car is totally amazing, it literally sticks to the track! I was running at least 100km/h on the bend and it didn't drift. On the run in front of the grandstand where the track is just a long stretch of straight road, I hit about 160/180km/h on the 6th gear and didn't feel a thing except a rush of adrenalin. It was thrilling yet damn scary to be able to do speeds like that. I usually don't, but heck, 6hours of training has me confident enough to try it out. Anyway, I know DCM wouldn't put anyone at risk.

This was indeed a once in a lifetime experience for me. On the ride home, my old Bimmer felt like it needed upgrading...sob sob, driving will never be the same again...