What’s New About the S
Where the 3 Series arguably sets the direction and tone of the House of Munich and the Ultimate Driving Machine, the halls of Stuttgart center around the S-Class for The Best or Nothing. The 2021 S-Class shows that Mercedes takes that motto very seriously. While it doesn’t make the move to full electric (there’s the EQS for that), the S-Class continues to push the envelope of luxury and technology for everyone else. There’s a new (optional) airbag for the REAR seat passengers, rear wheel steering to help this gentle giant sling u-turns with the best of them, augmented reality head-up display, 3D driver display, up to 5 screens on board, over the air updates for over 50 electronic systems in the vehicle and it can even raise the vehicle in the event of a side impact collision to help protect occupants.
What’s Good About the S
It’s still smooooooooth. The S-Class is still one of the pinnacles of luxury (yes there are Rolls-Royces and Bentleys in the ultra luxury stratosphere). Elegant and stately design can mix with modern touches like flush body handles, at least on the outside. Inside, things swing fully to the tech side of the equation. But the tech that is inside is impressive in its own right.
Key Features / Content
Opulence abounds in the S-Class, whether its the massaging front seats, air fragrance system (don’t worry, it’s not as bad as walking past an Abercrombie in the mall), 64 different tones of ambient lighting, powered side window shades, a crystal sharp surround view camera and not just one, but MULTIPLE USB-C ports. Those are all standard fare on even the “base” S500 4Matic (yes all-wheel drive, or 4Matic in Mercedes-talk is standard). But with a starting price of over $110,000, one would argue that those should be standard. However, a heated steering wheel is a $250 option.
While the S500 customers make do with a 3.0L inline-6 turbo with 429 horses and 384 torques, the S580 drivers jump up to a 4.0L biturbo V8 with 496 (couldn’t make those next 4 eh?) horses and 516 whopping lb-ft of torque. Neither customer will want for power, as the German engineers estimate that either will get this massive sedan to 60 miles per hour from a standstill in under 5 seconds. Time is money right?
An AMG Line appearance package can be added to either model, while the S580 also features an optional Executive Line grouping for additional rear seat coddling.
A 3D Technology package ($3,000) brings augmented reality into the picture, or more specifically, into the head-up display, and 3D elements into the standard digital gauge cluster. Facial recognition in the vehicle also can link a driver to their vehicle profile settings.
And who needs 3D when you can have 4D? As in the 4D Burmester High-End Stereo at a not-so-paltry sum of $6,730. This places 30 high end speakers throughout the cabin as well as seat-integrated resonators to help you feel when that bass line takes a walk down the street.
While you’re perusing options, you can also elect for the e-active body control, which can scan the road and help the vehicle’s suspension prepare for imperfections to minimize impact felt within the cabin. And who can put a price (it’s $6,500) on the safety aspect of being able to raise the body of the vehicle in certain impending side impacts to better align the vehicle with the aggressor.
Quick Spin
If I could drive a cloud, and not just any cloud, a majestic cloud, I think this is what it would feel like. If someone asked me to drive across the country right now (Mercedes-Benz, if you would like me to, I will definitely do this) in any car, this would be at the very top of a very short list. Effortless doesn’t begin to describe the power available in the turbo V8, while the road all but disappears under the tires. That’s not to say that it’s disconnected or numb, it’s just… isolated, when you want it to be. The Dynamic selector helps ratchet the vehicle down if you want to hustle it through some curve with the active body control system working to defy physics in a beast that weighs in at just a hair under 5,000 pounds. And whether it’s on those curves or in a parking lot, the available rear wheel steering adds another sprinkle of magic. The turning radius can shrink by over 6 feet, effectively shrinking the footprint of the vehicle, as least in terms of close maneuvers.
Improvement Points
It will be interesting to watch how the S-Class and the now available fully electric EQS evolve in the coming years. Will the vehicle lines merge into one? How much of the S-Class goodies will we soon see on the just launched C-Class and future E-Class models?
