Mercedes-Benz S-Class 2021 Review

It’s a little too early for local pricing of the new W223 Mercedes-Benz S-Class, but for it to continue to lead the category in Australia the range is likely to stick with a similar pricing structure, kicking off from the low-$200,000s mark.

When the new S-Class arrives in March 2021, the first model to touch down will be the 270kW S 450 – currently priced at about $240K (plus on-road costs) – that is set to be available with either rear-wheel drive or the car-maker’s 4MATIC all-wheel drive system. It should also be available in standard-wheelbase form and as a long-wheelbase variant.

Mercedes-Benz Australia is expected to skip the more powerful S 500 we sampled for our drive that uses a 320kW version of the same 48-volt mild-hybrid 3.0-litre ‘M256’ inline turbo-petrol six-cylinder, opting instead for a punchier-still S 63 with the AMG-developed ‘M176’ 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 that also gets 48-volt mild-hybrid tech and pumps out 360kW.

Towards the end of 2021, or early 2022, an even more powerful 370kW S 580e plug-in hybrid will be introduced in Australia that combines a 100kW electric motor and the S 500’s 3.0-litre petrol with a large lithium-ion battery to provide a pure-electric range of up to 100km.

Since Australia remains one of the world’s biggest markets for AMG products, it’s thought the majority of S-Class variants imported here will be AMG Line models that, as standard, come with a full AMG body kit that includes a sportier front bumper, wider sills and a rear bumper that incorporates a lower diffuser that helps the huge S-Class achieve a slippery drag coefficient of just 0.22Cd – a number that makes it the world’s most aerodynamic production car.

The AMG Line also introduces a Nappa leather-wrapped multifunction steering wheel, adding to the standard-issue Nappa leather seats and open-pore wood dash.

There will, of course, be a long list of other standard equipment that should include the new second-generation MBUX infotainment system, Level 4 autonomous self-parking system, a panoramic roof, 3D driver display, 360-degree camera, remote park pilot and even a 31-speaker Burmester sound system.

The new S-Class rides on 20-inch alloy wheels as standard, with the option of larger 21-inch rims.

It will be backed by Mercedes’ local five-year/unlimited-kilometre factory warranty, while servicing for the luxurious Benz is spaced across 12-month/25,000km intervals.

Mercedes-Benz describes the W223 S-Class as the safest car ever produced. That’s a bold claim, but after meeting just one of the small army of engineers who developed the safety systems on the German luxury limo, we’re inclined to believe it.

If you’re unlucky enough to be involved in an accident, the S-Class’ heavily-evolved MRA architecture should prove more adept at directing the energy of a high-speed collision away from the occupants than any of its rivals.

Within the cabin, more airbags than ever before will detonate to cushion the blow. These include a centre airbag designed to reduce the risk of driver and passenger head-clash, plus a pair of pioneering new rear seat airbags that mimic a baseball catcher’s mitt and cushion each rear occupant’s head in the event of a crash.

Even if you are stretched out on the aircraft-style reclining rear seats, under-cushion airbags will explode to prevent submarining.

Once the car has come to a rest, the S-Class will automatically lower its windows to let the smoke out and call the emergency services on your behalf, unlocking the doors if it thinks you’re unresponsive.

Naturally, the huge array of advanced driver assist technology built into the vehicle should hopefully prevent an impact from happening in the first place.

Using on-board cameras, radars, lidar and lasers, and even microphones that enable autonomous driving, the S-Class has reached a new level of sophistication with an active brake assist system that can spot pedestrians about to cross the road, or can bring the vehicle to a halt if you’ve missed a red light or one-way sign.

Then there’s the ‘cross traffic’ function that works up to 120km/h, looking for other cars that have jumped the lights when travelling through an intersection. If the sensors detect an impact is imminent, the car can automatically lift the suspension by up to 80mm in a fraction of a second to ensure the car is struck along its sill and not the more vulnerable B-pillar.

The same hardware also monitors what’s happening along the pavement, even identifying kids as a potential risk, preparing the car to react if they run or cycle out into the pathway of the Benz at any given moment.

If you see an obstacle and you swerve to avoid it, the S-Class will helpfully steer you back into lane if you are slow to recover. In other words, the latest tech can help compensate for a shocked, stunned or tired driver.

Cleverly, all the systems attempt to replicate what a decent human driver does in any given situation. Where once the computers would tell the hardware to simply slam on the brakes, the S-Class now calculates the distance available and slows the car as progressively as possible, behaviour that goes some way to prevent unobservant drivers behind crashing into the back of your car.

As well as safety, it’s impossible not to be in awe of the new semi-autonomous driving aids.

Our day began with a demo of the new Level 4 parking aid that, in the future, will see you leave your car to park itself in an airport parking garage.

The system works by allowing your S-Class to communicate directly with the car park itself. Both then work together using the car’s on-board sensors and the location’s embedded sensors and cameras that not only locate a free space but ensure the Mercedes parks better than you can.

When you return, you can summon your car from the plane and when you arrive back at the garage it should be waiting for you at the entrance. Let us emphasise ‘should be’ here. Stuttgart airport’s notoriously flaky phone network saw the system fail during our test, leaving the car lost within the bowels of the structure.

If you think self-parking is impressive (when it works), wait until you hear about the S-Class Level 3 autonomous cruise control that will be launched in the second half of next year.

Tick the box for the extra front-mounted lidar and extra sensors, and in specific Mercedes-approved ‘geofenced’ locations the S-Class will drive up to 120km/h without you having to either place your hands on the wheel or even monitor the progress.

Better still, if something does happen and it’s the car’s fault, Mercedes will pay as it’s covered under the car-maker’s insurance policy – that’s how confident it is.

There is a catch, though. Current legislation limits the speed to 60km/h and the system relies on the availability of HD maps.

We drove three variants of the all-new seventh-gen Mercedes S-Class: the S 500 4MATIC, an S 580 4MATIC and the S 580e plug-in hybrid.

As mentioned, the Mercedes-Benz S 500 uses a 48-volt mild-hybrid 3.0-litre ‘M256’ inline turbo-petrol six-cylinder that produces 320kW and 520Nm of torque.

That’s impressive alone, but thanks to the ‘EQ Boost’ 48-volt system a further 16kW/250Nm can be deployed during hard acceleration. This helps explain why the big S 500 can reach 100km/h from standstill in a very brisk 4.9 seconds. Top speed is limited to 250km/h.

The S 580, meanwhile, musters an even more impressive 360kW/700Nm from its twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8. Benz hasn’t released performance figures yet, but a sub-4.5sec 0-100km/h sprint is expected.

Finally, the S 580e should be capable of travelling up to 140km/h on pure-electric power alone, with an impressive 100km range between top-ups. With total power set to exceed 370kW – despite the extra weight of the added battery, electric motor and ancillaries – expect to see a 0-100km/h time of less than 5.0 seconds.

All versions of the S-Class come with the car-maker’s nine-speed automatic transmission.

Just lowering yourself into the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class’ two-stage cushion seats and allowing your head to drop back into the ‘cuddle cushion’ head restraints sets the scene for one of the most relaxing automotive experiences money can buy.

These seats are a highlight, featuring 19 individual motors – four of which are reserved for the 10 different massage programs that invigorate or revitalise a tired back.

Enhancing the feeling of serenity further, once you’ve pulled the soft-close door shut, is just how eerily quiet the cabin is.

This is hardly surprising considering the double-sealed firewalls and acres of sound deadening material and acoustic foam injected into all the hard-to-reach places, plus specially-developed tyres.

It’s not quite the full library experience with wind, tyre and road noise still permeating, but the levels are now so low that it’s possible to make out the whirring sound of the fans cooling the large infotainment system.

After a while I was forced to fire up the S-Class’ sound system to drown out the sound of my own breathing – it’s that quiet.

You would hope – and expect – that since the S-Class has such a strong emphasis on comfort it will offer the best ride in the business. And, indeed, for the seventh generation Mercedes’ engineers have focused on providing the most supple ride yet.

We drove cars fitted with the standard Airmatic air suspension, rather than the more advanced E-Active Body Control that blends air springs with adaptive dampers.

With the option of Eco, Comfort, Sport and Sport+ modes, plus a customisable Individual setting, we think most Australian drivers will toggle along to Sport on the highway as the engineering team has gone too far.

In the most comfortable setting the ride has a pillow-like softness, but this is accompanied by an underdamped feeling that could trigger nausea in some.

Leaving the highway and reaching some entertaining country roads and, again, the S-Class bucks convention. Instead of selecting Sport, or Sport+, now Comfort works best. That’s because our test car features Benz’s latest rear-steer system.

Two versions are offered as an option: one that allows the rear axle to pivot up to 4.5 degrees, the other a more dramatic 10 degrees. With the bigger angle of steer, Mercedes claims the S-Class’ turning circle has been reduced to that of a compact car.

Impressive stuff, but up here in the mountains we wished the engineers hadn’t bothered.

Like the very worst four-wheel steer systems, it means the Benz’s steering feels inconsistent and counterintuitive. Worse still, in a sportier setting, it also ends up emphasising body roll, with changes of direction that are simply too rapid.

We’d like to try the lesser of the two rear-steer options or, better still, a car without it altogether.

Another gripe concerns the nine-speed transmission that, despite the decent torque output in the S 500, suffers badly from ADHD, shifting from sixth to ninth at a steady cruise and then back to sixth. Less gears might help but we suspect an over-the-air software fix will be the solution.

In the more muscular S 580 the transmission feels calmer but suffers from quite pronounced driveline shunt, which is at odds with the huge refinement on offer.

Perhaps predictably we’d suggest you plump for the V8-powered S-Class over the small 3.0-litre inline six. The V8 is smoother, considerably quickly and has a more inspiring soundtrack where the S 500 (which is closely related to the S 450 we’ll get) drones.

The S 580e, meanwhile, will be a worthy addition to the S-Class range when it arrives in Australia.

In electric mode it’s the most refined S-Class going and offers plenty of power when the petrol engine kicks in.

Better still, the integration between electric and dino-juice power is seamless, while the extra torque of both seems to settle the transmission woes. The decent 100km range should also help compensate for Australia’s lack of recharging infrastructure.

The final bit of nit-picking relates to the brake pedal that appears to have two phases: one for ultra-smooth stopping around town and another for fast driving. It’s the second that feels odd and lacks progression, and is yet more evidence Benz engineers have focused on comfort rather than narrowing the gap between the S-Class and the BMW 7 Series.

We mentioned earlier that the new S-Class will debut Daimler’s next-gen Level 3 autonomous cruise control system, and despite being at least another eight months away, we had the opportunity to try it on a private test track.

On the move the biggest impression is how smooth and how human-like the self-steering, braking and acceleration is. We never exceeded 60km/h on our brief few laps in a prototype S-Class, and it left too big a gap, but engineers say its behaviour will only improve with age (and updates).

The only fly in the ointment is when and where it will be introduced Down Under as it relies on next-gen HD mapping to accurately position the car, plus the legal framework to allow it to be used on Australian roads.

Without doubt the most impressive trick played by engineers when developing the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class is not how much technology they’ve managed to squeeze into the vehicle but how intuitive it is to use while on the move.

There is so much more we could explain. Like how excellent the second-gen MBUX infotainment system is, how well the ‘Hey, Mercedes’ voice control works, or how the multi-beam LED headlights manage to magically turn night into day.

But in the end the most important take-away for those actually in the market for a luxury limo is how resolute the S-Class remains in delivering one of the most relaxing, comfortable and luxurious experiences on four wheels.

It’s not perfect. But where it might lack in the dynamics department, it leaves a sizeable opening in the range for the upcoming Mercedes-AMG S 63 and much-rumoured plug-in hybrid S 73 version.