New Mercedes-Benz S-Class makes debut

Since Mercedes-Benz first set the template for the S-Class back in 1954 with the W180 'Ponton', the large German luxury limousine has looked and felt like those involved with its creation had set out to accomplish just one thing – creating the best car in the world.

For 2021, the mantra under which the seventh-generation Mercedes-Benz S-Class was developed has shifted.

Instead of being just the best, Benz claims its team of designers and engineers have made the "ultimate digital car" – a phrase, no doubt, that will make the S-Class’ aging target audience emit a collective weary sigh.

But on first acquaintance, we're happy to report the world's best-selling limo hasn't turned its back on its heritage.

Carrying on the tradition of being a great innovator, the latest W223 S-Class introduces a mind-blowing array of shiny new tech – from its fancy new second-generation MBUX infotainment and operating system, to its augmented reality head-up display, an unprecedented amount of driver assistance aids and safety tech never before seen on a car.

But, for many, the 2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class will be bought once again on its looks, prestige and the way it makes you feel after a hard day’s work at being a titan of industry. Or perhaps a social media influencer.

Just weeks before its grand unveiling and months after the official teaser campaign began in May, carsales was granted an exclusive audience with the new S-Class in a hot, sweaty studio on the outskirts of Stuttgart.

In the metal, the good news is the 2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class far from disappoints, being instantly recognisable as the three-pointed star brand’s flagship limousine. If you're wondering why designers didn't do something a little more radical, it's because that's the job of the pure-electric Mercedes-Benz EQS that will arrive shortly after its more conventional sibling.

Sticking to the traditional three-box sedan formula, the new S-Class is a handsome beast with near-perfect proportions – well, if you order the long-wheelbase version at least.

We haven't seen the standard-wheelbase 2021 S-Class and that's deliberate. A designer admitted that it was the longer car on which all the design time was lavished, reflecting its sales success in markets like China and the US. So, where once the LWB would look gawky, now perhaps it's the shorter S-Class' turn to look weird.

Interestingly, Mercedes designers have admitted a similar reductive approach to designing the S-Class as Rolls-Royce did with its second-generation Ghost limo revealed just 24 hours earlier. As with the Rolls, fussy detailing was banished from the S-Class and areas like the doors lack the busy character lines of some of its rivals.

Up front, a large grille with three horizontal bars still dominates, but the detailing is subtle and even though there's the impression of muscle, the S-Class is elegant and understated.

According to one of its designers, the S-Class' styling doesn't need to be brash and overwrought. After all, measuring in at 5289mm long (+34mm), 1954mm wide (+55mm) and standing 1503mm (+12mm) tall, you can let its size do the talking.

We focused on the AMG Line version rather than the base model as it's the more expensive trim that will dominate sales in Australia.

The sportier S-Class features a different front bumper, wider sills and a rear bumper that incorporates a lower diffuser that all helps the S-Class record an astonishingly slippery drag coefficient of just 0.22Cd – a number that makes it one of the world's most aerodynamic cars.

Despite customer demand to relocate the bonnet-mounted three-pointed star to within the grille, Mercedes' design team stuck to its guns and point-blank refused. "It's absolutely fine on a small C-Class, but an S-Class is different – it demands the star to be in the right place," we were told.

Of course, LED lighting features both front and rear, but it's those slimline headlights that mark the first piece of remarkable technology the new S-Class will be introduced with.

Tick the box for the car-maker's Digital Lights and the state-of-the-art lamps can 'paint' warning signs on the road surface to automatically highlight obstacles or vulnerable road users and cut through foggy conditions.

Perhaps more remarkably, each lamp's resolution is claimed to be an incredible 1.3 million pixels – up from the last car's 84 pixels.

That's good enough to project a feature-length movie on your garage door, claimed one engineer, before adding: "of course, it will only be black and white, and we'll never let you actually do this. But it is so much fun."

Under the bonnet of the 2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class, initially just two engines will be offered – the 48-volt mild-hybrid 3.0-litre 'M256' inline turbo-petrol six-cylinder with either 270kW (S 450 4MATIC) or 320kW (S 500 4MATIC), and the OM656 2.9-litre inline six-cylinder turbo-diesel that pumps out 210kW in the S 350d and 243kW in the S 450d 4MATIC.

Most models will come with Benz's 4MATIC all-wheel drive, although the less powerful S 350d still comes with rear-wheel drive or the option of four-driven wheels.

Thanks to enhanced traction off the line, the S 500 4MATIC can hit 100km/h in just 4.9 seconds, but more remarkable is the slowest S 350d can still reach the performance benchmark in a very brisk 6.4sec while being capable of averaging fuel consumption of just 6.2L/100km.

All transmissions come with the car-maker's nine-speed automatic and, for the first time, four-wheel steering that boosts agility at low speeds and improves stability on the highway.

Later on, the twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8-powered Mercedes-AMG S 63 will return with more power and lower emissions, thanks to 48-volt mild-hybrid tech.

A full plug-in hybrid variant will also rock up later, offering a pure-electric range of 100km. But a pure-electric, battery-powered S-Class will never happen due to fears it could steal sales from the EQS.

Finally, AMG is set to launch an S 73 version that will blend plug-in hybrid tech with the car-maker's twin-turbo V8 for a huge (600kW-plus) power output.

However, while the ultimate V12 version of the S-Class is gone for good, it will reappear under the bonnet of the more glamorous Mercedes-Maybach S650 that arrives next year.

Unlock the 2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class and there's a pause while you wait for the seamless door handles to 'pop' out of the streamlined body. Pull the door handle and lower yourself into the big sedan's inviting new cabin and you're in for a real treat.

First, a special mention must go for the two-stage seats that welcome your posterior with, at first, pillow-soft comfort. Then, a second, firmer cushion takes your weight and holds you in place to reduce fatigue.

The previous car's cosseting 'Cuddle Cushion' rear head restraints have also been carried over and are now offered in the front seats too.

Breaking with tradition, Mercedes began its redesign focusing on the rear of the cabin first. The idea was to democratise much of the tech previously only enjoyed by those up front – including safety, hence rear-seat passengers now get frontal airbags too.

Boosting safety further, a new function of Benz' Pre-Safe suite can jack up the air suspension by 80mm and tilt to the car left or the right within a few tenths of a second if the system thinks a side impact is inevitable. Engineers says this ensures the S-Class takes the brunt of the impact on its strong sill structure rather than the doors, directing energy away from passengers.

If the worst does happen, a centre airbag between the driver and front passenger seats has been employed to prevent potentially fatal head clashes.

Moving on from safety, Mercedes has introduced its second-generation MBUX operating system on the S-Class following its debut in the latest A-Class a couple of years ago.

Instead of only being for the driver, MBUX now works for all four occupants, allowing users to use the onboard assistant via the 'Hey Mercedes' voice command.

The powerful new operating system is also capable of creeping you out in a fraction of a second. Using cameras overhead, and by learning algorithms, MBUX 'learns' to predict what you want to do before you even say it.

Look for the sunblind switch and the car will automatically lower the blind. Kids who are reluctant to fasten their seatbelts, meanwhile, will face the wrath of MBUX as the car itself informs the kids they are misbehaving.

When the inevitable crying and fighting begins, drivers can now easily drown out the racket with the S-Class' astonishing 31-speaker Burmester surround-sound system that's claimed to offer '4D' sound.

Sounds like PR spin but, thanks to a further eight 'exciter speakers', the big limo can replicate the punch-in-the-chest feeling you only get from standing in front of the bass stack at a festival, should you so desire.

In the front seats, there's a pair of all-new armchairs that feature 19 motors – eight for adjustment and the rest for ventilation and to carry out the 10 different massage programs now available.

It's too early to talk about how the 2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class drives, but it's here where the ultimate digital car theme will continue.

Like the outgoing S-Class, the new W223 sedan gets a full digital instrument cluster but now the display offers an incredible 3D effect. We're not sure why, but the screen is both mesmerising and as sharp as it is clear.

Fortunately, in what could also be distracting, the new instrument panel is combined with a huge head-up display that's claimed to correspond with a 77-inch monitor placed directly ahead of the driver.

Bigger isn't necessarily better, but the new display incorporates next-gen augmented-reality tech that virtually projects clear lane instructions on the road 10 metres ahead, meaning it will almost be impossible to take the wrong exit in the future.

Not that you'll be driving in the future. From the middle of 2021, the new limousine’s Level 3 autonomous cruise control system will go live, allowing the S-Class to take full control on pre-approved highways where legal, although the driver must be ready and primed to re-take control in an emergency.

The new autonomous driving system uses LIDAR, lasers, radar, cameras and even microphones to listen out for emergency vehicles, and can be upgraded during its lifetime with over-the-air upgrades.

One engineer claimed the hardware is so sophisticated that the W223 could one day be capable of being completely driverless.

That's some way off, but the big Merc limo does come with a Level 4 autonomous parking assistant that can enter or leave a multi-story car park without a driver behind the wheel, but only if the parking structure has the embedded infrastructure required.

Back in the cabin, Mercedes has also introduced a ‘wellness coach’. If the car thinks you're stressed, for example, it can switch to more soothing ambient lighting, flick on the massage seats and offer a soothing soundtrack to calm your anxiety.

Not that you'll need soothing behind the wheel of the W223, which as standard will be among the quietest, most peaceful cars to have ever turned a wheel.

Based on a heavily updated evolution of the current model's MRA architecture, the more rigid structure combines with double-sealed firewall and excessive insulation material used for the floor, A-pillars and doors, plus a new acoustic foam injected into the body to produce a whisper-quiet driving experience that will rival vehicles in the class above.

We're talking territory usually inhabited by Rolls-Royce and Bentley, as well as Mercedes-Maybach. But perhaps the most impressive trick is that the new S-Class combines all of its state-of the-art tech in a package that's easy to use.

Better still, the cabin is beautifully designed, and the quality of materials and their fit and finish is flawless. All this will be produced in a new digital ‘ecosystem’ dubbed Factory 56 in Sindelfingen, where every new S-Class vehicle will be built.

We began the day worried that Mercedes-Benz might have taken its eye off the ball while chasing technology for the sake of technology, but ended it realising it’s business as usual for the seventh-generation S-Class.

That business is pioneering, innovation and invention, and it will probably result in the best car money can buy.

First examples of the 2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class will arrive in Australia in the second quarter of next year, starting with the S 450 4MATIC.