The New Mercedes-Benz S-Class
Three engineering priorities — “Intelligent Drive,” “Efficient Technology” and “Essence of Luxury” — propel the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class to a higher level of automotive excellence.
“As with every generation before it, the customers expect the new S-Class to set standards across the board to retain its accolade as ‘the best automobile in the world,’” says Dr. Dieter Zetsche, chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars.
“Rather than being about safety or aesthetics, power or efficiency, comfort or dynamism, our aspirations were ‘the best or nothing’ in every respect,” he adds. “No other car stands for the Mercedes-Benz brand promise more than the S-Class.”
The new Mercedes-Benz flagship sedan combines luxury, safety and motoring enjoyment.
“The sophisticated design of the S-Class has always been an expression of luxury and automotive grandeur of its era. And our new S-Class continues this tradition,” says Design Chief Gorden Wagener.
Design is both progressive and retrospective to the elegance of the 1930s cars, he says. The radiator grille is larger, upright and distinctly three dimensional. A long hood segues to a domed roof and a slanting rear end with newly configured tail lights — classic sedan proportions. The rear windscreen, cutting into the C-pillars, provides a coupelike sportiness. The result: power and calm, athleticism and grace.
Lighting and driver perspective are superior. The new S-Class is the first vehicle in the world whose interior and exterior do without one light bulb; almost 500 LEDs provide road and interior illumination. Visibility is also enhanced by Adaptive Highbeam Assist Plus and Night View Assist Plus. Also, a new stereo camera and multistage radar provide all-round vision and detect potential dangers.
The new S-Class sees very well, indeed; it even detects road bumps ahead. When the Road Surface Scan detects these, Magic Body Control instantaneously sets up the suspension accordingly. Also standard is the Adaptive Damping System ADS Plus and an enhanced air-suspension system, Airmatic.
High quality, elegance clarity and functionality characterize the interior. You’ll find extensive wood trim, solid aluminum controls and metallized switch surfaces with pearl-effect paint finishes in three shades.
In the rear, seats, door panels and all controls are the same standard as those in the front. The automatic climate control has two additional zones to improve thermal comfort. And, through the Special Order Program, you can order a business center console with additional storage compartments, folding table, two-place seating and other features. Four different rear seat variants are available, including an executive seat with a backrest angle adjustable up to 43.5 degrees — the largest backrest inclination in the luxury car segment.
The elegant new command center includes two high-resolution TFT color displays in 8:3 format; the left-hand controls the instrument cluster, the right-hand the infotainment and comfort functions. A touch-sensitive telephone keypad includes 12 freely selectable memory places, and, in the center console, a rotary pushbutton controls the most important functions and includes a toolbar for the driving-assistance systems.
In addition, the Enhanced Voice Control System allows complete addresses to be spoken in one go, and the telephone and audio systems can also be voice controlled. You can even request that text messages and e-mails be read aloud.
Ensuring a pleasant environment, a new feature, the Airbalance package comprises subtle perfume atomization, ionization and super-efficient filtration. Armrest heating is also new.
Want a massage, in the front seat or back? Engage that function, based on the hot-stone principle, with six massage programs.
Or cooling? The new S-Class incorporates 14 separately actuated air cushions in the backrest, as well as an integrated warming function. The new active seat-ventilation system cools the surface temperature of a heated-up seat much faster than with previous active cooling systems.
The new multimedia system, developed with audio specialist Burmester, includes 10 loudspeakers. Particularly clever is the Frontbass system: The woofers are in the firewall and use the crossmember and side member as a resonance chamber. Also new is the multi-user system, which allows each passenger to differently access media sources and the entertainment system.
The new navitainment functions include an animated compass and the display of Google Maps on the head unit and in the rear. The new Live Traffic Information service transmits traffic data in real time.
Stability and high-quality lightweight design combine in the new S-Class.
The outer skin, including the roof and the front section of the body, is aluminum. The safety passenger cell is made using an extremely high percentage of high-strength steel.
The lightweight index — the torsional stiffness in relation to weight and vehicle size — has been improved by 50 percent compared to the preceding model.
The PRE-SAFE® anticipatory occupant protection system, developed 10 years ago, has been improved. The PRE-SAFE® Brake can begin autonomous braking to avoid a collision at speeds up to 31 mph, for example. With PRE-SAFE® Impulse, the driver and front passenger are pulled away from the direction of impact by their seat belts at an early phase of the crash before occupant deceleration begins.
Other new assistance systems include include Active Lane Keeping Assist, which detects when the adjacent lane is occupied, especially by oncoming traffic, and applies the brakes on one side; Adaptive Highbeam Assist Plus, allowing high-beam headlamps to be kept on permanently without disturbing other drivers by masking out their vehicles in the beams’ cone of light; and Attention Assist, which warns of inattentiveness and drowsiness in an extended speed range and notifies you of fatigue and the driving time since your last break.
“The S-Class is not just the spearhead for Mercedes-Benz but for automotive development as a whole,” says Dr. Joachim Schmidt, executive vice president, Sales and Marketing. “And it has been for decades. That’s why the S-Class is also the world’s best-selling luxury car.”
Mercedes-Benz S-Class, www.mbusa.com