2018 Mercedes Benz S560 S Class - World's Most Luxurious Sedan REVIEW
Channel: Premium Cars
Date: 02/01/2018

Before Mercedes-Benz sold SUVs, crossovers, subcompacts or pickups, there was the S-Class. Five decades later, there is still the S-Class, and as luxury cars make way for luxury SUVs and crossovers, the S-Class is still the world’s (and North America’s) best-selling full-size luxury sedan. By a lot. With a revised 2018 S-Class lineup, Mercedes intends to keep it that way

The directive for this mid-cycle S-Class update was the same as it’s always been, according to Mercedes director of development Dr. Hermann Storp: “Build the best car in the world.” Storp says there are 6,500 new parts in the 2018 S-Class, and that’s if you count the new engines as one part. Given that this W222 S-Class debuted just four years ago, and considering the conservative pace at which European luxury marques once adapted change, the facelift seems almost like a changeover. Yet it takes some study to figure out what’s different about the new S-Class, if you’re just looking. That’s the S-Class way.  

Highlights in the 2018 S include the obligatory appearance tweaks, updated chassis technology, broader Level II autonomous operation and, most significantly, new engines.

 

North America’s best-selling S-Class will now be called the S560, recalling the W126 560SEL of the 1980s. Its new V8 displaces four liters, down from 4.7 in the ‘17 S550, and its objective is familiar these days: deliver the incremental power increases luxury buyers expect and the improved fuel efficiency the market and government regulation demand. The new 4.0-liter V8 packs its two turbos in the V between the cylinder banks, aided by exhaust ports on the inboard part of the head, and it’s equipped with cylinder deactivation to run as a four during steady state, light-load operation. It makes 469 peak hp -- 20 more than the old 4.7, with the same 516 lb-ft torque and nearly a 10 percent improvement in specific fuel consumption, according to Storp. He calls it “one of the world’s most economical V8 petrol engines.” EPA ratings are pending.

All S-Class variants except 12-cylinder models continue with the nine-speed 9G-tronic torque-converter gearbox introduced last year. The V12s stick with a seven-speed.

The hot-rod S63 AMG gets significant powertrain upgrades, too, starting with the lighter, 4.0-liter V8 with cylinder deactivation. Here, displacement drops from 5.5 liters in 2017. Also here, fuel pressure, fuel volume and boost are cranked up considerably, generating 603 hp -- up 26 with 1.5 liters less displacement -- and the same 664 lb-ft as the ’17 S63. There’s a transmission upgrade as well, to the nine-speed automatic, from 7 ratios in ’17. The trans is called AMG Speedshift because it replaces the torque converter with a single, multipack wet clutch. All-wheel drive is standard on the S63.

 

Chassis additions include Mercedes’ Curve control for the S-Class sedan’s air suspension. This electronically managed gizmo is drawn from the S-Class coupe, and it’s geared more toward passengers than the driver. Curve tilts the body nearly 3 degrees back toward the inside of a curve in hard bends, or rearward under hard braking, in an effort to reduce the perceived g load and protect the squeamish from car sickness

Styling adjustments include a grille with three horizontal bars across the sedan line. More obvious are the larger, more aggressively styled intake port below the front bumper and larger tailpipe tips with a chrome connector in back.

Inside, the S-Class sedan gets two wide display monitors melded under a panoramic span of glass, like the E-Class. Looks modern, to be sure, but it’s still a little off-putting. From the driver’s seat, the steering wheel and sightlines create some visual separation between what’s showing behind the wheel and what’s at the top of the center stack. From the passenger seat, the display looks like a 3-foot slab of glass bonded to the dash.

 

Finally, the S-Class Intelligent Drive system adds several new functions, starting with the autonomous lane-change feature introduced on the E-Class. Just hit the blinker and wait for the cameras, radar and electronic brain to do their work. The assisted steering now operates in curves with tighter radius, and semi-autonomous operation adds GPS location data to the control algorithms. That means the S-Class can know when the speed limit is going to change, or slow in anticipation of bends, tollbooths or freeway exits.

The 2018 S-Class will roll out in August with more or less the same model range, though some numerical designations have changed. The North American lineup will not include Mercedes new inline six. The lowest rung here will be the S450, with a 3.0-liter, twin-turbo V6 generating 362 hp and 369 lb-ft. Expect prices to follow the current range, plus a couple percent. The next S-Class coupe and convertible will debut at the Frankfurt show late this summer, reaching market in about six months.