Lets face it, the 2014 Mercedes-Benz S-Class was never going to be anything short of class-leading. Mercedes-Benz haven’t disappointed, the car gets a fresh new look with a variety of unique and innovative technology features. Quite simply, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class has regained its rightful place at the top of the luxury sedan market!
The design of the new 2014 Mercedes-Benz S-Class follows suit with most of Mercedes-Benz current product range. It gets a familiar headlight design, the radiator grille is now larger, upright and distinctly three-dimensional in design. Mercedes designers had styled a long bonnet, with a flowing, domed roof line and a gently slanting rear end. In profile, the S-Class looks the quintessential luxury saloon.
The latest generation S-Class is the first developed with the Asian market firmly in focus. Therefore, the long wheel base Mercedes-Benz S-Class forms the basis of the range, with the short wheel base version developed from this. The long wheel base version improves interior space with 12 millimetres of extra headroom, 14 millimetres more shoulder room and 10 millimetres more elbow room in the front. It also gets a 14-millimetre increase in rear kneeroom and 9 millimetres extra shoulder room in the rear which will appeal to Chinese customers. It total, the 2014 Mercedes-Benz S-Class is 5,248 or 5,116 millimetres depending on the wheel base version. US customers will only be able to order long wheel base versions.
The suspension benefits from a state of the art system called road surface scan which detects the road surface with a camera before the tyres actually travel over it. A system called magic body control then adjusts the suspension and damper settings to produce the desired ride comfort. This is an option for the eight-cylinder models. Normal cars will get continuously operating Adaptive Damping System ADS PLUS and an enhanced version of the full air suspension system AIRMATIC.
The 2014 Mercedes-Benz S-Class is the first car to switch to a complete LED light setup. Inside and out, you won’t find a single light bulb. The headlamp clusters feature 56 LED’s, the tail lights get 35 LED’s and the interior has 300 LED’s in total! Whats more, Adaptive Highbeam Assist Plus allows the high-beam headlamps to be kept on permanently while driving by masking out any other road user detected in the beams’ cone of light. If the camera-based system registers either oncoming traffic or vehicles ahead, it will adapt the light distribution.
To control the car’s settings, the dashboard features two high-resolution 12.3 inch TFT colour displays. The left-hand display performs the functions of the previous instrument cluster, providing the driver with all relevant information. The right-hand display allows the convenient control of infotainment and comfort functions. The car even comes fitted with a touch screen telephone keypad. In short, the interior will leave you dreading the moment you get back home.
What is most telling about S-Class of new and old is but a foot note of the official press release. Starting with the Mercedes-Simplex 60 PS which first came to market in 1903, the list of innovations, developed specifically for the S-Class has grown, generation on generation. For Mercedes-Benz, the S-Class is less about leading the class, and more about leading the industry. With what it brings to the table, the 2014 Mercedes-Benz S-Class has certainly achieved this aim. We can’t wait to experience it from the drivers seat.
The aluminium hybrid bodyshell has 50 percent higher torsional stiffness compared to the predecessor model. The entire outer skin of the 2014 Mercedes-Benz S-Class, including the roof and the front section of the body, consists of aluminium. Weight remains much the same as the previous generation, with some reductions too. The passenger cell remains constructed with high-strength steel.
The UK will get a 3.0-litre V6 diesel with 254bhp in the 2014 Mercedes-Benz S350 BlueTEC and a 2.1-litre four-cylinder diesel engine with 204bhp in combination with a 20kW electric motor for a total output of 228bhp in the 2014 Mercedes-Benz S300 BlueTEC Hybrid. Mercedes-Benz will also offer a twin-turbocharged 4.7-litre V8 petrol engine that produces 449bhp. We also suspect that an S63 AMG and S65 AMG will follow, alongside a Maybach replacement at some point.
The 2014 Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid will be offered for other markets with a revised version of the naturally aspirated 3.5-litre V6 petrol unit. This combines a 20kW electric motor for an overall output of 321bhp. A 2015 Mercedes-Benz S600 will follow, as will a 2015 Mercedes-Benz S500 plug in hybrid which should yield a 70.6mpg economy figure. The gearbox favoured for all vehicles is a seven-speed automatic gearbox.
Steering is electro mechanical, the steering gear and the supporting servo-motor form a single compact unit and are mounted on an extremely rigid and low weight integral support frame made of aluminium. Depending on the engine installed, the brake disc diameters are up to 370 millimetres at the front and up to 360 millimetres at the rear.
The full list of electronic safety features? Magic Body Control (MBC), Active Body Control (ABC), Active Blind Spot Assist, Active Lane Keeping Assist, Active multicontour seats, Active Parking Assist, Adaptive Damping System Plus (ADS PLUS), Adaptive Highbeam Assist Plus, AIR-BALANCE PACKAGE, AIRMATIC, BAS PLUS with Cross-Traffic Assist, PRE-SAFE Brake Assist, Beltbag, COMAND Online, Crosswind Assist, Cushionbag, Data fusion, DISTRONIC PLUS with Steering Assist and Stop&Go Pilot, Electromechanical Direct-Steer system, ENERGIZING massage function, FLEXRAY data bus, Frontbase system, Infrared headlamps, MAGIC VISION CONTROL, Night View Assist Plus, Preacceleration, ROAD SURFACE SCAN and Stereo Multi-Purpose Camera.
Chances are, you won’t even recognise the effect of most of them!
Full disclosure: Mercedes-Benz released a staggering 61-page press release for the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class. We suspect this took longer to develop than the car itself!
