Everything you need to know about the all-new 2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class

As far as clichés pertaining to a dream life are concerned, there is nothing more resounding than the words, “To live in the south of France, to be served by a private chef and…to drive a Mercedes-Benz.” Speaking of Mercedes, this exceptional reputation of theirs did not come about quite simply, it took a 100-plus year tradition of consistent coach-building and incomparable products like the Mercedes-Benz S-Class to build the brand that we know of today.

Every five years or so, the German automaker designs a new S-Class generation to meet the needs and expectations of the contemporary man and woman of that era. That time is here once again and here is everything you need to know about the newly-launched Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

The ancestry of the S-Class can be traced to model 220 (W 187) of 1951. The designation ‘S-Class’, however, was officially introduced with the 116 series in 1972. Since its market launch, more than four million S-Class sedans have been sold to customers all around the globe. The 2021 model will be the seventh generation.

Just as every generation before it, the new S-Class is a rolling piece of metallic elegance from front to end and roof to hoof. With styling that keeps with the family lines and the large ‘3-pointed star’ emblem atop the bonnet, the S-Class remains an instantly recognisable icon, even with this generation.

With a coefficient of drag of 0.22, the new S-Class is one of the world’s most aerodynamic cars available today. Surely, those sci-fi-movie-inspired concealed, retractable door handles have something to do with it. The car can even lower itself at speed to improve upon its wind-cheating abilities or raise itself to gain ground clearance, if necessary.

The cabin within is as spacious as a swimming pool with plenty of room for your shoulders, arms and hips to wiggle about. And virtually every surface is finished in exquisite napa leather, while some other bits like the dashboard are reserved for genuine wood veneers, with striped aluminium trims for that deliberate yacht-like aesthetic.

The headrests of the seats have pillows. Real fluffy pillows! But it may come with the fear of your chauffeur napping on the job. These leather-clad thrones have up to 19 motors to set your posture straight. They also cater to the 10 different massage programmes that are available. No, this is not going to replace your spa days in Bangkok or Scandinavia, but in these flightless times of the pandemic, this may be as close as it gets.

Multimedia-wise, total screen count is now up to 5! In the last generation itself, the 12.3-inch digital TFT screen had replaced the mechanical gauges, including the speedometer and odometer. But the new one has a fancier standing-iPad-like screen for an instrument cluster. That being said, the main focus here has to be the “very inconspicuous” 12.8-inch OLED display on the centre console. Also, with so many functions on hand and so much computing power, the Merc’ boffins had to place a search box on the screen, just to make your life a tad easier. The rest of the MBUX (Mercedes-Benz User Experience) is something we will have to check out in detail during our test drive.

The Head-up Display (HUD) in the new S-Class now supports augmented reality (AR) content. Think of Pokemon Go technology, but with a practical purpose. While using the navigation system on the go, the animated turn-off arrows called “fishbones” are precisely projected onto the road lane in real time.

Under the hood, you have the choice of two internal combustion engines. Both are powered by a turbocharged 3.0-litre inline 6-cylinder engine that sends power to all four wheels. With the S450 4 MATIC, you get 367 horses and 500 Nm; while with the S500 4MATIC, you get 429 bhp and 520 Nm of torque. Power is supplemented in the S500, by 48-volt mild-hybrid system, what Mercedes call EQ Boost, which provides a further 250 Nm of torque as well as 16 kW (22 hp) for a brief period — reminiscent of the NOS effect seen in the Fast & Furious series. More engine configurations are expected later.

You may notice from the pictures that the rear wheel seems a little crooked. This isn’t a case of a broken axle or the wizardry of Photoshop — the rear wheels really do turn. Thanks to rear axle steering technology (with up to 10° steering angle adjustment), the S-Class is designed to offer better road manners and improved maneuverability. In fact, depending on the variant, the turning circle is reduced by almost two metres.

As for matters concerning saving the planet, the rich will do probably more in their charity balls than driving around in the S-Class. However, with more than 216 lbs of components made from “resource-conserving” materials and 88 lbs or so are made from renewable raw materials, some efforts have been made by the manufacturer.

With all this fancy technology to gloat about, the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class is once again poised to be a world favourite sedan.

Key Rivals

Before you plan on swiping your platinum plastic on the new flagship Merc’, you must consider its few but proficient competitors. The traditional alternatives are the BMW 7-Series, Lexus LS and the Audi A8 – all of which are new or kind of new, in and out. And if you go the sporty route albeit with 4-seats, the Porsche Panamera, the Audi A7, the BMW 8-series Gran Coupe and even its sibling, the CLS, are some options that may fit your bill

SPECIFICATIONS – 2021 MERCEDES-BENZ S450 4MATIC / S500 4MATIC