2027 Mercedes-Benz S-Class: Quietly Extraordinary

For years, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class has been the pinnacle of luxury, the benchmark. But Mercedes never stands still, and they're back with another S-Class. One that's more than 50% new, channelling 140 years of innovation, and ready to see off the competition. And here it is, the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Now, you might notice it's substantially different at the front. What's new here is a brand new grille, 20% larger than before, much more imposing, especially when you're looking at this thing in your rear-view mirror. And there's some interesting detail. So all the way around this grille, that is illuminated. We've still got these three-pointed stars in the centre on this particular spec, and on the bonnet, an illuminated Mercedes three-pointed star. We also have new digital lights. Now we have a three-pointed star design with these lovely little blue touches at the side, and these are actually 20% brighter than they were on the previous generation. They're so bright, in fact, the beam can reach 600 metres. That's six football pitches. The lights even swivel as you go around corners, and there's a partial high beam system that makes the road more visible without blinding others with the full high beams. At the back, not much has changed, really. It's a case of blink and you'll miss it, although Mercedes say the new S-Class has a slightly re-profiled rear bumper. It's very subtle, and we do get new rear lights. That is the latest interpretation of Mercedes-Benz three-pointed star rear light design, and it does look quite smart. Down the bottom, we have two exhaust outlets, and if you look closely, you'll see each one of these has twin exhaust outlets. But apart from that, yeah, not a massive difference compared to the previous generation. The interior of the new S-Class is lovely, as you'd expect. This one's finished in a macchiato beige with some amber wood trim. Looks very, very nice, and it's extremely comfortable as well. What I love about it is the fact that it's available in either a four-seater or a five-seater design, so you can have three seats across the back, or if you want a bit more exclusivity, you can restrict it to just two seats in the rear. The seats really are very comfortable in this car. First of all, I've got this really plush pillow, and it's fitted with the executive seat, so if I long press on this button on the door, it will actually move the front passenger seat away from me and then start to gradually recline my seat to put me in a much more comfortable position. It's a bit like being, I don't know, in a business-class seat on an airplane, for example. I've even got a footrest and calf support as well, so it really is the pinnacle of luxury in saloon car form. Look at that. That is lovely. My head just falls back into the pillow. Ah, yes. You guys still watching? Just bear with me a second while it... Ah, there we go. Ah, legs being lifted up. That is phenomenal. I could sit here all day, really. Where was I? Oh yeah, new rear seat entertainment. Now, you might have seen we've got some bigger rear displays. That one's now too far away for me to reach, but they've sorted out a plan for that because down here we have two digital controllers, which actually allow you to control what's on that screen. If I can just turn it on. How do you turn it on? It's not turning on. Okay, unfortunately, the battery for this one wasn't charging for some reason, so I can't control the screen directly in front of me, but I can control the screen on the other side of the car using this controller. So, if I swipe to unlock it, I can put it into... Okay, now the screen's gone. It's all going horribly wrong. What is happening? Ah, there we go. It's back on. Right, so swipe to unlock. Bluetooth connection failed. It's a prototype, okay? It's not quite finished yet, but in theory, you're going to be able to control your displays using your little mobile phone style controllers without actually touching the screen. So, there are three versions to the S-Class. You can have a short wheelbase, a long wheelbase, which is this one, and also a Maybach, which is 17 or 18 centimetres longer than the long wheelbase version. But I think whichever one you go for, you're going to have a tonne of legroom and a tonne of headroom and just loads and loads of comfort to relax. Lovely. At the front, the interior is about as special as you'd expect an S-Class to be. The thing that my eye is drawn to first of all, though, is this new steering wheel. Check this out. We've actually got some physical buttons on the steering wheel, particularly for adjusting the volume. That's lovely. And also adjusting the speed of your cruise control. That's a nice touch. Now, aside from that, we've got brilliant ambient lighting in this car. Probably the best in the game, if you ask me. I love the way it flows all the way across from the doors to the dashboard and then into the other door. It just looks brilliant. And it contrasts really nicely with this lovely triple display that they've got going on here, this Mercedes-Benz Hyperscreen. You've got a screen for the driver, a screen for the infotainment and a screen for your passenger as well. They can actually enjoy all types of things on that screen, including movies, music playback and also help with things like entering destinations into the navigation system. Now, one really interesting feature this car has versus the previous one is a highly advanced filtration system. Apparently, it can clean the air in the car in 90 seconds. So if anyone's been sneezing and coughing in the car before you get into it, you just cleanse the car, get in and apparently it's a safe place to breathe. That's cool as well. They've got some really nice vents in this car and apparently these are digital as well. They're actually motorised to help you get that really precise control of where the air blows in the vehicle. What else have we got in here? We've got this amber wood trim and just beyond that, we've got some illuminated cup holders. Those are nice. A couple of USB-C ports, a couple more in the centre and also this lovely kind of leather-lined mobile phone charging tray. That's a nice touch. And of course, this car is optimised for business-minded people, so there are cameras everywhere. There's a camera on the dashboard. There are two cameras in the rear screens, so you can actually take a conference call in the vehicle as you drive to get stuff done on the move. What about the materials I hear you say? Well, the centre consoles can be specified with a wide range of trim options. Also, for the first time, the S-Class is now available with a leather-free interior, which is made from linen and recycled polyester. Or you can just go for leather. Lots of leather. Anyway, on the subject of customisation, the 2026 S-Class will be available in more colours than ever thanks to the Mercedes Manufaktur programme. 150 paint colours and 400 interior options will be available, including a touch of Stardust. Here's one really cool colour finish. It's the Manufaktur Black Sparkling Clear Coat. Now, apparently, the first layer is black, but then on top of that, they layer glass flakes and then a clear coat on top, so you can actually see that sparkly effect from the glass flakes just beneath the clear coat, and that looks absolutely immense, especially in this black colour set off against the lights and the chrome. Yeah, what a spec. One other thing I want to show you while I'm in this car is a really cool new feature. It's the heated seat belt. Yes, this works in conjunction with the heated seating, and it actually warms up. There are some metal elements in the seat belt that channel heat to your body, so as you're driving along, it feels like you're getting a warm hug. That's very, very cool, isn't it? And not only is this heated, but the seats are heated. This central armrest is heated, nice and toasty, and the armrest on the door is heated, as well as your steering wheel being heated. So, yeah, you've got no excuse for being cold when you drive this new S-Class in the winter. As for engines, the new S-Class will feature a range of electrified powertrains, including a V8. The M177 Evo in the S80 4MATIC will deliver 537 horsepower and 750 newton meters of torque. It uses a flat-plane crank for that lovely sound. I've heard it, and it's brilliant, and features lots of clever innovations, including a new firing order, turbo housing, and compressor wheel. Sadly, the V8 won't be available in the UK, but we will get six-cylinder petrol and diesel options, as well as a plug-in hybrid. Spoiler alert, I've actually driven in the new S-Class, and from the back seats, it rides fantastically. We'll have to wait and see how it drives, but let's just say I have high hopes. We'll have more on the S-Class in the near future, but for now, please like this video if you enjoyed it, give us a sub, leave any questions you have in the comments below, and come back soon for a full test drive in the near future.