As promised Mercedes-Benz has taken the wraps off the all-new 2014 Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedan.
As promised Mercedes-Benz has taken the wraps off the all-new 2014 Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedan. On the outside the new S-Class adopts some of the same styling details as the CLS and CLA models, which gives the S-Class a sportier appearance. From some angles it also adopts some of the same styling cues as the smaller E-Class.
Dr Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars stated, “Rather than being about safety or aesthetics, power or efficiency, comfort or dynamism, our aspirations were ‘the best or nothing’ in every respect. No other car stands for the Mercedes-Benz brand promise more than the S-Class.”
On the outside the new S-Class is slightly longer than the outgoing S-Class model, but it now sits .7 inches taller and is about an inch wider. Inside the occupants of the new S-Class benefit from the moderate increase in vehicle size by an improvement in all the interior dimensions: there are 12 millimeters more maximum headroom for the driver, as well as 14 millimeters more shoulder room and 10 millimeters more elbow room in the front.
In addition to the new sportier styling, you will also notice that the S-Class is doesn’t have any light bulbs. Mercedes-Benz is now making a complete switch to LED technology and the new S-Class is the first vehicle in the world to do without a single light bulb as standard. Almost 500 LEDs assume the task of illuminating the road, vehicle, interior and luggage compartment. The lighting’s multi-level functionality is another world first: out of consideration for any road users behind, the intensity of the brake lights is reduced at night or while waiting at traffic lights. Meanwhile, visibility is enhanced by two assistance systems that have undergone some key improvements – Adaptive Highbeam Assist Plus and Night View Assist Plus.
Full LED lights aren’t the only new tech features on the S-Class, for the first time, the new Night View Assist Plus is capable of detecting not just pedestrians in potentially hazardous positions in front of the vehicle, but animals too. This third-generation night vision system automatically switches the instrument cluster display from the speedometer to a crystal-sharp night view image to alert the driver in particularly relevant situations. Any pedestrians or animals detected ahead are highlighted in color in this image.
The new S-Class is the world’s first car to be able to detect bumps on the road ahead. If it its Road Surface Scan system detects such unevenness by means of the stereo camera, Magic Body Control instantaneously sets up the suspension to deal with the new situation. This innovative suspension system is available as an option for the eight-cylinder models. Standard equipment for the new S-Class includes the continuously operating Adaptive Damping System ADS Plus and an enhanced version of the full air suspension system Airmatic.
The interior also gets two high-resolution TFT color displays in 8:3 format with a screen diagonal of 30.7 cm (12.3 inches) form the new information center in the S-Class. 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 passengers in the S-Class will also enjoy the comfort of massaging seats with the massage function on the hot-stone principle available for the rear seats.
Lastly the new S-Class gets a long list of new safety features like: adaptive cruise control, adaptive braking, crosswind assist, active parking assist, traffic sign assist and an attention assist that can detect drowsiness.
The S-Class will arrive this fall in the US this fall with the S550 arriving in September and the S550 4Matic following in November. The S550 is powered by a 4.7L twin-turbocharged V8 with 449 horsepower and 516 lb-ft. of torque. The S63 AMG 4Matic and diesel versions will follow the S550 and sometime next year we can expect a plug-in hybrid version of the S-Class.
