Interior

All of the S-class models have an interior that gives a sense of luxury. As an option, you can get multicontour seats with ventilation and six massage settings - one of them using the heating elements. Unlike in even most luxury cars, the seat options are also available in the rear, albeit only in the sedan. The coupe has a nearly completely pillar less design - or opt for the cabriolet, which comes with an Aircap wind deflector to create a quieter top-down experience. The cabriolet has a tailored, power soft top with a 20 second retraction time, and will retract up to 28 mph. The cabin also has LED mood lighting for an extra sense of luxury.

Technology

This is a Mercedes, so it has plenty of technology to offer. The latest Mercedes COMAND system controls so many functions that they have video tutorials on their website. COMAND stands for Cockpit Management and Data and controls navigation, audio functions and USB and Lightning connections to smart phones and similar, and is controlled by a touch screen or a rotary controller. The car also comes with a mobile hotspot and has memory settings not just for the seat, mirrors and wheel, but for the climate control system. The ride is improved by adjustable air suspension - and the sedan has Magic Body Control as an option, which automatically adjusts the suspension to compensate for potholes and imperfections detected by a camera.

Performance

The S-Class comes with a number of engine options. For the sedan, the 550 comes with a turbo V-8 that gives 449 horsepower and 516 torque or a plug-in hybrid (436 hp and 479 torque). The 600 has a twin turbo V12 at 523 horsepower and 612 torque. The coupe has a single power plant - a 4.7L biturbo V8, and the cabriolet has the same turbo V-8 standard on the 550. The V12 does offer noticeably more power, but all of the trim levels are easy to drive. The AMG trim levels have the larger handcrafted AMG engines - all three body types are available with either the 5.5L V8 biturbo or the 6.0L V12, putting down 577 and 621 horsepower respectively.

Safety

The S-class has perhaps the widest range of safety features - stability and traction control, multiple airbags, crosswind assistance, collision prevention with automatic braking and drowsy driver warning are standard. The Driver Assistance package adds active blind-spot monitoring and lane departure warning, pedestrian recognition, rear-impact development and adaptive cruise control. It does not quite drive itself - yet.

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