2027 Mercedes-Benz S-Class First Drive Review: There Ain't a Bad Seat in the House

• What's new: Mercedes' flagship S-Class gets a few updates to its engines, styling, and interior bells and whistles.
• Why it matters: The S-Class still manages to one-up competitors like the BMW 7 Series, and there's a Maybach version on the way with even more premium appeal.
• Edmunds says: Starting around $120K, the S-Class isn't cheap, but it's more than worth every penny.

For drivers and the driven

The S-Class is required to satisfy the demands of both drivers and passengers, and it does so with aplomb. Equally benefitting both is an updated suspension with air springs that constantly adapt to changing road surfaces. Even better, the S-Class can now send information about uncouth dips and bumps to the cloud, so the next time you approach that especially gross stretch of the 405 freeway on the way to your home in Beverly Hills, the S-Class will preemptively soften its springs to keep you from being jostled.

Acoustic laminated glass and lots of sound-deadening material keep the S-Class' interior nice and quiet, even at triple-digit speeds. All you'll hear are the splat-splat sounds of the bugs meeting their demise on your windshield, which are of course easily washed away by the S-Class' wet-arm Magic Vision Control wipers. A kajillion standard active and passive safety features are also on hand to keep you and your passengers out of harm's way, and soon, the AI-powered MB.Drive Assist Pro function will be pushed to S-Class owners via an over-the-air update, allowing for nearly hands-free point-A-to-B city driving.

Powerful and refined on the road

In the U.S., S-Class buyers can choose between the S 500 with a 3.0-liter twin-turbo I6 or the S 580 with its absolutely lovely 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8. Both engines pair with a nine-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. They also feature an integrated starter-generator — basically, a small bit of electric oomph that helps you quickly pull away from a stoplight and smooths out the operation of the standard stop-start system. (Bad news: U.S.-spec models are limited to 130 mph, not 155. Womp womp.)

I'll have to tell you about the S 500 when one passes through Edmunds HQ for testing. But considering my drive in the new S-Class took place on a mix of winding roads along the Baltic Sea and long stretches of autobahn with no speed limit, you'll forgive me for choosing to spend as much time as possible with the V8-powered S 580. With 530 horsepower and 553 lb-ft of torque on tap, accompanied by a deep rumble that is borderline too aggro for a non-AMG S-Class (note: not a complaint), the S 580 is a dream.

Power from the V8 is strong and unrelenting, and available at the flex of your big toe. Mercedes says the S 580 can sprint to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds, which is impressive for a luxury sedan that weighs two and a half tons. And it still leaves plenty of room on the table for the inevitable and yet-to-come Mercedes-AMG S 63 (the last one we tested hit 60 mph in 3.1 seconds thanks to its plug-in hybrid powertrain with more than 1,000 lb-ft of torque).

Far more notable than the S 580's power is its unflappable solidity. The whole "bank vault on wheels" vibe that embodies the best German luxury cars is alive and well here — both when you're sitting in traffic and when you're at full tilt on the open autobahn. The S-Class' steering is well weighted and adequately communicates what's happening where the rubber meets the road. The brakes are outstanding, too — easy to modulate at slow speed in traffic and powerful enough to quickly scrub off speed when some dope in a Fiat Doblo work van puts an end to your unrestricted autobahn fun.

There's a plug-in hybrid, too

I took a brief drive in the S 580e plug-in hybrid, which pairs the aforementioned 3.0-liter twin-turbo inline-six with a 22-kWh battery and electric motor. Mercedes doesn't have a range estimate just yet, but you can expect 40-50 miles of EV-only driving. Plus, the S 580e is one of only a few plug-in hybrids that can make use of Level 3 DC fast charging; at a max rate of 60 kW, the battery can go from 10% to 80% in about 20 minutes.

Silent, electric-only cruising really befits the S-Class. There's enough power to get you moving with authority and the straight-six engine fires up without any vibration or harshness. Despite making 576 hp and 553 lb-ft of torque, the S 580e is half a second slower than the gas-only S 580 in the 0-to-60-mph dash, likely because it's heavier (an official weight spec is TBD) and not tuned for performance. Still, the plug-in S-Class is every bit as nice to drive as its V8-powered counterpart, with the same feeling of balance and composure.

You want luxury? Check out this interior

Look, nice as the S-Class is to drive, you'd be remiss not to spend some time in the back seat. Recline. Put your feet up. Have a chilled beverage from the optional fridge. Enjoy the seat's heating, cooling and massage functions. And hey, go ahead and take a Zoom or Microsoft Teams call on the seatback entertainment screen if you want to (you don't). The seats are super comfy, there's legroom for days and it's so, so, so easy to relax. If you don't get out of an S-Class feeling better than when you got in, there's something wrong with you. (Or maybe you shouldn't have taken that Teams call …)

Up front, the driver and passenger can get a nice warm hug from the heated seat belts, which are activated and deactivated using the standard seat-heating buttons. The front chairs are just as plush and supportive as the rear ones, and pillows on the headrests are great for the occasional moment when you can lean back and breathe deep while you slog through traffic.

Eleventy billion color and trim choices are available for the new S-Class, and if you go through the Mercedes-Benz Manufaktur customization program, the world's your oyster. Mercedes says a majority of its S-Class clients pick at least one Manufaktur personalization option, and honestly, at this price point, I would too. Need even more luxury? Maybe the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class is more your speed.

So, what's not to like?

Sigh. OK, I know a lot of people disagree with me, but screens do not equal luxury. The S-Class comes standard with Mercedes' Superscreen setup, which includes a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster, a 14.4-inch central screen and a 12.3-inch passenger display, all under one big glass housing. This is not the new Hyperscreen that's available in Mercedes' other cars and doesn't offer a seamless pillar-to-pillar digital experience. Customers in some markets (China) love the full-screen experience. But to me, the outgoing S-Class was better: a vertically oriented touchscreen in the center, and larger swaths of luxurious metal or wood trim to really drive home a feeling of elegance.

I also don't personally love the styling updates, specifically the larger grille with its black lip-liner and dozens of little stars. The light-up effect is cool at night, and I'll admit the new S-Class looks better on the road than it originally did in a studio. But to me, the previous S-Class was a seriously handsome car. The design tweaks aren't improvements. Maybe your eyes see things differently.

It's good to be in the S-Class

The 2027 Mercedes-Benz S 500 and S 580 will arrive in the U.S. this fall with the S 580e arriving closer to the end of the year. Pricing hasn't been announced, but the S 500 should come in around $120,000 with the 580 variants both starting somewhere in the $135K to $140K range. That's a lot of money, but the S-Class is a lot of car, and anyone buying one won't be stretching their budget to do so. 

Mercedes-Benz isn't rewriting the S-Class' playbook with the updated 2027 model, but it doesn't have to. The changes to Benz's flagship only solidify the S-Class' place as the de facto full-size luxury benchmark. Drive or be driven — there isn't a bad seat in the house.