2022 Mercedes-Benz Maybach Review

It's rare to come across a car built with the passenger more in mind than the driver, but that's exactly the brief for the 2022 Mercedes Maybach. Essentially a fully loaded, stretched S-Class, the Maybach isn't foremost concerned with the driver's comfort.

Sure, there's a sizable instrument display with 3D-enhanced graphics, a head-up display and nearly a dozen driver assist features. There's a heated, cooled and massaging front seat wrapped in buttery leather up front, but backseat riders get the same treatment. One of the rear passengers even gets a power-adjustable massaging footrest. The Maybach is fine to drive, especially with partial rear-wheel steering to help trim its turning circle. But this is a car built for passenger pampering.

The generous standard features list only tells some of the story. The Maybach really reveals itself in the details. There's a biometric or facial recognition authentication program that can recall hundreds of vehicle settings for a single user profile, for example, or presets that sync climate control, seat massage, ambient cabin lighting, cabin fragrance, and audio for various moods. There are even heated wiper blades that emit water from laser-cut holes to lessen the smudge and streaking of a typical windshield cleaning pass. Mercedes likes to trot out its engineering pet projects in the S-Class line, and the Maybach is a showpiece.

For 2022, a new 12-cylinder trim level — the S 680 — joins the lineup, replacing the earlier S 650 iteration. This new top trim offers all-wheel drive and the latest MBUX infotainment system but still offers the understated stealth that its more flamboyant rivals like the Rolls-Royce Ghost and Bentley Flying Spur don't. Of course, the Maybach's primary rival might be the more common version of itself, the supremely capable and comfortable S-Class. The difference is in the details, of course.