LIKES
- Smooth power
- Unparalleled comfort
- Built to the highest standard
- All-weather security of all-wheel drive
- Packed with safety technology
DISLIKES
- No coupe, convertible, or AMG this year
- Noticeable body lean
- High prices
- Inefficient
BUYING TIP
The 2022 Mercedes-Benz S-Class remains the luxury benchmark, with the ride, comfort, power, and technology to prove it.
What kind of car is the 2022 Mercedes-Benz S-Class? What does it compare to?
The 2022 Mercedes-Benz S-Class is the brand’s flagship luxury car. Its lineup is reduced to just a sedan this year, but it remains the industry standard for luxury and technology. It takes on the likes of the Audi A8, BMW 7-Series, and Lexus LS.
Is the 2022 Mercedes-Benz S-Class a good car?
It’s a fantastic car that does just about everything well. It has great space, lots of power, a glass-smooth ride, and the latest interior and safety technology. It earns a high TCC rating of 7.2 out of 10 overall.
What's new for the 2022 Mercedes-Benz S-Class?
Mercedes has shrunk the S-Class lineup to four all-wheel-drive sedans, dropping the coupe and convertible body styles, and once again offers no AMG models. Two of those sedans mark the return of the high-end Maybach nameplate. The lineup now consists of S500 4Matic, S580 4Matic, Maybach S580 4Matic, and Maybach S680 4Matic trim levels. Mercedes also offers a new gesture control system for the infotainment system and its E-Active Body Control system, which reads the road ahead and uses hydraulics that control individual wheels to smooth over bumps and lean the car into turns for flatter handling.
The S-Class lineup starts with the S500 4Matic, which features a 429-hp 3.0-liter turbo-6 aided by a mild-hybrid system that can add up to 21 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque. The S580 4Matic gets a 496-hp twin-turbo V-8 also aided by the mild-hybrid system. The new top of the lineup is Maybach S680 4Matic with a 621-hp twin-turbo 6.0-liter V-12. All use a smooth-shifting 9-speed automatic transmission. They’re all fast, too, with 0-60 mph times no higher than 4.8 seconds.
Fuel economy isn’t the S-Class’s forte, but it’s not too thirsty given its power. It tops out at 21 mpg combined.
Dynamically, the S-Class specializes in a smooth ride rather than agile moves. A standard air suspension with adaptive dampers smooths over most bumps, but allows notable body lean in turns. The new active hydraulic suspension battles those motions. Available rear-axle steering, however, helps the S-Class drive smaller than its size, especially in parking lots. It can turn the rear wheels up to 10 degrees opposite of the fronts to match the turning circle of the compact A-Class.
The interior features a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a 12.8-inch touchscreen to run the brand’s MBUX infotainment system. Augmented reality overlays can aid with navigation directions on both screens, as well as on the available head-up display. The cabin also offers lots of passenger space, and the new Maybach models, which are 7.0 inches longer, turn the back seat into a luxury lounge.
How much does the 2022 Mercedes-Benz S-Class cost?
The S-Class starts at $112,150 for the S500 4Matic sedan model, which is loaded up with features that include leather upholstery; power seats with heating, cooling, and massage; a panoramic sunroof; navigation; wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto; Burmester audio; gesture controls; and 19-inch alloy wheels.
The safety tech is plentiful, too, with automatic emergency braking, active lane control, active blind-spot monitors, a surround-view camera system, adaptive cruise control, and automatic parking just a few of the many features.
Where is the 2022 Mercedes-Benz S-Class made?
In Sindelfingen, Germany.
Styling
The 2022 Mercedes-Benz S-Class has the elegant looks to go with its luxury mission.
Is the Mercedes-Benz S-Class a good-looking car?
It’s stately on the outside and elegant on the inside. We rate it an 8 here, adding two points for the cabin and one for the exterior.
The long, wide S-Class body has a stately presence. The wide, ovoid grille sits below a star logo hood ornament and is flanked by horizontal headlights with signature LED brows. The car’s lines are more rounded than in recent generations, flowing front front to rear with subtle creases. The long roofline resolves into a short trunk, and the rear has horizontal diamond-shaped taillights connected by a chrome trim strip.
The cabin features a squared off, angular theme, thanks in large part to the vertically oriented 12.8-inch center screen that dominates the center stack and a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster propped up behind the steering wheel. The instrument panel offers a choice of display themes, as well as a 3D effect that has to be seen to be appreciated. Color choices give the interior either a warm or a cool look, and the ambient lighting bathes the cabin with a choice of moods.
Performance
The 2022 Mercedes-Benz S-Class delivers smooth power and a buttery ride rather than agile moves.
We rate the S-Class an 8 out of 10 for performance, adding one point for its smooth ride, and two for its effortless power.
Is the Mercedes-Benz S-Class AWD?
All four S-Class variants get standard 4Matic all-wheel drive.
The S500’s turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-6 makes 429 hp and 384 lb-ft of torque. While Mercedes doesn’t count it in final power ratings, a 48-volt mild-hybrid starter-generator can aid acceleration with up to 21 hp and 184 lb-ft-feet of torque. Mercedes says that’s good for a 0-60 mph time of just 4.8 seconds.
The S580 4Matic gets a twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 that ups the output to 496 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque, also aided by the mild-hybrid system. That drops the 0-60 mph time to 4.4 seconds in the standard S-Class and 4.7 seconds in the larger, heavier Maybach S580. It also adds a refined growl that is one of the few exterior sounds to break through into the cabin. Both engines are mated to a 9-speed automatic transmission that stays in the background with silky gear changes.
The forthcoming Maybach S680 4Matic boasts a twin-turbo 6.0-liter V-12 that is more about bragging rights than performance. It cranks out 621 hp and 664 lb-ft of torque and cuts the 0-60 mph time to 4.4 seconds.
Mercedes outfits every S-Class with some advanced suspension technology and offers more. Adaptive dampers and an air suspension come standard and they team up to create a splendid ride quality that stands out as one of the car’s great strengths. A new hydraulic suspension system called E-Active Body Control uses cameras to read the road ahead and controls each wheel individually to further smooth out the already smooth ride. The system can also fight body lean through corners, which is a boon for the S-Class because body lean is one of the car’s weaknesses.
We haven’t tested the hydraulic system, but its flatter cornering should improve agility and driver confidence. We like the S-Class’s light and direct steering, and we’re big fans of the available rear-axle steering that can turn the rear wheels up to 10 degrees opposite of the fronts for a compact car-like turning radius that makes parking lot maneuvers much easier.
Comfort & Quality
Roomy, well-assembled, and exquisitely appointed, the 2022 Mercedes-Benz S-Class specializes in comfort.
The S-Class sets the benchmark for luxury, with lots of space, the highest-quality materials, and the amenities to pamper occupants. We rate it a perfect 10 here.
The 2022 Mercedes-Benz S-Class stretches 208.3 inches long and the Maybach models grow to 215.3 inches, with the extra length a boon to rear-seat comfort.
The front seat has all the goodies to coddle occupants: heating, cooling, massage, and lots of adjustments. The seats are soft nappa leather and formed to swaddle just about any body type.
The trunk has a modest 12.9 cubic feet of space, and the available refrigerator saps 0.6 cubic feet.
Safety
The Mercedes-Benz S-Class has all the safety equipment, but no crash scores to back it up.
How safe is the Mercedes-Benz S-Class?
The S-Class is the testbed for safety features. While it’s loaded up with active safety technology, too few are sold to warrant crash-test ratings. Without those ratings, we don’t score it here.
The S-Class’s standard safety list is long. It includes automatic emergency braking that can that can also prevent crashes with cars or people crossing the car’s path, automatic high-beam LED headlights that point into turns, active lane control, active blind-spot monitors, a surround-view camera system, adaptive cruise control with stop and go and speed-limit recognition, evasive steering assist to help the driver avoid an obstacle, automatic parking, a driver-attention monitor, an exit warning system, and a dashcam.
Features
The 2022 Mercedes-Benz S-Class comes loaded with features and offers lots of options for even greater luxury.
The 2022 Mercedes-Benz S-Class is reduced to just four sedan models. They are all loaded up with technology and luxury features and buyers can choose plenty more. It also has state-of-the-art infotainment. That earns it a rating of 8 out of 10 here.
The $112,150 S500 4Matic sedan comes standard with leather upholstery, heated and cooled 12-way power-adjustable front seats with memory and a massage function, remote start, ambient lighting, a panoramic sunroof, soft-close doors, the MBUX infotainment system with a 12.8-inch touchscreen, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, navigation, gesture controls, a 15-speaker Burmester sound system, wireless smartphone charging, satellite radio, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a cabin fragrance system, and 19-inch alloy wheels.
Which Mercedes-Benz S-Class should I buy?
How much is a fully loaded 2022 Mercedes-Benz S-Class?
Mercedes shoots the moon with the V-12-powered Maybach 5680 4Matic model at $185,950. It adds a heated steering wheel; heated and cooled rear seats with memory, massage, recline, a power calf rest, and a power foot rest; rear-seat neck heating; 4-zone automatic climate control; rear-seat gesture controls; a rear entertainment system with two 11.6-inch screens; rear-seat wireless smartphone charging; a Wi-Fi hotspot; a premium Burmester audio system; a 3D instrument cluster; a head-up display; and rear-axle steering. The Maybach S680 4Matic will cost even more when it arrives later this year.
Every S-Class gets a 4-year/50,000-mile warranty that lacks the complimentary service offered by some rivals.
The S-Class has Mercedes’ MBUX infotainment system with a vertically mounted 12.8-inch touchscreen. The system offers augmented reality overlays for the navigation screen, instrument cluster, and available head-up display, plus gesture controls that can be assigned and a stoplight view that displays the road ahead. In addition, a fingerprint sensor can recognize a driver to set their individual profile. The system has loads of functionality, and while it’s fairly intuitive, it will take time to learn.
The standard 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster has several styling themes and an optional 3D effect that has to be seen to be appreciated. Augmented reality overlays can also appear on this screen.
Fuel Economy
Though powerful, the 2022 Mercedes-Benz S-Class isn’t too thirsty.
Is the Mercedes-Benz S-Class good on gas?
The S-Class gets decent fuel economy for a large sedan with plenty of power. We rate it a 3 out of 10 based on the 16 mpg city, 25 highway, 19 combined ratings of the V-8-powered S580 4Matic.
Buyers can get better fuel economy with the turbo-6-powered S500 4Matic, which is rated at 21/30/24 mpg. The massive Maybach S580 model gets 15/25/18 mpg, and the Maybach S680 is not yet rated. Premium fuel is required for every model.
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