Technology is supposed to make our lives easier, and luxury should make our lives comfier. But as technology advances beyond the bounds of user-friendliness, it eases off the easy and levels off the luxurious. Such is the concerning case of the redesigned 2022 Mercedes-Benz S-Class full-size luxury sedan. The “S” in S-Class could stand for sexy, sublime, smooth-riding and spendy but also for smart — too smart for the room, in fact, in its sometimes confounding application of tech features.
Though Cars.com’s erstwhile Luxury Car of the Year certainly offers plenty to luxuriate in, this latest S-Class incarnation is unlikely to wind up at the top of any best-of list next year without some serious tech tweaks. For a complete take, follow the related link above to Cars.com reviewer Joe Wiesenfelder’s comprehensive critique — but for a rapid-fire roundup of the things we love and the things we loathe, keep reading.
Here are six things we like, and five things we don’t, about the 2022 Mercedes-Benz S-Class:
Things We Like
1. We’ll All Float On, Alright
Cars.com photo by Joe Bruzek
In an automotive landscape that seems firmly in favor of stiff-riding vehicles, forgive us for being a little soft on a plush luxury sedan with a floaty ride. The S-Class’ generally smooth-sailing driving experience is thanks in large part to Mercedes’ mastery of its E-Active Body Control system, which not only tempers weight shifting but also aids in crash mitigation.
2. Got That Handling Thing Handled
The S-Class’ ability to manipulate its rear wheels brings precision steering to this veritable limousine worthy of a much smaller, sportier car. At lower speeds, the rear wheels can turn 10 degrees in the opposite direction for maneuvering through cramped spaces or taking tight turns. At highway speeds, all four wheels turn in the same direction to let you weave like a loom through fast-flowing traffic.
3. Powertrain Perfection
Like the often-underestimated hippo, the S-Class uninitiated may mistake the full-size sedan’s size for slowness — but again, like the hippo, drivers do so at their own peril. The S580’s dual-turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8 hybrid-boosted engine pumps out 496 horsepower and 516 pounds-feet of torque, blasting this beast from 0-60 mph in 4.4 seconds, according to Mercedes. (The lower-powered S500 is no slouch either.)
4. Navigation System Is ‘Real’ Cool
Cars.com photo by Joe Bruzek
Does anyone really use their car’s native navigation system anymore when they can just pair their phone with the multimedia system and generally have a better experience? The S-Class could change your mind with its augmented-reality-assisted navigation that can guide the driver with blue arrows in the windshield or superimposed on a live video image in the main MBUX infotainment display.
5. Badass Booty Bass
Grown nostalgic for the old boomin’ system days when you’d cram a pair of 15-inch subwoofers, an amp and a loaded-up CD changer in the trunk — but don’t want to risk shattering your jar of Grey Poupon with the bone-rattling bass? The S-Class has a solution that provides those good vibrations without attracting five-o — or even annoying the passenger next to you. The Burmester premium audio system’s 4D Sound feature can provide South Beach-worthy shakes on a seat-by-seat basis per each occupant’s pleasure.
6. Smile for the Cameras
Cars.com photo by Joe Bruzek
Camera-based features on cars, particularly when it comes to facial recognition, can border on indulgent gimmickry but (mostly) not so in the S-Class’ case. The driver-facing camera cuts out the middleman of having to select which side of the car you’re trying to adjust the mirror on by sensing which one you’re looking at and activating that mirror accordingly. Meanwhile, a digitally rendered all-the-way-around view alerts the driver to collision hazards; it’s like having your own personal spotter standing outside the car.
Things We Don’t
1. Confusing Controls
The top half of the MBUX infotainment system’s 12.8-inch main display is populated by a bunch of seemingly randomly positioned icons that just have no rhyme or reason that would provide intuitive navigation.
2. Too Much Touch
Despite consumer and Cars.com protestations, Mercedes has pushed all its chips in the middle for touch-sensitive controls. Not just for multimedia systems anymore, smudgy panels controlling various functions now proliferate across the cabin: on the armrests, the doors and even the ceiling — and don’t get us started on those steering-wheel-mounted ones that are easy to trigger accidentally.
3. Seating Position Do’s and Dots
Cars.com photo by Joe Bruzek
In his review, Wiesenfelder notes that his preferred seating and steering-wheel position blocked the driver-facing camera’s view of his eyes, which raised the S-Class’ ire and resulted in nagging alerts in the instrument panel “telling me to adjust the seat or wheel until I could see six sequential dots on the display, which looked like landing lights.” Like your mother in the passenger seat reprimanding you to sit up straight while simultaneously talking you down onto the runway … so luxurious!
4. Lackluster Legroom
The S-Class really lays it on thick with cabin cushiness — neck pillows, anyone? — in part perhaps to distract rear-seat occupants from the lack of legroom. That extendable ottoman is nice and all, but if you’re a taller passenger looking to stretch your legs, you’re going to be disappointed.
5. Stingy Stowage
Cars.com photo by Joe Bruzek
Unfortunately, that lack of legroom doesn’t translate to lots of luggage. Trunk space trails not only full-size foes from BMW and Lexus, but even some mid-size sedans.
Keyword: 2022 Mercedes-Benz S-Class: 6 Things We Like (and 5 Not So Much)