Ridden! The 2027 Mercedes-Benz S-Class Evolves in the Face of Adversity

For decades, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class has served as a measuring stick for the automotive industry. More often than not, it’s been held up as the pinnacle of engineering excellence, at the vanguard of safety advancements, and on the cutting edge of technology. Over the years, many have tried and failed to snatch its overall luxury sedan crown. But these days, more competitors than ever are chipping away at its core attributes, with some of them doing it better. Now a newly updated S-Class is nigh, and we’ve just had a chance to go for a ride in one to see what Mercedes is doing to keep its flagship on top.

Evolutionary, Not Revolutionary

Thanks to spy photos, we knew what to expect before walking up to a camouflaged prototype of the coming new 2027 Mercedes-Benz S-Class. A careful examination has made clear this is a midcycle refresh, not an all-new model despite Mercedes’ claims of greater than 50 percent new parts content. Its profile is almost identical to that of the present S-Class, and the roofline is unchanged, which are hallmarks of an updated car rather than an all-new one.

In person, we can see more clearly there are new headlamps and taillights, now with glowing three-pointed stars peeking out around the camo tape and in keeping with the latest Mercedes’ exterior design trends. The grille looks a bit larger, and the lower air intakes have been reshaped.

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We also notice something new on the fenders, just behind the front wheels. You can’t cover a camera and expect it to work, so we can see Mercedes engineers have added one on each side of the car. While it could just be for a better 360-degree camera system, we know Mercedes has been testing Level 3 semi-autonomous driving technology on S-Class models in Germany, California, and Nevada, so it’s a fair bet these new cameras are part of a self-driving system. Of what level, our driver is unwilling to say and did not demonstrate. The provided press release offered no information.

Familiar on the Inside, Too

The dashboard of this S-Class runner is partially covered by black cloth to hide it from prying eyes, but what we can see is more than a little familiar. Our prototype is fitted with the Superscreen, a single sheet of glass covering the center and passenger side of the dashboard and housing the central infotainment screen and the passenger screen. It’s not the Hyperscreen from the EQS, though. The instrument cluster is its own standalone screen. All in all, it’s mostly the same as the current car.

Other changes are harder to spot. Some of the onscreen graphics appear to be updated compared to other Mercedes vehicles we’ve been in lately but are very familiar. Mercedes says they’re backed by a new operating system and electrical architecture, but any significant difference in the user experience was difficult to discern from our short time with the car.

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Elsewhere, the steering wheel has a familiar roller switch for the volume and a rocker switch for the cruise control, replacing some of the car’s old touch-sensitive controls. Other touch controls are still there for manipulating features such as the instrument cluster screen. The air vents at either end of the dash are new two-piece designs you can still adjust by hand—no screen required.

The only other significant update we can spy is the relocated wireless phone chargers. They now form a tray below the infotainment screen as opposed to being hidden away in a compartment by the cupholders.

The Same but Better?

As we roll through the fields and villages surrounding Sindelfingen, Germany, it’s immediately clear the suspension of the updated S-Class is as supple as ever. The press release says air suspension is standard now and Mercedes’ E-Active Body Control hydraulic suspension is optional. Our driver wouldn’t say which our car had, but a quick peak behind the wheels confirmed airbags and electronically controlled shocks.

The release also briefly mentions a cloud-connected damping system that shares road surface data throughout the Mercedes fleet which we think means the damping can adjust automatically based on data from other Mercedes cars on the road. Our driver said this prototype wasn’t equipped with that software, but the result regardless is a car that rides as serenely as ever, with only a few big bumps felt in the cabin.

It's deeply quiet in here, too. Quieter than the current S-Class? Probably, knowing how Mercedes engineers think. Still, there’s the unmistakable rumble of a V-8 coming from the front of the car when the driver gets on it. It’s quiet and smooth, but it’s no inline-six. Per the release, it’s still a twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 with a 48-volt mild-hybrid system, but it’s been thoroughly reworked with a new firing order, new intake camshafts, crankshaft, intake and exhaust ports, and turbocharger internals. It now makes 530 hp and 553 lb-ft.

The press release says the twin-turbo inline-six returns as the base engine and has also been upgraded. It, too, features a new intake camshaft and reworked intake and exhaust ports. The electric turbo which helps at low RPM now features a more powerful motor for quicker spooling and more power. Horsepower hasn’t been provided yet, but torque is up to 472 lb-ft. In the current model, it makes 442 hp.

The release also says the plug-in hybrid powertrain is returning, too, upgraded with this revised inline-six engine and a more-powerful electric motor. Details are light, but total combined output is up 73 hp, which would bring it to 576 hp.

We can’t tell if this prototype car is all-wheel drive, but as that’s standard on the current car, it’s probably standard on this new one, too.

The press release reveals rear steering is now standard, and the big sedan’s nimble handling and tight cornering through narrow old German streets make it obvious. Cars this long don’t turn this tight, otherwise.

Soon Enough?

The 2027 S-Class we got a ride in was, as far as we can tell, basically finished. Pull the camo off, and no one would know it’s a prototype. Any work still ongoing at this point is in the software, which means we should be seeing the final production car soon. Based on this timing, we’re assuming it’ll go on sale as a 2027 model, probably before the end of this year. Whether the current car’s $120,750 starting price also carries over or goes up remains to be seen.