2014 Mercedes S-Class — Technical and luxury benchmark

By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(June 16, 2013) With the death of the Maybach franchise, Daimler has removed its self-imposed roadblock on the aspirations of Mercedes. Once the preeminent vehicle in the Mercedes lineup, the S-Class was overshadowed by Maybach in an attempt to compete directly with Rolls-Royce and Bentley via a “more prestigious” brand.


That this was a big mistake and an utter failure has been proven by Maybach’s quick rise, steady fall and dissolution. Mercedes, on the other hand, continues on.

It may take a while for the brand to recover its sense of occasion and arrogant superiority. However, Mercedes has not stood idly by. It continued to develop the S-Class as a technical and luxury benchmark even while its upper end ambitions were blunted by the presence of the Maybach brand. Now that Maybach has been swept away, there is room to expand the S-Class upward, and pull the nameplates below up with it. That process will take time, however, as the latest S-Class was developed while Maybach was still a part of Daimler AG’s future plans.

This can be seen in the design of the 2014 S-Class, which strives to meld “effortless superiority” with “coupé-style intentions.” That’s a tall order, and one that is muddled by Mercedes’ desire to expand the depth and reach of its brand as it seeks out new markets below its traditional competitive set.

Except, perhaps, for politics, language is never so tortured as when being used to describe a vehicle’s styling. Thus the S-Class is said to be “a modern embodiment of sensual clarity”, and the “Dropping Line” that descends from front to rear “generates additional dynamism even when the car is at a standstill.” Further, this character line creates a “convex-concave effect” that “demonstrates both excitement and calm.” With a description like this the S-Class, if it was human, would be classified as schizophrenic. As to whether or not the 2014 S-Class is handsome or overdone, we leave that up to you.

LEDs Galore

For 2014, Mercedes has replaced all incandescent illumination with LED lighting throughout the car; making it the first volume-produced road vehicle to do so, and giving it 451 LED lights. Each headlight has up to 56 LED lights, and each taillight has up to 35, with four more in the rear fog lamp.

Three hundred LEDs are used in the interior. Visibility is further enhanced electronically through the use of a new stereoscopic camera system and multi-stage radars that, Mercedes claims, detect potential dangers through 360 degrees, automatically adjust the high beams and provide the inputs for the available night vision system.

As the stereoscopic camera system scans the road ahead for obstructions, it also sends information about the road surface to the suspension where the weirdly named, and optional, Magic Body Control system adjusts the way in which the dampers reacts to surface irregularities. Standard equipment is the continuously adjustable ADS Plus, and an enhanced version of the Airmatic air suspension system.

Taking a Back Seat

In the past, the short-wheelbase S-Class was the focus of most of the engineering team’s development work, with the long-wheelbase version pulled from it. However, the rise of China as a market for über luxury cars has turned this tradition on its head. Though owners in North America and Europe are usually found behind the wheel, those in Asia spend most of their time in the back seat.

Four seating arrangements are available on the long-wheelbase model, and the reclining rear seats use a separately adjusted seatback that allows the lower cushion’s position to remain unchanged. Seat incline is increased by 6.5 degrees on the Executive seat option, and the “First Class Rear” package (a description of the seats, not the occupants) flows the console through to the rear cabin. This console includes thermostatically controlled cupholders that cool or warm drinks, and two aircraft-style tray tables.

Rear seat passengers also get a seatbelt buckle extender, beltbag and cushionbag. The first is an electrically operated and illuminated system that extends and retracts the buckle automatically. As used by Ford on its Explorer and Lincoln MXZ, the beltbag uses an inflatable shoulder belt section to reduce crash forces on the ribcage. Finally, the cushionbag sits under the rear seat cushion, and inflates to prevent a reclining passenger from submarining under the seatbelts.

There’s also an available Energizing Massage utility designed around the “hot stone” principle. It uses 14 individually activated air cushions in the backrest, an integral warming function and is available on both the front and rear seats. If that’s not enough, the ventilated seats use a reversing fan to draw cooler surrounding air across the seat surface in order to lessen the time it tales to cool down the occupant. After four minutes, the fans automatically switch to blower mode to prevent drafts.

As has Jaguar with its XJ sedan, Mercedes has replaced conventional gauges with thin-film technology (TFT) color displays in 8:3 format and a 12.3-inch diagonal measurement. The left-hand screen replaces the instrument cluster, while the one on the right controls infotainment and comfort functions.

The climate control system has been reengineered with a view to greater performance and air quality, more precise air regulation, less noise and greater efficiency. The Airbalance package adds ionization and perfume atomization, as well as a high efficiency air filtration system. Mercedes claims the perfume doesn’t change the small of the interior permanently (eliminating the need for a “New Car Smell” perfume) or deposit itself on clothing or other fabric surfaces. The climate control system adds two additional rear zones, and includes electric heating of the arm rests.

Mercedes adapts its Frontbass system to a sedan for the first time, and places the front woofers in the firewall. There they use the front and side cross members as resonance chambers, and eliminate the needto mount these speakers in the doors. The mid-range speakers are relocated higher in the doors, which adds more stowage space lower down. A 10-speaker sound system is standard, with a Burmester Surround Sound and Burmester High-End 3D Surround System available as options.

Under the Skin

This is Mercedes’ third-generation aluminum hybrid monocoque, and it marries a high-strength steel passenger cell with aluminum castings, extrusions and exterior aluminum skins. Mercedes claims that torsional stiffness in relation to weight and vehicle size has increased from 27.5 kN/degree to 40.5 kN/degree.

The Pre-Safe system has been further refined to prevent frontal collisions with pedestrians and other vehicles in city traffic. At speeds up to 31 mph, Pre-Safe Brake can detect pedestrians and initiate autonomous braking. Pre-Safe Plus is able to recognize an imminent rear-end collision. It warns the offending vehicle’s driver by blinking the rear hazard lights at a high frequency.

If he does not react at all or in time, it pretensions the belt retractors and firmly applies the brakes to minimize the impact’s forward jolt, thus reducing whiplash injuries. Pre-Safe Impulse reduces the risk of injuries in a frontal collision by pulling the driver and front seat passenger away from the direction of impact via their seatbelts before occupant deceleration begins in earnest.

The safety equipment doesn’t stop there, however:

    • Distronic Plus with Steering Assist and Stop & Go gives the new S-Class the ability to automatically follow vehicles in traffic jams.
    • BAS Plus with Cross-Traffic Assist can detect crossing traffic and pedestrians, and boosts the braking power the driver applies based on need.
    • Active Lane Keeping Assist can discern when the adjacent lane is occupied, especially by oncoming traffic, in areas where the lane markings are broken lines. It applies the brakes on one side of the vehicle to reduce the chances the car will leave its lane unintentionally.
    • Adaptive Highbeam Assist Plus Lets the drive keep the high beams on permanently by masking out areas in the beam that might dazzle drivers of other vehicles.
    • Night View Assist Plus has been supplemented by a thermal imaging camera that can spot animals and humans in unlit areas. The Spotlight function flashes the lights to draw the driver’s attention and warn any pedestrians the system detects.
    • Attention Assist warns of inattentiveness in an extended speed range, and notifies the driver of driving time since the last break , as well as level of fatigue. If a warning is emitted, it indicates nearby service areas in the navigation display.

Prices, on-sale date and options available in each region have yet to be determined, but the 2014 Mercedes S-Class promises lots of tech and luxury items. With Maybach out of the way, Mercedes can expand this model’s focus upward in future generations, and pave the way for a Mercedes-branded competitor for Rolls Royce and Bentley.

The Virtual Driver