There's luxury and then there's Luxury. The next flagship from Mercedes-Benz falls into the latter camp, with hand-stitched leather, acres of wood trim, heated and massaging seats and "active perfuming" technology. Yes, that's a bottle of eau de toilette in the glovebox.
With Mercedes-Benz's parent company Daimler shuttering the over-priced and rarely purchased Maybach line, the tri-star brand can finally move up a rung in the luxury game. The all-conquering S-Class is finally getting the makeover it deserves, but before the wraps officially come off the all-new S next month, Mercedes is showing off the most important part: the interior.
Nestled inside that diamond-stitched, wrap-around dashboard are two massive, 12.3-inch displays: one handling infotainment, climate control and navigation duties while another takes the place of the traditional gauges. All of that high-res goodness appears to float inside the leather-ensconced dash with something Mercedes is calling "Corona Effect" ambient lighting.
Up front, the seats and steering wheel are heated, but so are the armrests on the doors and center console – a first for any luxury car. More impressive are the digs out back, with five seating options for the Captain of Industry being chauffeured in his rolling office. The rear seats can recline up to 43.5 degrees (the most of any luxo-liner) and includes a pop-out ottoman for resting weary legs. With a few twists and button presses, 14 separate air bladders pulse your worries away with six different massage settings, including two that add heat, which Mercedes claims is akin to a hot-stone massage.
With outside air being put through a variety of filters to eliminate any offending smells or allergy-inducing pollens, Mercedes ups the luxury quotient even more with its "air-balance" system that increases the "concentration of negatively charged oxygen ions" to provide a calming effect. Add in the "active perfuming system" which atomizes a Mercedes-specific fragrance that can be manually adjusted for intensity (or switched off entirely), and you've got the freshest interior this side of a Four Seasons spa day.
Mercedes' latest mBrace2 infotainment platform keeps occupants connected and entertained, with each of the sedan's four passengers getting dedicated internet, music and video access, and allowing the driver to route specific functionality to individual passengers. Two Burmester surround-sound systems will be available at launch, both incorporating sub-woofers into the firewall ahead of the passenger's feet.
With over 150 buttons on board, you'll be paying about $1,000 a piece for each machined aluminum switch when the S-Class goes on sale later this year. We're ready to ditch our loft and move in immediately, we just need a few roommates to split the monthly payments.
