The flagship sedan of Mercedes-Benz has finally arrived in Malaysia. Only one specification of the all-new S-Class will be available officially in Malaysia and it’s the S 580 e, a plug-in hybrid with a 3-litre inline 6 petrol engine.
“The S-Class is the world’s best-selling luxury limousine and we are also pleased that the new S 580 e will be a locally-assembled variant as its predecessor. This is a testament to our commitment to reinforce our local commitment to expanding our local foothold in the country. The vehicle underpins our claim to produce the best automobile in the world. This is where covetable luxury meets the greatest possible safety and the highest level of comfort,” said Michael Jopp, Vice President, Sales & Marketing Passenger Cars, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia.
The S-Class will be locally-assembled in Pekan from the get-go for local consumption.
The new Mercedes-Benz S 580e’s engine is mated to a 9G-Tronic automatic and has 367 horsepower between 5,500rpm and 6,100rpm with 500Nm of torque. The electric motor is rated at 110kW and 440Nm of torque. It has a top speed of 250km/h and a 0-100km/h time of 5.2 seconds. With a fully-charged battery, the new S-Class can deliver up to 100km of pure electric driving.
The second-generation MBUX system features machine learning and powers 5 displays with OLED technology. The system features a fingerprint scanner below the central display. The driver gets a new 3D driver display for a spatial view without the use of 3D glasses. MBUX Augmented Reality Navigation connects the virtual with the real while the voice assistant is triggered by the “Hey Mercedes” trigger word and can answer general knowledge questions and take voice inputs from the rear occupants as well.
Onboard cameras allow MBUX Interior Assist to recognise and anticipate the intentions of the occupants by looking at the head direction, hand movements, body language and more. MBUX Interior Assist can even detect a car seat on the front passenger seat without the seat belt fastened.
Four driver and media display styles are offered – Discreet, Sporty, Exclusive and Classic while the three modes are Navigation, Assistance and Service.
You also get Burmester 3D surround sound with this new S-Class. Anthracite open-pore poplar wood trim gives the interior an ultra-luxurious touch.
The Nappa leather-covered seats feature multiple motors, a heatable additional cushion for the head restraint on the two electrically-adjustable rear seats, and an enhanced chauffeur configuration for the front passenger seat.
The new S-Class interior features interactive interior lighting on top of the existing ambient lighting. This interactive lighting is integrated with the driving assistance systems to reinforce alerts visually and also works with other MBUX systems.
The new S-Class was designed with classic sedan proportions with reduced character lines for a more organic but muscular look. Contoured surfaces, flush-mounted wheels and a wide track characterise the new S-Class’s exterior looks. The headlamps give the car a dynamic appearance and feature 3 extremely powerful LEDs with 1.3 million micro-mirrors. Highbeam Assist is 100 times more precise than before when excluding oncoming traffic from high beams.
The all-new S-Class features a new set of sensors and driver assistance features that are more advanced than ever. They even work at low speeds, giving it the ability to theoretically carry out Level 3 autonomous driving in markets where this is legally allowed.
These sensors also detect side-on collisions before they happen and push the occupants out of the way by moving the seat side bolsters in the front backrests with a pyrotechnically-activated balloon. The new S-Class is also the first vehicle to feature frontal airbags for the rear passengers.
