First Drive: 2027 Mercedes-Benz S-Class

June 19, 2026

Roberto Baldwin

In a world of SUVs, the S-Class sedan persists.

The Mercedes luxury vehicle continues to be the vehicle of choice for wealthy drivers and passengers. The 2027 refresh continues that tradition with three powertrain options that support all S-Class occupants.

Mercedes' halo vehicle received a myriad of updates for 2027, including a new grille, updated engines, and sensors. So many sensors. The result is an S-Class that doesn't stray far from traditional design, yet is built with an eye on the latest worldwide emission regulations and expanding in-car and driving technologies. That includes an SAE Level 4 S-Class in the near future, but let's focus on what I drove in Germany.

Three is the magic number

Mercedes offers three powertrain options for the 2027 S-Class. Each variant hits a certain segment of the S-Class owner, and I had the opportunity to get behind the wheel of each of them.

Mercedes has once again set the bar for luxury sedans. (Roberto Baldwin)

The S500 trim ships with an updated twin-tubo mild-hybrid inline-6. The automaker updated the cylinder head and optimized the intake and exhaust ports, increasing the compression ratio. The crankcase also got an upgrade, while the e-booster on the mild hybrid delivers 23 hp (17 kW) via the integrated starter generator (ISG 2.0). With 443 hp (330 kW) and 443 lb-ft (600 Nm), the S500 sits right in the middle as a sort of Goldilocks trim. You'll never plug it in, but it'll also never bestow upon you the satisfaction of a V8 growl and displacement.

For the S500 driver searching for a smooth ride, there’s the S580e. It houses an inline-6 (same as above), paired with an electric motor and 21.96 kWh of battery capacity. The result is 576 hp (430 kW) and 553 lb-ft (750 Nm), and more importantly, the smoothest S-Class available. A ride so smooth that during a conversation with the CEO Ola Källenius, the boss told me that this was his next vehicle, specifically because of the ride the PHEV drivetrain delivers.

Then there's the person who demands the raw power and sound that only a V8 can deliver. The S580 is the vehicle for them. It's an Autobahn beast. With 530 hp (410 Nm) and 553 lb-ft (750 Nm), it quickly gets up to speed and beyond with the throaty accompaniment of the powerplant that required some tinkering to get where it is.

Under the hood, Mercedes has made changes to the engine, including using a flat-plane crankshaft, typically found in racing motors. Mercedes adjusted the firing order and made improvements to the turbocharger compressor wheel and housing to improve the efficiency of the powerplant. What the system doesn't do, though, is create the V8 rumble people are accustomed to from Mercedes, and it has a nasty habit of increasing engine vibrations.

Mercedes solved this with two balance shafts added at the crankshaft level that reduce vibrations from the engine. To recreate the V8 sound lost to the Miller cycle, Mercedes redesigned the shape of the exhaust valves and changed the lift curve. The result is a more efficient engine that still emits the sound V8. Throw in the turbocharger, and the S580 delivers for the driver looking for a bit more aggression in their premium luxury.

Slow is smooth (fast is smooth too)

The S-Class continues to feel solid on the road while delivering a luxury ride profile that absorbs the bumps, potholes, and overall harshness of the world. At high speeds on the Autobahn or while cruising country roads, the sedan does its best to produce a voyage that's almost as nice as what I imagine a hovercraft delivers, just without the insane fan noise.

Powered by MB.OS, these may be the first ICE SDVs. (Roberto Baldwin)

The vehicle ships with standard Airmatic suspension. During the drive program, Mercedes handed us vehicles with the new E-Active Body Control that features a cloud-based dampening system. Unfortunately, the nature of the system makes it tough to actually test when you're driving along a pre-planned route. How it works is that when an S-Class (or other Mercedes with the feature) encounters, say, a pothole, it pinpoints the location of that pothole and shares it via the cloud to other enabled Mercedes vehicles. Then, as another S-Class is about to hit the same pothole, it premetivley adjusts the dampening to tackle the hole.

If all the vehicles are driving along the same road, I assume that the vehicle I'm driving is aware of the upcoming bits of rough road. But I can't really tell. Is the ride smoother because of a cloud-based system or just because overall, the suspension and chassis design of the S-Class just delivers a luxury experience even without access to an online map of potential trouble spots? Either way, it was a nice ride.

Handling also received the luxury treatment without creating a disconnect between the driver and the road. Some luxury vehicles end up with a sort of firewall between the road and the driver, resulting in a detached driving experience. The S-Class isn't a sports car, but it also doesn't remove all feel from the steering wheel. It's a nice balance of ease of turning with a hint of road feedback.

In tight spaces (i.e., parking lots and every German village), the sedan's rear-wheel steering came in handy. The S-Class comes standard with 4.5 degrees of rear steering, with the option to make it 10 degrees. The feature makes a large vehicle seem smaller, bestowing upon it a tighter turning radius. Standard is a 39-ft (12-m) radius, while opting for the tighter 10 degrees delivers a 35.4-ft (11-m) turn.

Inside

Regardless of where you sit, it's comfortable inside an S-Class. Hours spent driving the vehicle were hours spent enjoying a lovely seat with plenty of cushion and support. The car’s digital screens were bright and easy to read. The return of physical rollers to the steering wheel was a welcome situation. Still, many of the vehicle's controls are behind the Superscreen and powered by MBUX, the Mercedes infotainment system. While it's one of the best on the market, I'd still like to see more physical controls in the S-Class. A passenger screen is also standard, even though I see little excitement for these in the United States. According to Källenius, these are required to make it in the Asian market, particularly in China.

Yes, this interior is blue. (Roberto Baldwin)

In the backseat, passengers can now conduct Microsoft Teams meetings while being transported around. I created a meeting, and it works. If you're into ruining a nice ride with a work meeting, Mercedes has got you covered.

All of this is built upon Mercedes' MS.OS SDV system. Källenius notes that Mercedes might be the first automaker to have a gas-powered SDV in production. We've heard from Mercedes that building a software-defined gas-powered vehicle is more difficult than building one on an EV platform. It makes sense; there are far more individual items in an ICE vehicle.

One issue with the interior is the large black edges around the screens. Mercedes seems to have gone backwards in screen design on the latest S-Class. I miss the portrait Hyperscreen, but I understand the move to a landscape display. Still, for a luxury sedan, Mercedes continues to set the bar. It's doing so with three versions of a vehicle that should appeal to the majority of S-Class buyers. We’ll have to wait until later this year to learn more technical details and to see how much it'll set each person back.