mercedes' new s‑class hybrid: unparalleled luxury with flaws

This limousine makes no economic sense. It's a plug-in hybrid that's not worth charging at a public station. It's a car with power no one will fully utilize. It's the best S-Class in history.

If you have recently flipped several properties or cashed out your Bitcoin investments, choosing a new, representative limousine seems simple. The latest offering from Bavaria, the BMW 7 Series, will ensure you don't go unnoticed, and your friends will be impressed when they see the TV emerging from the ceiling. Unless you want to impress them with something different, which is when the new S-Class from AMG comes into play.

Theoretically, designing a new, powerful S-Class is simple—put a hand-built V8 engine with 612 hp and 664 lb-ft of torque under the hood. Add some badges, stiffen the suspension, sprinkle some carbon fiber, and voila! It's "CS time." But this time, the team from Affalterbach decided that this was just not enough.

The hybrid system not only reduces carbon emissions (important for tax reasons) but also significantly boosts power and torque—exactly 802 hp and nearly 1,055 lb-ft of torque. The larger the battery, the heavier the car, the higher the energy consumption, leading to a vicious cycle. The Germans broke this cycle.

Onboard the Mercedes S-Class, just above the rear axle, are liquid-cooled (important) cells with a usable capacity of 10 kWh. This allows for a mere 19 miles of city driving, and the maximum charging rate is 3.7 kW. In other words, occupying a public charging station for two hours is somewhat pointless and disrespectful to users of plug-ins and electrics charging faster (up to 22 kW, typically 11 kW).

So, we have additional cells consisting of 1,200 cells that need to be charged for a long time. Yes, but not entirely—thanks to liquid cooling (about 3.7 gallons), the system maintains an optimal temperature of 113°F. Consequently, the car very effectively recovers energy during braking. This is the result of my experience with Formula 1. In my test of the C-Class with this system, I couldn't drain the battery while doing laps on the Nürburgring (Grand Prix circuit). So how could it happen on public roads in the S-Class?

It is from this energy that the electric motor on the rear axle benefits. It not only momentarily delivers 190 hp for 10 seconds but also has a two-speed transmission to respond even during highway driving. To respond means to mask the imperfections of the four-liter V8, roaring like in the old days, with turbochargers placed between the heads to react even faster.

The engineers at Mercedes really wanted to make a car that could handle anything—that's why the stabilizers work actively to prevent the body from tilting in corners. The pneumatic system smoothly absorbs bumps. The rear-wheel steering "tightens" the car to make it feel smaller. Active engine mounts aim to mitigate the effect of its weight on handling. Composite brakes (finally with a good feel!) will never fail, even if you're rushing through Alpine passes. Everything that could be "put" into the S-Class is onboard.

But really, will you ever rush through the passes in an S-Class? I pondered for a long time over who this model is for. Of course, it is addictive on the highway, where it not only does not lose breath but becomes even more precise as speed increases. However, the sensation of a highway missile is nothing new; it’s available in much cheaper cars.

Finally, Mateusz Żuchowicz pointed me in the right direction. This car is for people who love the S-Class. People who won't notice that choosing individual loungers instead of a rear bench makes no sense in an AMG. People who will overlook that the S-Class cabin is plastic and creaks, and the screen always looks dirty. People who don’t care that the trunk is small, and after 6,200 miles, the "AMG" label has worn off the key.