The yachting influence on the interior of the new S-Class is easily seen in the dashpanel.
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz S-Class has almost always – since its introduction – been the gold standard for what a luxury car should be. Not only this, but it has consistently shifted the target position for what luxury will mean in the future.
That’s why it’s such a big deal that Mercedes showed unconcealed photos of the upcoming Sonderklasse interior on Wednesday. It’s a pretty sure bet that what the S-Class does today will do the rest of the sector in a few years.
With that in mind, what exactly do we see? Mercedes now considers the S-Class to be a “third space”, meaning a place of refuge between home and office. To enhance this idea, the interior of the large sedan has been made even more spacious and comfortable. This is achieved in part by a design that was inspired by luxury yachts.
This hunting influence is felt most prominently in the design of the dashboard, with its large and almost unbroken wooden aircraft. This lowers the dash visually and helps the interior feel more airy and open. It’s a pretty bold move, and given that (at least in these press photos) it’s executed in Mercedes’ typically beautiful woodwork, it really looks like it’s going to be a special place to spend time.
From a technological point of view, things are also pretty next level. Mercedes takes the concept of LED lighting for example, and transforms it from mostly a novelty into something useful. The lighting will change to reflect your climate control choices and even work in consultation with your blind spot control system. To really make out the lighting, Mercedes has increased its brightness by ten times, which means it has to be easily visible even in daylight.
Mercedes’ superb MBUX is placed front and center with a large, clear screen that is fortunately mounted low enough not to protrude from the line.
Mercedes-Benz
“Our S-Class customers are very appreciative. With the new S-Class, we invite them to a whole new luxury experience,” said Hartmut Sinkwitz, Mercedes’ head of interior design, in a statement. “It is underlined by our ‘Sensual Purity’ design philosophy and our absolute commitment to quality and attention to detail. The result is a revolutionary interior design experience captured between digital and analog luxury.”
Other Mercedes features we know (and sometimes love) such as the Air Balance package are returning as standard equipment. That means the smell is back in the closet, for better or worse, with a scent unique to the S-Class (sadness of the proletariat, perhaps?). In some more practical news, Mercedes also has an automatic height-based seat adjustment program built into MBUX. You insert your height and it finds the ideal sitting position – at 6 feet, 4 inches I will have to test that. It also adjusts the steering wheel and side mirrors to adjust.
There is even more going on with the S-Class seats. For example, there are speakers in or around the front supports – Miata-style – for improved sound, and the headrests for the rear seats have neck warmers. Mercedes is also proud of its kinetic seat adjustment programs that make light adjustments to the sitting position to increase blood flow and wait for long distances.
We expect the rest of the interior – as usual – to be made of world-class materials such as super soft perforated and quilted leather, real wood, real metal and so on. Mercedes usually does not bundle these goods on their expensive cars. Apart from the interior, there is still a lot about the new S-Class that we do not know, but we are excited to find out more in the coming months.
2021 Mercedes S-Class interior puts the hunt in land hunting, in a good way
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