W222 Mercedes-Benz S-Class – official details

Mercedes-Benz S 400 HYBRID (W 222) 2013

And here it is, after many spyshots, teasers and leaks, Mercedes-Benz has finally unveiled its new flagship car – the W222 Mercedes-Benz S-Class. The unveil happened in Hamburg last night, where the launch gambit involved an Airbus A300-600 belonging to DHL cargo, which flew the car in from its ‘birth place’ in Stuttgart. The W222 rolled onto the stage with its first passenger Alicia Keys.

Since we’ve gone over the new S-Class’ exterior looks many times already, we won’t go into detail about what these many high resolution photos can explain way better than text. As it turns out, there’re only two ‘looks’ for the flagship car – those sporty bumpers that we saw in the leaks are part of the sportier-looking AMG Sports Package. The car in the first photo above is the standard look.

Mercedes-Benz S-Klasse, (W 222), 2012

Those tail lamps that looked rather smallish in the spyshots and leaks seem to look better in some of these photos, so I guess it’s an angle thing. We can’t wait to see how the new S-Class looks in real life to make up a final opinion on the car’s looks.

The interior is an evolution of the W221‘s interior design, but enhanced and updated. The double screen instrumentation binnacle design continues with the W222, but the screens are now huge 12″3 inch high resolution TFT screens in 8:3 aspect ratio. The analogue instrumentation that was used for the RPM, fuel and other misc gauges in the W221 have been eliminated.

Mercedes-Benz S-Klasse (W 222) 2013

Everything else should be very familiar to the S-Class owner – seat controls on the door, climate control buttons in a row below the COMAND display, various other buttons surrounding the COMAND dial, a palm rest that flips open to reveal a keypad, as well as a steering wheel column shifter. The air conditioning vents are now circular instead of rectangular in shape, as is the analogue clock in the middle of the dashboard.

Despite the wheelbase remaining the same as the outgoing W221/V221 for both the W222 and the V222 long wheelbase model, the new W222 S-class offers 12mm extra headroom, 14mm more shoulder room and 10mm more elbow room for the front occupants, as well as a 14mm increase in rear knee room and 9mm increased shoulder room for the rear occupants.

Other than the luxurious exterior and interior, what’s very interesting about this car is the technologies that it has introduced to enhance the comfort and safety of Mercedes-Benz’s flagship sedan. To make things easier to digest, we’ll go through these one by one.

The first ever car standard without a single light bulb

Mercedes-Benz S-Klasse, (W 222), 2012

The new S-Class is the first car in the world which doesn’t use a single light bulb in the car as part of the standard package rolling out of the factory. Everything is powered by LED – yes, a total of almost 500 LEDs are found all around the car.

The headlamps have up to 56 LEDs each, the tail lamps are powered by 35 LEDs each plus 4 LEDs for the rear fog lamps, and the interior is lit up by about 300 LEDs, including the ambient lighting.

It knows that bumpy roads are up ahead

Mercedes-Benz S-Klasse (W 222) 2013

The new S-Class uses ROAD SURFACE SCAN to detect road unevenness using a stereo camera, and the air suspension is adjusted automatically in anticipation of these unevenness using MAGIC BODY CONTROL. This isn’t a standard feature though – it’s optional for the 8 cylinder models only, which means the majority of the W222 sold in Malaysia won’t have it.

What’s standard is an enhanced version of the AIRMATIC air suspension system, improved over the system found in the W221, as well as the continuously operating Adaptive Damping System ADS PLUS.

There’s a built in perfume dispenser

Mercedes-Benz S-Klasse (W 222) 2013

The AIR BALANCE package consists of perfume atomisation, ionisation and even more efficient filtration compared with the standard model. Mercedes-Benz allows the perfuming system to be switched on and off manually, with manual adjustment of the intensity. The perfume atomisation system individualises the smell of the vehicle interior. Thankfully for those who would still want to enjoy the leather interior smell, the fragrance is claimed to neither changes the interior smell permanently, nor are perfume molecules deposited on fabric surfaces or clothing.

The THERMOTRONIC automatic climate control in the rear has two additional zones to improve thermal comfort. Another new feature is electric heating of the armrests.

It can give you a hot stone massage

Mercedes-Benz S-Klasse (W 222) 2013

Yes, there’s a hot stone massage function, something that was revealed when Mercedes-Benz teased interior photos of the car earlier.

The seat specialists at Daimler have developed a unique massage function with 14 separately actuated air cushions in the backrest with integrated warming. There is a choice of six massage programmes, two of them using the warming function. The function is also available for the rear seats.

New options for the rear seats

Mercedes-Benz S-Klasse, S 400 HYBRID (W 222) 2013

There are a total of 5 different configurations for the rear seat of the V222 long wheelbase model, with the top of the line being an Executive seat, with a backrest angle adjustable by up to 43.5 degrees, allowing occupants in the rear to concentrate on work or relax in comfort.

This is the largest backrest inclination in the luxury segment. The reclining seat features a calf support which is freely adjustable for length and angle. In combination with the heel rest on the folding chauffeur seat at the front and an additional comfort cushion, this allows a reclined position that sets new standards in the automotive sector with respect to sleeping and resting comfort.

If the “First Class Rear” is specified (with rear centre console), the front console on the transmission tunnel is visually continued to the rear, making the rear cabin a strict 2 seater. It is equipped with cup holders which use Peltier technology to cool or warm drinks over a longer period of time. Like an aircraft seat, the centre console is available with two tables which can be easily folded in or out using one hand.

If you opt for the standard wheelbase W222, you get two rear seat variations – static bench seat or individual seats with 37-degree adjustment. The adjustment kinematics have been changed in the luxury and reclining seat variants. Unlike the conventional trailing backrest design, the backrest is adjusted separately so that the legroom and seat reference point remain unchanged. The cushion can be separately adjusted for angle and horizontal position.

A woofer in the firewall

Mercedes-Benz S-Klasse (W 222) 2013

The standard sound system has 10 loudspeakers, but for audiophiles the Harman Kardon and Bang & Olufsen options are replaced by two high end sound system options – Burmester Surround Sound system as well as the top of the range Burmester High End 3D Surround Sound system.

All versions of the W222’s audio system has a new feature called Frontbass, which innovatively places the woofers in the firewall of the car, thus using the 40 litre space in the cross member and side member as a resonance chamber. This eliminates the need for woofers in the doors. Mid-range speakers in the doors are moved up. The benefits of this are more room in the bottom half of the door for stowage, and the higher positioning of the mid-rangers improve the sound stage.

Is it even possible to further improve seat belts?

Mercedes-Benz S-Klasse (W 222) 2013

Apparently there is room for improvement, as Mercedes-Benz have discovered. Rear seat passenger safety is enhanced via 3 features – the seat belt buckle extender, the beltbag and the cushionbag.

The first two of these developments are included in the PRE-SAFE rear package. The illuminated seat belt buckle extender, an electric motor extends and retracts the belt buckle automatically. In this way, any belt slack in the area of the pelvis and thorax can be reduced so that passengers are secured more firmly in both the sideways and the lengthways direction.

The beltbag is an inflatable seat-belt strap that is able to reduce the risk of injury to passengers in the rear in a head-on collision by lessening the strain placed on the ribcage. The reclining seat is equipped with a cushionbag under the seat cushion upholstery as standard. When the seat is reclined, it prevents the occupant from sliding beneath the seat belt (so-called submarining) in an accident. This has enabled Mercedes-Benz to design a comfortable reclining seat which provides a higher level of accident safety than a seat with a trailing backrest.

Intelligent Drive – plenty of driver assist

Mercedes-Benz S-Klasse (W 222) 2013

  • DISTRONIC PLUS with Steering Assist and Stop&Go Pilot takes the burden off the driver when it comes to lane guidance and is also able to follow vehicles in traffic jams automatically.
  • Thanks to the stereo camera, the Brake Assist system BAS PLUS with Cross-Traffic Assist is able to detect crossing traffic and pedestrians too, and to boost the braking power applied by the driver accordingly.
  • If the lane markings are broken lines, Active Lane Keeping Assist can detect when the adjacent lane is occupied, especially by oncoming traffic, and reduce the risk of the vehicle leaving its lane unintentionally by applying the brakes on one side.
  • Adaptive Highbeam Assist Plus allows the high-beam headlamps to be kept on permanently without dazzling traffic by masking out other vehicles in the beams’ cone of light.
  • Night View Assist Plus was further improved and supplemented by a thermal imaging camera. Night View Assist Plus can alert the driver to the potential danger posed by pedestrians or animals in unlit areas in front of the vehicle by automatically switching from the speedometer to a crystal-sharp night view image and highlighting the sources of danger. A spotlight function is furthermore able to flash any pedestrians detected ahead. This attracts the driver’s attention to the source of the danger at the same time as warning the person on the side of the road.
  • ATTENTION ASSIST can warn of inattentiveness and drowsiness in an extended speed range and notify the driver of their current state of fatigue and the driving time since the last break, offers an adjustable sensitivity setting and, if a warning is emitted, indicates nearby service areas in the COMAND navigation system.

What about the engine options?

s-class-model-figures

Only a few W222 S-Class engine options were unveiled during the launch time. We’re expecting quite a few more options to sandwich these engines at the bottom as well as top end of the range. Developing markets such as ASEAN will undoubtedly require a petrol S300 model, which will likely use the same engine as the current S300, unless they decide to offer a turbocharged four cylinder version instead.

The V12-powered S-Class tradition will continue with an S600, and there will naturally be AMG models as well. The S350 W221 will probably be replaced by a yet to be announced S400, powered by the same 3.0 litre twin-turbo V6 in the facelifted W212 E400.

Mercedes-Benz Malaysia will probably get the W212 facelift launch out of the way first before even thinking about the W222.

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Paul Tan

After dabbling for years in the IT industry, Paul Tan initially began this site as a general blog covering various topics of personal interest. With an increasing number of readers paying rapt attention to the motoring stories, one thing led to another and the rest, as they say, is history.

 

Comments

  • I am totally mesmerize by the technology mercedez put into the S klasse. The double screen instrumentation binnacle design is too huge its like driving a spaceship won’t you get distracted……..the more you look at it begins to grow on you. Can’t wait to see it in the flash……. I think this is THE ULTIMATE LIMO for the rich and famous dont you think so Paul?

    Peace out

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 28 Thumb down 1
    • Jimmy on May 16, 2013 at 9:52 pm

      Do not strip down any safety equipments. Do we pay less than Mat Salleh?

      BTW, what is the best way, besides having thicker than Japanese car doors, in minimising injury when any Merc cars is hit from the side? (We are not talking about the high-ride vehicles). Engineers please.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 6
    • I agree with you, they have to do it good. Because there are no more Maybach. This is their Maybach now.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
  • These massive improvements definitely bring headache to BMW and Audi engineers in designing new 7 and a8. Looking forward for the competitors to redefine luxury!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 38 Thumb down 1
  • Mercedes Benz, taking luxury to a whole new level. This is the interior of a First Class in Emirates or something. The only thing missing is a toilet.

    Oh and that Magic Body Control will come in handy on our Malaysian roads filled with potholes.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 26 Thumb down 0
    • Jimmy on May 16, 2013 at 9:43 pm

      Are our magic potholes and bumps deliberate, because somebodies are very smart? Or are they the results of leaders with no plans in advance? See some of our newly completed roads.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 5
  • I’ll need a full day to digest the tech fest, but like all S-class, class leading in safety and comfort tech. Contrary to most opinion, I kinda like the 2-spoke steering and those awesome twin massive screen for the instrument cluster. Overall, easily the most awesome and opulent interior of 2013. And did I mention those 2 massive screen is AWESOME!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 15 Thumb down 1
  • frenzyaustin on May 16, 2013 at 6:01 pm

    S-Class isn’t same standard as 7-Series, A8 and LS anymore. It will be mass produced Maybach. The interior is just so good, perfect combination between technology and classy. They put in whatever technology available in this world into a car. The gap between W221 and W222 is just too huge. But 2-spoke steering is a big drawback to me, it looks good but just awful to use the steering.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 10 Thumb down 2
    • Anon Kneemas on May 16, 2013 at 9:38 pm

      I concur. Initial impressions from spy shots and renderings point at some awkwardness in design element but after looking at it for some time (and now in untouched pictures), the melange of unexpected S-klasse design elements come together in a form of contemporary baroque style (including the interior and 2 spoke wheel). It certainly has an elevated degree of gravitas that the W222’s expected competitors lack sorely. I think you have to visually compare it upmarket to the Mulsanne to have some sort of bearing where the W222 would lie best.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0
  • Erwinkarim on May 16, 2013 at 7:04 pm

    It’s impressive that the s300 consume less petrol than a Toyota Prius when it’s larger, more powerful, far more luxurious, and basically more everything than the Toyota.

    The s class once again set the bar for worldwide automative engineering for efficiency, safety, comfort and luxury

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 11 Thumb down 1
  • albag on May 16, 2013 at 7:32 pm

    speechless.. Mercedes did it yet again…

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 8 Thumb down 3
  • c14man on May 16, 2013 at 8:35 pm

    Sweat. There’s more tech in it than a Boeing. It’s a chauffeured can, not driven. And all these techs are meant to keep the boss safe and comfortable. Not to excite him.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 1
  • drrif on May 16, 2013 at 11:30 pm

    Seriously guys, the dash twin screen is really ugly, style and function are both important la.

    Italians still make the most stylish dashboards, e.g. Maserati..or Jag also

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 12
    • drrif on May 17, 2013 at 7:17 pm

      I want real dials in a car. Would you buy a ROLEX with a touchscreen..??

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
  • Fahmi on May 17, 2013 at 1:32 am

    Mercedes has set a benchmark… Again….

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Lando on May 17, 2013 at 4:50 am

    ni kasi driver excited time bos cuti nih. style merc, style!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • The magic body control will going mad here because there’s no good road surface in malaysia, all bumpy here and there!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0
  • Anti consumerism on May 17, 2013 at 11:32 pm

    I am willing to become a free driver for one day if my boss own one of this

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • <3

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Yes, Mercedes-Benz have always set the standards for automobiles. So many high tech features. I more concerned with reliability and low maintenance, which have always been an issue with Mercedes automobiles.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 1
  • Bongcs on May 27, 2013 at 5:16 pm

    RM 1.8 Mil OTR without Insurance

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
 

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