SPIED: W222 Mercedes-Benz S-Class facelift interior – centre touchpad to replace COMAND rotary knob?

The W222 Mercedes-Benz S-Class facelift has been spied once again, this time, with less camouflage than before. The new S-Class’ interior can now be seen clearly – showing off quite a few new items to note.

But before we get in to the cabin, a look at the exterior of the car reveals a front grille that may appear strange, or new to some. No, it isn’t a new item to the S-Class – it’s just one that has been previously been reserved for the model’s V12 variants, and the Mercedes-Maybach range.

We also get a clear look at refreshed S-Class’ new Multibeam LED headlamps – the brand’s latest headlamp tech is also featured on the W213 E-Class, and made its debut on the facelifted CLS. The front bumper is also heavily disguised, suggesting that Mercedes-Benz could be hiding a new look under all this masking.

Moving inside, a new steering wheel can be seen, and is clearly one that has been influenced by the new W213 E-Class. Touch-sensitive buttons have been added, while the shape itself is all new – mind the fact that it isn’t quite the finished product just yet. Even the stalk for the Distronic feature has been removed, with controls shifted to the left side of the steering wheel itself. The large pair of 12.3-inch display screens on the current S-Class have been modified to look like one large central display screen that runs the length of the dash.

The biggest revelation here concerns the COMAND rotary dial, or rather the lack of it. The palm rest cum touchpad has been redesigned. The palm rest itself has been flattened into a basic touchpad-like surface, while the rotary dial has been deleted for good. Another noticeable item here is the engine push-start button, which, like the new E-Class, appears to be a dedicated push button, and not a removable keyhole cover like it is now.

So, what do you think of Merc’s decision to delete the COMAND rotary dial, folks?

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