2027 Mercedes-Benz S-Class: More Luxury, Power and Tech

Key Points

• Refreshed Mercedes-Benz S-Class looks familiar but “more than 50 percent of the car” is updated outside and in
• More power for every powertrain
• New Manufaktur Made to Measure program offers extended personalization

For many car enthusiasts, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class is a no-brainer for the fantasy lottery garage. For days when you just want the ultimate in comfort and ease, Mercedes’ flagship luxury sedan is the obvious choice.

That’s unlikely to change with the 2027 Mercedes-Benz S-Class, which is getting a thorough refresh. It still bears a strong resemblance to the 2026 model, but Mercedes says more than half of the car is “newly developed, updated and refined.”  The changes include even more of what we love about the S-Class, along with some of what we don’t.

Related: 2025 Mercedes-Benz S580e Review: Too Much Teknik

Skin Deep

The 2027 S-Class remains immediately recognizable. The graceful greenhouse and elegant profile are unchanged, but Mercedes says the grille is now 20% larger. It and the three-pointed-star hood ornament are available with optional illumination. Flanking the grille are new headlights with next-generation micro-LED technology that Mercedes claims expands the field of illumination by 40%.

Notably, the 2027 S-Class finally brings the brand’s partial-high-beam tech to the U.S. These lights can selectively dim only portions of the illuminated area, preserving better nighttime visibility without blinding oncoming drivers.

An AMG Line body kit will return and consists of unique front and rear bumpers, as well as side skirts and wheels up to 21 inches in diameter. The standard wheels measure 19 inches, and a new 50-spoke 20-inch wheel will be optional. No doubt details are forthcoming on future full-fledged AMG variants, as well.

Plush and Overrun With Pixels

Mercedes continues to invent new luxuries we didn’t know we wanted for the S-Class’s interior. It already had heating for the seats, steering wheel, center console and armrests, but now it gets heated seat belts. Mercedes says the optional belts also discourage the wearing of bulky winter coats for optimal belt fit and enhanced safety. It’s obviously a practical safety feature, not another indulgence.

Mercedes is also doubling down on the overwhelming cabin technology that was our primary complaint about the outgoing S-Class. (To be fair, it’s a complaint that applies to every car in this class.) The door panels, center console and steering wheel are redesigned, the latter now incorporating a rocker switch to adjust cruise control following distance and a scroll wheel for audio volume. Capacitive-touch pads remain for other functions.

Mercedes’ Hyperscreen is standard on the 2027 S-Class and consists of a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, 14.4-inch central touchscreen and 12.3-inch front passenger display. The brand’s fourth-generation MBUX infotainment system also makes its way into the S-Class and incorporates multiple artificial-intelligence agents — Microsoft Bing Search, Google Cloud’s Automotive AI Agent and ChatGPT4o — for what the brand says is a “more intuitive, more personal digital companion” enabling “complex multi-turn conversations — like one has with a friend.” (There’s a whole backseat in the car; maybe try to find an actual human friend.)

Icons on the central touchscreen can now be moved and grouped like on a smartphone, and the navigation display upgrades to 3D mapping. An augmented-reality head-up display overlays upcoming instructions directly into the driver’s line of sight to make it extra humiliating when you still manage to miss a turn.

Those buyers who do manage to coerce another human into the car won’t need to actually interact with them. The available rear-seat entertainment system includes a pair of 13.1-inch displays mounted to the front seatbacks that can stream video through such apps as Disney+ and Sony’s RideVu. The rear-seat displays also include integrated high-definition cameras for video conferencing on the go. A Burmester 3D surround-sound system with speakers in the headliner is standard, but audiophiles will be drawn to the available Burmester High-End 4D system with Dolby Atmos and a staggering 39 speakers.

Manufaktur Made to Measure

In addition to the expansive palette of exterior and interior colors Mercedes has traditionally offered under its Manufaktur label, the 2027 S-Class debuts Made to Measure. Like the Curated by Cadillac program GM recently launched for the CT5-V Blackwing — itself derived from the ordering process for the brand’s custom-built Celestiq flagship electric vehicle — Manufaktur Made to Measure opens up virtually limitless combinations of custom options.

Buyers choose from more than 150 paint colors and 400 interior hues, in addition to custom stitching options, illuminated door sills and even numerous wheel colors. Since “virtually limitless” is distinct from “limitless,” Mercedes doesn’t want its customers embarrassing the company and says, “Requests that go beyond this portfolio are assessed individually by the Manufaktur Made to Measure experts.”

The Greasy Bits

Underneath, the story is much the same as it is inside the 2027 S-Class: Everything that was, plus more. The refreshed car’s wheelbase is unchanged from the outgoing model’s, as is the front track width. Those two key measurements are reliable indicators for how much work has gone on underneath a car. In this case, not much. Rear track width expands by 1.5 inches, likely because the previously optional rear-axle steering is now standard; that system can turn the rear wheels up to 4.5 degrees. Upgraded hardware that allows for up to 10 degrees of rear steering continues to be optional and shrinks the turning circle by some 6.5 feet.

A four-corner air suspension is again standard, with the E-Active Body Control returning as an option. The latter can adjust the suspension at individual corners to combat body movements. Both suspensions can now receive warnings about road imperfections from other Mercedes-Benz vehicles using car-to-X communication and proactively adjust damping to minimize cabin disturbance.

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More Powerful Powertrains

At launch, the 2027 Mercedes-Benz S-Class will be available with a trio of familiar powertrains: the S500 with a turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six-cylinder engine, the S580e with the same engine plus a plug-in hybrid system, and the S580 with a twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8.

But for 2027, all three powertrains see increased output. The S500 still makes 442 horsepower, but torque jumps from 413 pounds-feet in the 2026 model to 443 in the 2027 — with temporary overtorque allowing it to generate 472 pounds-feet for brief periods. The S580e’s torque output is unchanged at 553 pounds-feet, but it gains 73 hp, for a total of 576. The S580’s twin-turbo V-8 goes from 496 hp and 516 pounds-feet last year to 530 hp and 553 pounds-feet for 2027.

All three powertrains are once again backed by a nine-speed automatic transmission and standard 4Matic all-wheel drive. The plug-in S580e’s battery pack stores 22 kilowatt-hours of energy, which should enable an electric range similar to the 2026 model’s 48 miles.

Release Date and Pricing

The 2027 Mercedes-Benz S-Class will arrive in dealerships this summer. Pricing will be announced closer to the start of sales but will almost certainly creep up from current figures. For reference, the 2026 S-Class starts at $120,850 (including destination).

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