Mercedes S-Class to Offer More Safety Tech

CARS.COM — It’s been quite the month for self-driving announcements. Cadillac promises hands-free highway driving with its Super Cruise system available later this year; Audi says the next A8 will have Level 3 autonomous driving — meaning total control of the car — in certain situations when it goes on sale in 2018. Now, Mercedes-Benz is planning a refresh on its S-Class flagship sedan with updated self-driving technology, including systems that will automatically slow you down to take a corner or adjust to a lower speed limit.

Related: 2016 Mercedes-Benz S-Class Review

We won’t know the full story on the updated S-Class — including what it looks like — until Mercedes reveals it on April 18, just ahead of next week’s 2017 Shanghai auto show. But the automaker announced a lot of the new technology:

• The S-Class’ lane change assist function is “considerably improved,” Mercedes says. It works between about 50 mph and 110 mph and can look for adjacent cars, then help you change lanes.
• The automatic emergency braking system can stop the car if it intuits a collision with cross-traffic, not just slowing or stopped traffic ahead of you.
• The sedan can use map and navigation data to slow down ahead of roundabouts or other curves, and if you enter a navigation destination, it can slow down ahead of a planned exit or turn. It can also adjust speed if it recognizes new speed-limit signs or new road types (a multi-lane highway versus a two-lane road, for example).
• In stop-and-go highway traffic, the S-Class can reaccelerate to follow traffic after a stop of up to 30 seconds.
• Like the new E-Class, the S-Class can park itself via smartphone in certain conditions.

Of note, you’ll control all self-driving functions from the steering wheel, but if the S-Class detects “no steering wheel movement over a predefined period,” it will prompt driver intervention and — if you do nothing — bring the car to a stop, turn on the hazard lights and call the authorities for help. It doesn’t appear the system is designed for complete hands-free driving as Cadillac’s just-announced Super Cruise system is.

Mercedes-Benz confirmed the updated S-Class will go on sale in the U.S. in fall 2017. It’s all but certain to be a 2018 model, but it’s unclear which of the above features will make it here. A spokesman told Cars.com the automaker “won’t have all the details on the differences between U.S. and global tech” until the S-Class’ stateside launch. Stay tuned.