New Mercedes-Benz S-Class Previewed Ahead Of Jan 29 Global Debut

Mercedes-Benz provided an early preview of the upcoming S-class facelift in a recent video with company CEO Ola Källenius. Key takeaways from the video include a preview of the design, cabin and some of the flagship luxury sedan’s capabilities. Mercedes claims that it has made extensive changes to the S-class as part of its midcycle update, including ‘over 50 per cent new or revised parts.’

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As far as the exterior design goes, the new S-class will get a revised fascia with a redesigned grille with three-point-star chrome detailing, new LED headlights and tail lamps - again with three-point-star LED light guides as well as new wheel designs and revised bumpers. One feature set to make a comeback with the 2026 S-class is the Mercedes hood ornament - a feature not seen on modern Mercedes cars since the mid 2000s. The hood ornament will also be illuminated, as will be the grille surround.

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New S-class to mark the return of the ‘three-point-star’ hood ornament.

Speaking of the interior, Källenius says that everything has been refined over the outgoing S-class, claiming that the new S-class will take understated luxury to the next level. The video also provides glimpses of the new S’ interior, particularly a look at the rear seats where features such as rear seat entertainment and heated, ventilated, and reclining seats with leg rests, a panoramic sunroof and a Burmester sound system - replete with Dolby Atmos - are visible.

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Other visible bits include a look at the steering-mounted controls, which look to be switching back to physical buttons instead of capacitive touch buttons seen on recent Mercedes. The video also hinted at the new S-class being even more refined than the outgoing model, with an even quieter cabin.

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Extensive adjustment for rear seats as well as heating and ventilation function & seat memory; Burmester sound system to feature Dolby Atmos.

Moving to the tech, the new S-class will feature Mercedes adaptive Airmatic suspension with a new iDamping feature that will allow the vehicle to share locations of road imperfections with other S-class’ on the road, allowing those vehicles to adjust suspension settings to better iron out the ride. Additionally, Källenius said that the MB.OS software stack for the new S-class has been developed from the ground up.

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Steering looks to be getting physical buttons instead of touch-sensitive controls as on current Mercedes models.

Källenius also revealed that the new S-class will be Level 4 autonomous-ready. He added that Mercedes is already testing the S-class with Level 4 self-driving technology on pubic roads.