Shortly before the official reveal of the refreshed Mercedes-Benz S-Class in late January, Car&Driver managed to get hands on a pre-production example and try it out. Apparently, we should be looking forward to a fuel-saving V8 and a suspension that looks up your road in a crowdsourced pothole database to keep the ride soft.
The first modification to reach the showrooms will be an entry-level S500 spec rated at 449 PS (443 hp / 330 kW) and 600 Nm (443 lb-ft) of torque. That’s a significant leap ahead from the pre-facelift version’s 367 PS (362 hp / 270 kW). If still not enough, a hybrid S580e will arrive offering a V6, a starter-generator and an electric motor with 163 PS (161 hp / 120 kW) in one package. The resulting plug-in hybrid system is good for 585 PS (577 hp / 430 kW), the company claims.
The pinnacle of the lineup will be occupied by a non-electrified S580 spec that ditches its V6 in favor of a more traditional 4.0-liter V8. It produces 537 PS (530 hp / 395 kW) and 750 Nm (553 lb-ft) of torque, sprinting from zero to 100 km/h (62 mph) in roughly four seconds.
One of the more interesting features of the S580 is that it uses a flat-plate crank instead of the more common cross-plane variant. As such, it should deliver higher torque throughout most of the RPM range while also burning through less fuel, an advantage that can be crucial for a modern-day V8 ride. Mercedes doesn’t have any figures yet.
Another highlight comes in the form of iDamping suspension system. The company claims it will assemble data about any rough patches of road in your community and upload it to a global database so that other cars may prepare their suspension in advance. It sounds like the feature will work best in areas with multiple 2026 S-Class owners where such data will be more complete.
