The W223 is the current Mercedes-Benz S-Class, unveiled in September 2020. It is the most technologically advanced S-Class yet, with a large OLED touchscreen and the MBUX interface, rear-axle steering that makes it maneuverable in city traffic, the world’s first rear-seat front airbags, and Drive Pilot, a conditionally automated driving system approved for limited use in Germany and some U.S. states. In the United States it is sold only in long-wheelbase form — the version built for the rear seat.

W223 at a glance
Launched 2020 (2021 model year in the U.S.)
U.S. models S 500, S 580, S 580e plug-in hybrid, AMG S 63 E Performance, Mercedes-Maybach S 580 and S 680
Engines 3.0-litre inline-six, 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8, plug-in hybrids, 6.0-litre V12 (Maybach)
Key features MBUX with OLED display, rear-axle steering, rear airbags, Digital Light, Drive Pilot

Screens and MBUX

The dashboard is dominated by a portrait-oriented OLED central display running the second-generation MBUX system, with natural voice control (“Hey Mercedes”) and fingerprint recognition for personalized settings. An optional 3D driver display and an augmented-reality head-up display can project navigation arrows onto the road ahead. Rear passengers get their own screens and, on many cars, a removable rear tablet.

Rear-axle steering

Available rear-axle steering turns the rear wheels up to 10 degrees opposite to the fronts at low speed, reducing the turning circle by roughly two meters. In practice, that makes a long sedan much easier to turn on narrow Manhattan streets, in hotel forecourts and at airport curbs. At highway speeds the rear wheels turn in the same direction as the fronts for stability.

Safety firsts

  • Rear-seat front airbags, deployed from the backs of the front seats — a world first for a production car.
  • E-Active Body Control with Pre-Safe Impulse Side, which can raise the body on the side facing an impending side collision so that the stronger sill structure takes more of the impact.
  • Digital Light headlamps with more than a million micromirrors each, which shape the beam precisely around other traffic.

Drive Pilot

Drive Pilot is an SAE Level 3 system: in approved conditions — mapped highways, heavy traffic and speeds up to a set limit — the car drives itself and the driver may legally take their eyes off the road. It was approved in Germany first, and later in Nevada and California in the U.S., with strict limits on where and when it can be used.

Engines

  • S 500 4MATIC — 3.0-litre turbocharged inline-six with a 48-volt integrated starter-generator (“EQ Boost”).
  • S 580 4MATIC — 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 with mild-hybrid assistance; the classic S-Class choice. Read more in our S-Class engines explained.
  • S 580e — a plug-in hybrid able to cover many city trips on electricity alone.
  • AMG S 63 E Performance — a V8 plug-in hybrid with supercar performance.
  • Mercedes-Maybach S 680 — a 6.0-litre V12, the last V12 in the Mercedes range.

Why it suits chauffeured travel

The W223 is designed around the right-rear passenger: executive rear seats with recline and calf rest, separate climate zones, sunshades, rear airbags and a cabin quiet enough for conference calls. It is the sedan we use for executive airport transfers and corporate travel — see our Mercedes-Benz S-Class, our rear-seat guide, and the car’s full history.