2023 Mercedes-Benz S580 - The Benchmark For A Reason

S-Class or 7-Series?
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Ahh it’s good to be back behind the wheel of an S-Class

When I was 16 I had my first real job as a lot attendant at a luxury car dealership and the Porsches and BMWs were cool and sporty, but then I drove my first S-Class and I was blown away

The beauty of the S-Class isn’t derived from sporty aggression - though this S580 boasts a very healthy 4.0TT V8 making 496 hp and 516 lbft. No, the power in the S Class is simply a tool to ease your mind that you have adequate power to deal with whatever the uncivilized world has to throw at you. The beauty of the S-Class is in the ride…

There’s an energy behind this steering wheel that gently reminds you that life is filled with many such nonsensical frivolities - but here, in your S-Class you are insulated and cocooned from all that riff raff

…An yet….0-60 is still done in 4.4 seconds and it does have a sport mode so it’s not like it’s a slouch…

But honestly, if you’re flooring the car you’re missing the point. The ride here on this car is genuinely something you have to feel to understand. You of course have adaptive, and you can get the magical e-active body control, and the damping is so sophisticated that it’s hard to describe without sounding pretentious…so i’ll just say it’s really dam good

Your cardiologist would recommend this car because my heart rate is down like 10 BPM

Another thing that helps put you at ease is knowing you’ve got AWD as standard across the range

AND you can have a rear steer module which will reduce your turning circle to that of the A-Class

So handling places like parking lots just got a lot easier

And it also helps the car feel more stable at higher speeds

So the S580 HAS big power but never boasts about it
It’s got a wonderfully smooth transmission
It’s got incredibly light steering and with the rear steer equipped it feels as light and agile as a car 2 feet shorter and 1000 lbs lighter
But my two favorite things are the pillowy, old school luxury ride
AND the cabin isolation here - this is closer to Rolls Royce than ever before…but with that, let’s step outside and talk finer details

First, let’s talk about the design
It’s a very modern and minimal aesthetic
The new steering wheel takes a gothic inspiration and the passenger side dash is essentially a sheet of lacquered carbon fiber rimmed in Ambient light and a plethora of air vents
There are 8 air vents and seemingly unlimited ambient lighting options
There are a million colors
There are multitone preset themes
There are moods where the lights will subtly dance and change colors for you
And they’ll even signal pertinent information like climate changes and where they’re happening
I mean, this is another level of ambient lighting that I haven’t seen anywhere
You have a big 12 inch digital gauge cluster and then an even bigger center screen
And the center screen seems to just grow out of the gloss black center console area
And of course it’s running the latest MBUX software which web’ve talked about a lot before and is exceptional
This car gets rid of the touchpad on the center console and also moves the climate controls into the touch screen for a cleaner more minimal look
But the climate functions are always on screen and in the same place so i didn’t have a single problem with it
Just under your climate functions you have a little black square
This reads your finger print for your customized driver profile
Your technology doesn’t stop there of course
Youve got wireless ACP and AA
You’re got amazing 360 cameras
You’ve got Augmented reality navigation and HUD
AND you have a built in dash cam which uses the 360 cameras to keep your car safe
And then we talk about things like the materials and build
All it takes is a simple look at the seats
You’ve got really rich leather
It’s dramatically quilted
It’s heated, cooled ot massages you
AND there’s a new automatic seat positioning thing
Where you tell the car how tall you are and it auto adjusts to your ideal driving position - pretty cool
But let’s talk about the rear
The seats are really spacious in legroom and headroom
The front seats get a nice pano roof and the rear seats get their own sunroof
You’ve also got controls for your window and rear glass shades
And can we appreciate the beautiful burmester speaker covers here
And then finally the trunk - it’s huge and it’s deep and it’s really practical

[dwnshft]

Special thanks to our Patrons for their support of the channel! Name a better luxury sedan than the S class under 200k

[terrencemathew]

When the W221 was launched in India, I had read in one auto magazine that with the amount of technology the car comes, it makes a space shuttle look like a Diwali rocket. I remember this whenever a new S is launched.

[volvoxc]

Mercedes benz s class is the class leader and simply unbeatable .🛡️❤🛡️❤

[js]

This is an excellent review. I have had my for 3 weeks and agree with everything you commented on. The main thing I find annoying is the center vents are chrome and cause a glare/reflection on the front windshield.

[abduljalil]

True Elegance is having Power and showing Restraint ❤

[speedstarz_media]

This YouTube channel is the bench mark for what a car journalist should be

[MT-dhtr]

I’m glad I found your channel. I have the 2023 s580 with amg package. Great luxurious car! However, I still switch back and fourth with my Tesla. Something about the torque on the Tesla…

[DreaminRides]

Definitely a beauty! Any interior rattles while driving over those bumps?

[hokielife]

Great review as always, but I am still not fan new MB interiors... call me a traditionalist

[anthonystech]

And as a matter a fact, some customers I know tell me that Mercedes quality in general have really gone down hill with their cost cutting with the interior quality but still manage to nickel and dime you for servicing your luxury vehicle since it has to be their way or hit the highway…

[jasonc]

I love "the uncivilized world throws at you." So true about the car.

[MisterWolf]

It would be cool if you can start it after scanning the finger print, no key

[jasonc]

I've driven the Ghost and Phantom long-distance and said both times "I still prefer the S"

[sirnicholas]

3:53 is exactly my beef with Mercedes right now. Before you could easily distinguish oh now only is that a Mercedes it’s a S class or a CL etc. now they all look exactly the same there’s just a subtle different in a body line here or there and the head lights. Is that a $35k c class? Oh now it’s a $150k s class. I hate that.

[dwnshft]

Special thanks to our Patrons for their support of the channel! S-Class or 7-Series?

[RogueSamd]

Why they dont build a fully electric like this, not like the eqs model

[verde]

The S class is what the 3 series is to BMW

[Give_Me_LIBERTY_]

Sorry, but, Old School method:
This is a twin-turbo S400.
Yes, I'm old school and was a test driver in Stuttgart at Mercedes when an S500 had 5 liters of displacement and an S600 head 6 L of displacement--- none of this modern, hokey BS labeling.

[BassicVIC]

Yes. You understand correctly what a Mercedes-Benz S-Class is all about. 👍🏻

[HRCISASKNK]

Should have cleaned the wheels and shined them up with foam