R-E-L-A-X.

Frankie said we should all do it. Aaron Rodgers famously said it when the Green Bay Packers started 1-2 in 2014 before coming within three minutes of a trip to the Super Bowl. And now, Mercedes-Benz, not content to build what it considers the best car in the world, wants S-Class customers to relax behind the wheel.

The W222 generation S-Class debuted for the 2014 model year and for 2018 it gets a midcycle update that includes 6,500 new parts (not including a pair of new engines), many of which are designed to help drivers relax.

Two systems in particular are aimed at that goal. The new Energizing Comfort system soothes, while an upgraded Intelligent Drive system takes the wheel—briefly.

2018 Mercedes-AMG S63 4Matic+

2018 Mercedes-AMG S63 4Matic+

2018 Mercedes-AMG S63 4Matic+

2018 Mercedes-AMG S63 4Matic+

2018 Mercedes-AMG S63 4Matic+

2018 Mercedes-AMG S63 4Matic+

Your own personal yoga studio

The changes to the outside of the S-Class are minor. They amount to new wide beam automatic high-beam LED headlights and a revised look front and rear. The changes inside are more extensive.

The S-Class cabin embodies luxury that extends to opulence. It starts with a flowing, beautifully rendered dash and door panels covered in wood, metal trim, and stitched leather. Buyers can choose from open pore wood, lacquered wood, or carbon fiber trim, as well as 64 colors of ambient lighting, and they are treated to the highest quality and most carefully assembled materials found in a mass-production car.

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A big car, the S-Class also offers plenty of space to relax front and rear. Mercedes offers rear seat options to create the experience of a first-class luxury airliner. Among these options are power adjustable seats that recline up to 43 degrees, massaging seats, heated/ventilated seats with heated armrests, a two-passenger rear seat with airline-style folding tables, and an Executive package that moves the right front seat far forward to provide room for a right rear seat footrest.

Apparently, that’s not enough, though, as Mercedes wants to make the cabin a calming environment, akin to a personal yoga studio. The strategy is to tie the climate control, fragrance diffusion system, ambient lighting, music, seat heaters/coolers, and seat massagers together under the banner of the new Energizing Comfort system.

2018 Mercedes-AMG S63 4Matic+

2018 Mercedes-AMG S63 4Matic+

2018 Mercedes-Benz S560 4Matic

2018 Mercedes-Benz S560 4Matic

2018 Mercedes-Benz S560 4Matic

2018 Mercedes-Benz S560 4Matic

2018 Mercedes-Benz S560 4Matic

2018 Mercedes-Benz S560 4Matic

Energizing Comfort offers five programs, each of which has its own ambient lighting signature and runs for 10 minutes. Three of the programs include music, and if you bring your own songs into the car via a jump drive or SD card, the system will evaluate them and add them to the appropriate program (provided the thumb drive or SD card are plugged in). The programs range from cool and plucky to warm and calming, with the music and seat heating/cooling set to match that mood. There’s also a Training mode that uses the seat massagers to revitalize various muscle groups. Not only will the S-Class act like a yoga studio, you can have your guru work out the knots, too.

Of course, the S-Class’s cabin bristles with technology, too. The dashboard has a pair of 12.3-inch TFT screens, now with higher definition, that combine to show a wealth of information. The left screen projects digital gauges that can be configured in Classic, Sport, and Progressive themes, while the right screen handles the usual infotainment functions. The various functions are controlled through Mercedes' familiar COMAND dial on the center console, as well as touch control steering wheel buttons that respond to swipe motions like a smartphone. Both take some time to master.

2018 Mercedes-Benz S-Class

2018 Mercedes-Benz S-Class

Autonomy and safety

The technology extends beyond the cabin, and that’s where Intelligent Drive comes into play. This suite of autonomous driving and safety features is constantly at work in the background and you can opt to use more of them. This year it gets improved cameras and radar sensors to see further down the road, and it uses more map and GPS information.

To use the semi-autonomous mode, simply activate the cruise control and watch for the green steering wheel icon in the instrument cluster. The system will steer for you, provided the lane lines are clear enough and the turns aren’t too sharp, and it will now slow down as it approaches curves, toll booths, and junctions. The speed it chooses will depend on the mode: in Comfort or Eco, it will go slower in curves, and it will pick up the pace in Sport or Sport+.

2018 Mercedes-Benz S-Class

2018 Mercedes-Benz S-Class

I activated this Level 2 semi-autonomous system while driving through the Black Forest area of Germany during the press preview and found that it generally works well but it still has its limitations. I couldn’t trust it on sharper curves, especially at speed, and good lane lines really matter. Using the GPS data, the car slowed or sped up based on the speed limit, and slowed for twistier bits of road.

However, it slowed down too much for my taste in a mountainous regain and I ended up taking over to drive in a more spirited manner. This system will be great for tedious stop-and-go traffic, but I still want to drive when the road turns twisty.

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Let go of the wheel for 15 seconds and the system will tell you to put your hands back on the wheel. Beyond that, it assumes the worst and slows the car to a stop in its lane and activates an SOS signal.

Also included in Intelligent Drive are several active safety features, including an active lane change feature that will check the surroundings and steer the car into the chosen lane when you signal; Evasive Steering Assist that applies additional steering torque when the driver swerves to miss a pedestrian, and helps stabilize the steering afterward to avoid fishtailing; and Active Brake Assist with Cross-Traffic Function, which works like most forward collision warning systems but also detects crossing vehicles or pedestrians. All those additional safety features create even more confidence in this epic car.

New engines, but still buttery smooth

The engineering behind the S-Class has always been focused on helping its occupants relax, and it also gets an upgrade for 2018. The S-Class launches in two models: S560 4Matic and AMG S63 4Matic+. Both versions feature new engines and the S63 also benefits from a new transmission and a new all-wheel-drive system. The suspensions of both models carry over mostly unchanged but with one new feature.

Both models are powered by a 4.0-liter V-8 with twin turbos located in the "hot inside V" between the cylinders. This location creates a compact engine design, a short path for the airflow, and therefore quick turbo response.

In the S560, the 4.0 replaces a twin-turbocharged 4.7-liter V-8 that made 449 horsepower. The smaller engine makes 20 more horsepower for a total of 469 while delivering the same 516 pound-feet of torque.

2018 Mercedes-AMG S63

2018 Mercedes-AMG S63

2018 Mercedes-AMG S63 4Matic+ 4.0-liter V-8

2018 Mercedes-AMG S63 4Matic+ 4.0-liter V-8

2018 Mercedes-AMG S63 4Matic+ 9-speed automatic transmission

2018 Mercedes-AMG S63 4Matic+ 9-speed automatic transmission

The version in the S63 turns up the volume considerably, blasting out 603 hp and 664 lb-ft of torque, besting the 5.5-liter twin-turbo V-8 in the outgoing S63 by 26 horses. Both versions shut down four cylinders under light loads to save fuel (in the case of the S63, that's like throwing a few chairs off the deck of cruise ship).

The S63’s new transmission is a 9-speed automatic instead of a 7-speed and instead of a torque converter it uses a wet-starter clutch that saves weight and improves response to throttle inputs. The new 4Matic+ AWD system can vary torque front to rear continuously and send all of the power to either axle, depending on the need. When the road gets slippery, power can go to all four wheels, but rear-drive is the default.

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How do these new goodies work on the road? Like a good chauffeur would want. The 9-speed automatic and 4.0-liter V-8 propel the S560 with a quiet dignity. It doesn't start with a jolt or suffer from shift shock between gears, even in Sport mode. An all-out foot to the floor run will yield a 4.8-second 0 to 60 mph time, but it'll be the most reserved sprint you'll ever feel. The engine emits a restrained growl when floored, but is muted the rest of the time.

The S63 is markedly bolder, with so much power on tap that it can get carried away with itself and send occupants heads into the soft head restraints while it barks a louder tune. It’s easy to drive this car smoothly, but opt for the additional Sport+ mode, or even choose the Race start, mash the throttle, and the car takes off like a shot, accelerating to 60 mph in a Russian mobster-approved 3.5 seconds.

 

Suspend your worries

The S-Class comes standard with air suspension at all four corners, adaptive dampers with Sport and Comfort settings, and 18-inch tires. On the road, the S560 is one of the smoothest riding cars you will ever experience, but Mercedes has an option to make it even better.

Order Magic Body Control, and Mercedes replaces the air suspension with steel springs and active hydraulics. When the car is in Comfort mode, the system uses a stereo camera mounted at the top of the windshield to read the road ahead and prepare the suspension for what is coming. The hydraulics lift the car over bumps or push the wheels into and out of potholes while isolating the body from the process. From inside, Magic Body Control truly feels like magic. It makes even speed bumps almost undetectable to occupants’ backsides.

2018 Mercedes-AMG S63 4Matic+ powertrain and suspension

2018 Mercedes-AMG S63 4Matic+ powertrain and suspension

2018 Mercedes-AMG S63 4Matic+ powertrain and suspension

2018 Mercedes-AMG S63 4Matic+ powertrain and suspension

2018 Mercedes-AMG S63 4Matic+

2018 Mercedes-AMG S63 4Matic+

2018 Mercedes-AMG S63 4Matic+

2018 Mercedes-AMG S63 4Matic+

A new Curve function uses the same hardware. Previously offered only on the S-Class coupe, the Curve function tilts the car 2.65 degrees inward in corners to counteract the effect of the g forces. It therefore keeps the car flatter, and again, makes passengers more comfortable. From behind the wheel, it feels like sheer bloody-mindedness is at work to prevent this massive sedan from listing like a ship. Without it, the S-Class is still fairly well controlled, but more prone to body lean and nose dive.

In any model, the steering is light at low speeds, and pleasantly heavy and therefore stable at highway speeds.

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Again, the S63 roughens the edges of this masterpiece a bit. The ride certainly isn’t rough, but there is more road feel and the sport tuning of the suspension means the car is more willing to tackle corners. Its wider 255- front and 285-millimeter rear tires provide more grip than the S560's square 245s, but this car is just too big to feel truly agile. Get it on gentle sweepers and feed in the throttle and it will react like a dream. Just don't expect it to rotate through twisty mountain roads like a proper German sport sedan.

It backs the claims

So, back to the beginning. Does the 2018 S-Class really help you relax and is it the best car in the world? First, the question of relaxation. Given the opulence of its cabin, the unmatched build quality, the effortless power, the remarkable number of safety features, the little extras like Energizing Comfort and airline-like rear seating, and the semi-autonomous driving features that can take the tedium out of driving, the answer is yes. There is no better way to feel relaxed and content behind the wheel. However, with a starting price approaching six figures, it takes a very wealthy person to feel relaxed. I would feel constant anxiety about my dwindling 401K.

But is the 2018 S-Class the best car in the world? That's a matter of taste. If sportiness is your goal. Absolutely not. The BMW 7-Series is sportier, along with a host of other Mercedes. But if luxury is your desire, it can't be beat, not for the price. Higher end cars like Rolls-Royces and Bentleys may offer a more exclusive experience, but they can't match the technology or reliability of the three-pointed star.

Mercedes-Benz provided travel and lodging to Internet Brands Automotive to bring you this firsthand report.