I drove the plug-in hybrid Mercedes-Benz S-Class that's coming to India in 2026

The new Mercedes-Benz S-Class facelift is coming to India in the next two to three months. We drove the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class facelift ahead of the India launch — the first look at this car before it arrives in showrooms — to find out whether the S 450 e plug-in hybrid powertrain makes sense for the S-Class and whether the gold standard for luxury saloons has raised its own bar with this update. Powering the Mercedes-Benz S-Class is a 3-litre, turbo-petrol engine with a 22kWh battery pack which has a combined output of 429bhp and 680Nm. It also has an EV only range of 95-117km. Top speed of 250kmph (claimed) and a 0-100kmph in 5.7sec (claimed). Over 2,700 parts have been upgraded for this Mercedes-Benz S-Class facelift, more than 50 percent of the car, and the changes go far deeper than the exterior suggests. On the outside, the 20 percent larger grille, new micro LED headlamps with a 600m high beam range and the illuminated three-pointed star are subtle changes that add up to a meaningfully sharper presence on the road. The new hyperscreen replaces the old portrait touchscreen with a 14.4-inch centre display, a 12.3-inch passenger screen and a 12.3-inch driver display with 3D-rendered dials. The fourth-generation MBOS operating system now has Google Maps, Gemini, Bing and ChatGPT built in. Physical rocker switches and rotary knobs are back on the steering wheel, replacing the capacitive touch buttons. At the rear, the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class long wheelbase that India will receive makes its strongest statement — there is a new 13.1-inch remote replacing the old Samsung tablet, a built-in camera for video calls, Netflix, Disney Plus, and a Burmester 4D sound system. The S-Class has always been the gold standard for luxury saloons and this facelift does nothing to change that. The Mercedes-Benz S-Class facelift S 450 e also gets air suspension as standard, optional E-Active Body Control that reads the road surface before you hit a pothole, car-to-X communication that shares road data with other Mercedes-Benz cars via the cloud, and rear axle steering — standard at 4.5 degrees, optional at 10 degrees — which shrinks the turning circle of the 5.3m long wheelbase S-Class by two metres. Then there is the Nvidia autonomous driving platform enabling Level 4 driverless capability, already confirmed for China and Europe, and a partnership with Uber for S-Class robot taxis. The most important chauffeur-driven car in the world is preparing for a future where it no longer needs a chauffeur. The question is not whether the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class is the best luxury saloon in the world. The question is when everything else will catch up. 0:00 Introduction 0:09 The new S-Class is coming to India 0:33 S-Class design and mechanical updates 1:57 S-Class interior and tech updates 3:45 S-Class rear seat space and features 4:59 Why is Mercedes-Benz bringing the S-Class hybrid to India? 6:02 The S-Class sound check 7:05 What is e-active body control and curve assist 9:04 S-Class ride quality 9:57 Autonomous driving capability of the S-Class #evoIndia #mercedesbenz #mercedesbenzsclass #sclass #carreviews Want more #ThrillOfDriving videos? Subscribe to the evo India channel: https://bit.ly/2VfzioP Read our stories here: https://evoindia.com/ Buy #EvoIndiamagazine here: www.evoindia.com/magazine Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evoindia/ Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/evoindia/ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/evoindia Official merchandise on 100kmph: http://www.100kmph.com/evoindia