2015 Mercedes S-Class Coupe: Real World Review

What is it? 2015 Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe — two- or all-wheel-drive, coupe.

Price: $119,00 - $160,900

Competitors: BMW 6 Series, Jaguar XK

Alternatives: Audi S5, Aston Martin V8 Vantage, Rolls Royce Wraith

Pros: Striking appearance, majestic interior, smooth yet engaging drive

Cons: Bits of complicated or gimmicky tech

Would I Buy It With My Own Money? If you have a trust fund handy, it’s the ultimate boulevard cruiser.

As a kid growing up in the suburbs of Los Angeles, Calif., I remember being in awe of my family friend’s stable of S-Class Benzes, which they’d drive to pick me up from school. I fell in love with the clean, unpretentious lines, the Abrams tank-like sturdiness, and the smell of sumptuous leather as I sat in the cavernous rear seats. In my grade-school mind the W124 and the succeeding W140 embodied the pinnacle of luxury.

The 2015 Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe rekindles that sensation almost perfectly.

It’s a phenomenal machine. Truth be told, I’ve never been a fan of the S coupes. But whereas previous iterations lunged into corners with the finesse of a charging bull, this low-slung Benz is simultaneously smooth and aggressive. Its sleek greenhouse doesn’t sacrifice visibility from the driver’s seat, thanks to the trademark B-pillar-less windows, and the Coupe feels smaller than it actually is. The previous CL-Class by comparison looked as mammoth as the sedan.

If there’s one gripe, it’s that the elegance bumps heads with the tech within. Sure, the S-Class has long been the flagship for cutting-edge innovation, whether it’s the first side airbags in the W126 S-Class, or the absurdly complex hydraulic windows in the Pullman S600. It’s in Benz’s DNA to push the technological envelope. Yet the slab-sided digital dash cluster feels dated already; instead of taking advantage of the design freedoms afforded with a screen as opposed to the classic gauges, the speedometer simply mimics an analog display, unlike say a Lexus, which changes the layout depending on the driving mode. Why not just make them with real needles and metal bezels then?

Oddly enough, Mercedes-Benz designer Gordon Wagener even echoed a similar sentiment at a press event last year in Rhode Island, stating how “there’s an increasing demand for analog solutions,” and how “we don’t love digital watches.”

The COMAND interface can get cumbersome too, even if it’s paired to a beautiful 12.3-inch LCD screen, which incidentally isn’t touchscreen. For example, to turn off the Climate Control is a four-step process: hit the menu button on the center console, click down on the COMAND knob twice, then push the knob to shut it down. At least, I couldn’t find a quicker method scrutinizing the manual. The amount of tech features can easily overwhelm your average hedge fund manager or the nouveau rich, and its best facets are those that work under the radar, like the Intelligent Drive that can almost drive on its own, or the vastly improved Airmatic suspension.

Look past the tech-frilled foibles and the S-Class Coupe is otherwise the perfect GT. While its main competitor should be the BMW 6 Series, its lavishly appointed interior puts it more in the leagues of a Rolls Royce or Bentley. French-stitched leather adorns nearly every panel, and you’d have to scrutinize the cabin to find any plastic.

The driving experience strikes an ideal balance of sporting and plush, and the Benz doesn’t rattle your bones like in a 6-Series, or numbingly isolate yourself from the plebeian world like a Rolls Royce Wraith. The base 4.7-liter, 449-horsepower bi-turbo hauls plenty fast with a 0-60 time of around four seconds, and the burlier 577-horsepower S63 AMG gets there a half second quicker. The S63 feels more athletic with a 33/67 percent torque split (compared to the S550’s 45/55) and offers crisper handling, but they’re both eager grand tourers, even if they tip the scales at over 2.5 tons. An XK is more entertaining to throw the rear around, but it’s getting too dated to be a compelling alternative. The 4Matic AWD system cleverly hides the Merc’s mild tendency to understeer, and the Airmatic suspension transforms bumps into marshmallow tufts. And even the diehard manual purists would love the 7-speed DCT, which resolutely shifts in Sport mode, yet is almost imperceptible when cruising.

Starting at $119,900 for the base model, the price quickly balloons to over $230,000 for an S65 AMG, which exists more for the V-12 bragging rights at your local squash game given that its acceleration is similar to the SL63. In any trim, it’s what all luxury coupes aspire to be.

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