Mercedes-Benz S-Class vs Mercedes-Benz GT63

What's the difference?

Mercedes-Benz set out to restore the S-Class' place amongst the greatest sedans in the world.

In the heavily-optioned, near-$250K-plus S450 as well as the extended S450L at $300K as tested (the sweet spot of the range for now), we reckon the Germans have succeeded, pushing safety, comfort and technology boundaries, in a package that is true to the heritage of the series.

Tax-fuelled sky-high prices will certainly keep the S-Class niche in Australia, but the car is more than good enough to dominate its tiny corner of the upper-large luxury car sphere.

The best new car in the world? We reckon it's highly likely. Mission accomplished, Mercedes.

The Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S 4-Door Coupe fulfils the brief for an ultra-fast, ultra-luxurious, four-door weapon. The theatre that surrounds it will be enough for some, and those that want to a have a serious crack won’t be disappointed.

Most Mercedes models have followed the Russian Doll-style cookie-cutter styling theme, and the heavy family look continues with the W223.

Still, the flush door handles do add a touch of Tesla-esque modernity, while the elegant silhouette and clean lines are in keeping with the luxury aspirations. Larger in every dimension compared to the old W222, the S450 is some 71mm-longer in wheelbase (3106mm) than before while the LWB's has stretched out by 51mm (3216mm), benefiting proportions as well as interior packaging.

AMG-branded wheels look sporty but – in the S450 at least – they're perhaps a tad too gangster. A set of flush alloys would give it a more-modern and techier appearance, in our opinion.

Overall, however, the S-Class ‘7' possesses the prerequisite richness of design. It isn't as bold and mould-breaking as models like the W116 were back in their day, but the styling is still a success.

By the way, the latest S-Class is the first Mercedes to employ the MRA2 longitudinal platform, which is rich in lightweight steels (50 per cent aluminium), is correspondingly stronger than before but also 60kg lighter.

With a drag co-efficiency rating as low as 0.22Cd on some overseas grades, the W223 is one of the most aerodynamic production vehicles in history.

At a fraction over 5.0 metres long and just under 1.9 metres wide, the GT 4-Door Coupe is substantial, but an overall height under 1.5 metres sets up an aggressive stance that screams speed.

Fat guards are filled by dark 21-inch rims, and the low-set, bulging bonnet sits behind menacingly angular ‘Multi-beam’ LED headlights sitting either side of AMG’s now signature ‘Panamericana’ grille, looking ready to chew up and spit out lesser machines.

It has to be said that calling this car a four-door is a bit cheeky because technically it’s a hatch, and to my eyes at least the gentle rearward slope of the turret and large cargo door enhances the design’s understated power.

Inside is a sea of top-shelf nappa leather, with the twin-widescreen cockpit layout (two 12.3-inch hi-res displays) dominating the dash. Carbon-fibre is applied liberally (in the 63 S), and the grippy sports steering wheels and seats look and feel close to track grade.

Turbine-style air vents (four in the centre, and one at each edge) are now a Mercedes design signature (used in the back as well) and they combine with the brushed metal finishes around the broad centre console and on the pedals to deliver a sense of occasion and anticipation just sitting in the car. Fit and finish is flawless.

For the beginning of our day with the S-Class, we were chauffeured from home to a mansion in Kew, a blue-chip Melbourne suburb. Our heavily-optioned S450L featured most of the aforementioned extras – including the Business Class Package and Rear Entertainment Package – and the experience was predictably, sumptuously memorable.

Reclining individual rear seats with easy-reach tablets, armrests offering access to all multimedia and available climatised and massaging cushions and backrests... we're no longer in our normal ride, Toto.

Yet, all these trinkets and gizmos are mere add-ons, that can turn a stretched Caprice into a flash hen's night carriage if enough money and glitz is thrown at it.

No, the new S-Class must impress in an altogether less tangible and more philosophical manner, involving all the senses, and not just what we see, hear and touch. It must appeal beyond the superficial. Otherwise, it is not a large Mercedes-Benz luxury sedan in the classic manner.

This is a Herculean task for the Stuttgart designers and engineers. By and large, though, the Three-Pointed Star has succeeded in achieving something special.

In its perception of peerless quality and engineering, the W223 is striving to move forward and look back simultaneously to the glory days of the seminal W126 (1980-1991). This is through meshing traditional virtues like solidity and quality materials while dazzling its passengers with technology that is still friendly enough to want to enhance your experience.

You can sink into the soft lounge seats, watch the world pass by silently outside and never be aware of the road underneath or the engine ahead. Double glazing, exquisite and aromatic fabrics and materials and lush tactile surfaces work their magic inside the car, while an airtight and aero body, solid platform, air suspension and a muted yet muscular powertrain all do their thing underneath. The atmosphere is special and rarefied. That's what an S-Class needs to be and that's what is happening in our $299,000 (as tested) S450L.

The same more-or-less applies up front, as the same trim, leather, wood and technology surrounds the driver and passenger. The spectre of the car that is surely The Car of the Last Decade – Tesla's Model S – is evident in the portrait touchscreen and sparse, almost wallflower dashboard design and layout. No big imposing architectures here.

Yet, while the American upstart actually takes stuff away, the S-Class packs the cabin with subtle features that – like when the planes stopped flying last year and the birdsong subsequently returned – only become obvious once the cabin's design simplicity clears all the white noise for you to be in a better frame of mind to enjoy them.   

Take the haptic interface, for example, as it is perhaps the best we've experienced; the sense of well-being garnered from the cumulative effects of profound seat comfort (the massaging function was never switched off), cocooning micro climate environmental control, orchestral levels of audio entertainment and the theatre of light and vision performed by the two available screens; it is an automotive experience like no other. And the eye-tracking 3D-effect navigation set within the electronic instrumentation. No need for cinematic glasses to get the effect. The driving position itself, by the way, is also first class.

Room to stretch and grow for sure, and in every direction. But room for improvement? You betcha.

Your tester had a headache after a little while staring at that woozy 3D map. The central vents – four at the front, two in the rear – look and feel cheap, leaving us mentally redesigning them; they are frightfully out of place here; the carryover column-stalk auto lever should have been binned in 2005. And, even though the digital instruments have a number of options, none are elegant enough for the S-Class. That's an especially subjective criticism, clearly, but one that – in the context of classic Mercedes luxury sedan contenders – is justified given how timeless the Bruno Sacco era of Daimler design was. Look him up, kids.

Still, after a couple of hours behind the wheel, with our senses reset to calm, it is obvious that the S-Class cabin is a unique and wonderful place – as it should be at a cool quarter-of-a-million dollars.

Job done.

PS At 550 litres (20L more than before), the boot is massive and luxurious enough to sleep in.

At surface level the GT 4-Door Coupe is a more liveable alternative to the GT Coupe, for blazing fast road trips, and obscenely rapid grocery runs. But the fact is it’s sooo much more practical than its two-door stablemate.

Space in the front is generous with storage running to twin cupholders in the centre console, as well as a modest glove box, decent sized door bins (with room for bottles), and a lidded storage box between the seats.

Connectivity and power options include 12-volt outlets, multiple USB ports and NFC (Near Field Communication) tech for easy Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connection of enabled devices.

Rear seat room is healthy. At 183cm I was able to sir behind the driver’s seat set to my position with plenty of leg and headroom to spare. Although anyone travelling in the rear centre position will have drawn the short straw, because the back seat is sculpted with bolstered positions for the two outer positions only.

A fold-down centre armrest offers more storage with a lidded box and a pair of cupholders and twin vents in the rear of the front centre console can be adjusted individually as part of the four-zone climate control system.

Hit the button, near the driver or on the key fob, to open the tailgate door and you’re presented with 461 litres (VDA) of cargo space, with the rear seat split-folding 40/20/40 to increase flexibility and liberate considerably more room.

There are tie-down hooks at each corner of the boot floor, an elasticised cargo net is included, and 12-volt power is provided.

Don’t bother looking for a spare wheel, the tyres are run-flats, and both GT 4-Door Coupe models are a towing no-go zone.

So, the GT 4-Door Coupe can’t just be about staggering performanmce. The GT 53 kicks things off at $249,900, before on-road costs, and at that price you’ll want a handsome load of standard features to go with all that performance potential.

We’ll cover active and passive safety tech in the Safety section, and aside from that the GT 53’s standard equipment list includes, performance front seats (heated and ventilated with electronic adjustment and memory), sports steering wheel (trimmed in nappa leather and ‘Dinamica’ microfibre), ambient interior lighting (with 64 colour choices), nappa leather upholstery, open-pore ash wood trim, sliding glass sunroof, four-zone climate control, a head-up display, keyless entry and start, active cruise control, Burmester 14-speaker, 640-watt audio, the ‘Comand’ multimedia system (including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), 3D sat nav, the previously mentioned ‘Widescreen Cockpit’ and wireless charging for mobile devices.

The GT 63 S shifts things up to $349,900, before on-road costs, adding interior carbon-fibre trim, even more leather around the cabin, the ‘AMG Light Display’ (shows the AMG logo under the side of the car), dark-tinted privacy glass (from B-pillar back), and power closing doors.

On the more technical side the GT 53 features, 20-inch alloy wheels, the ‘Dynamic Plus’ package (specifically tuned steering and suspension), ‘Dynamic Select’ (individual set-up for engine, transmission, suspension, steering and exhaust), a rear limited-slip diff, adaptive suspension, active parking assist, metallic paint (with nano ceramic paint technology) and yellow-painted AMG brake calipers.

The GT 63 S tips in the full-fat powertrain, 21-inch rims, and rear axle steering (an element of rear counter-steer up to 100km/h).

And if you want to go further there are eight option packages, from exterior chrome or carbon-fibre, to a luxury rear seat set-up incorporating two elaborately sculpted individual chairs with a touchscreen, extra USB ports and heated and cooled cupholders.

There are also more than a dozen individual cost and no-cost options, as well as multiple alternate wheel designs to choose from.

Plenty of dollars and plenty of fruit to go with the fire and fury. And thinking about the upcoming V8-powered BMW M8 Gran Coupe (likely to launch in the first half of 2020) it will need every bit of it to stay competitive in this ultra-exclusive market niche.

Where are the V8s?

Right now, the only W223 you can buy is powered by an all-new 2999cc 3.0-litre in-line direct-injection six-cylinder turbo petrol engine dubbed the M256, complete with double overhead cams, an electric compressor intercooler and assistance from a 48-volt mild hybrid system and integrated starter-generator, adding 16kW and 250Nm to the 270kW of power at 6100rpm and 500Nm of torque from 1600-4500rpm.

The 9G-Tronic torque-converter automatic transmission and 4Matic all-wheel drive system combination is a first for the S-Class in Australia.

Top speed is limited to 250km/h, while the 0-100km/h sprint-time takes just 5.1 seconds in both models. Impressive for a two-tonne-plus luxury limo.

The V8 volcano generating this car’s prodigious power is the same all-alloy, direct-injected, 90-degree 4.0-litre (M178) unit used in the two-door GT coupe, in this case with dry rather than wet sump lubrication.

Its two turbos are located in the engine’s ‘hot vee’ to improve under-bonnet packaging and reduce the distance exhaust gas has to travel to reach each twin-scroll turbo, and that charged air has to travel to the cylinders (minimising throttle lag).

Maximum power of 470kW is available between 5500-6500rpm and peak torque of no less than 900Nm is delivered across a broad plateau from 2500-4500rpm.

The GT 53’s 3.0-litre in-line six-cylinder unit produces 320kW at 6100rpm and 520Nm from 1800-5800rpm, with an ‘EQ Boost’ starter-alternator unit between the engine and transmission adding an extra 16kW/250Nm.

Drive goes to all four wheels via a nine-speed automatic transmission, in the 63 S featuring a wet, multi-disc start-off clutch, and a conventional torque converter in the 53.

The ‘4Matic’ all-wheel drive system sends drive to the rear axle permanently, and the front wheels variably, with the torque split continuously adjusted according to conditions and driver input.

With the aid of the mild-hybrid system, the S450 returned a combined average of an impressive 8.2 litres per 100km, which translates to 187 grams of carbon dioxide emissions per kilometre. 95 RON premium unleaded (or higher) is recommended. In the urban run it consumes 11.3L/100km (11.5 for S450L), and just 6.4L/100km (6.5 for S450L) in the extra-urban result.

At 76 litres, the fuel tank will allow a combined average range of about 927km between refills.

At the time of writing, Mercedes-Benz Australia hadn’t issued Australian Standard combined cycle fuel economy figures for the GT 4-Door Coupe, but NEDC Euro standard numbers are 9.4L/100km for the GT 53 and 11.3L/100km for the GT 63 S. NEDC CO2 emissions for the combined cycle are 215g/km and 257g/km respectively.

Despite the GT 63 S’s stop-start system (with glide mode) and eight- to four-cylinder deactivation tech (available from 1000-3250rpm), over close to 280km of mainly open road driving on the launch program we saw a dash-indicated figure of exactly 16.0L/100km.

Minimum fuel requirement for both models is 98 RON premium unleaded, and you’ll need 80 litres of it to fill the tank.

In former times, as the Germans say, a ‘450' on the boot indicated V8 power. In the W116 S-Class era it was one of the world's most evocative badges when ‘SEL' was also attached.

As mentioned earlier, though, it's the M256 3.0-litre turbo-petrol with a 48-volt ‘mild hybrid' electrical system that's doing the driving, to all four wheels. The real V8 W223 will probably surface later this year or in early 2022 with the S580L flagship. Bring it on.

This is not to say that S450 isn't good enough. With that electrified assistance, the blown straight six is smooth and swift off the line and rapid as the auto seamlessly steps up through all nine gears. Because it's so hushed and refined, it doesn't feel 5.1s to 100 clicks quick, but watching the speedo says otherwise – acceleration is assertive and strong right up way past the legal speed limit.

All that's missing is the burbling soundtrack of a classic Benz bent-eight. Oh well. Outstanding economy is a price we're literally willing to pay in lieu.

Even more impressive is the S450's ability to hustle along mountain roads like an overgrown sports sedan.

Now, for Australia, all S-Classes are fitted standard with an adaptive ‘Airmatic' air-suspension set-up, including air springs and self-levelling tech. In Comfort up to 60km/h, the ride height can be raised by 30mm, or lowered by 10mm under the standard 130mm baseline in Sport at any velocity, while in Sport+ it falls another 17mm.

With that in mind, yes, the standard air suspension performs a magnificent job smothering out most surface imperfections around town. Yet its real other party trick is to tighten up the chassis when corners get interesting and Sport mode is selected. Aided by progressively weighted and reassuringly responsive steering, the Mercedes tips into turns with precision and poise, slicing through with virtually no discernible body lean or understeer.

Now, we're not talking a leisurely drive on rural highways here, but Healesville's famous Chum Creek Road, where even a Porsche Cayman would feel like it's had a strenuous dynamic workout. The S-Class can be hurried along with confidence and finesse, displaying outstanding handling and roadholding for a 5.2-metre long limo. And the fact that the ride quality only suffers marginally when the red horns are out is all the more remarkable.

Back in the cut-and-thrust of inner-city peak-hour traffic, the Benz in Comfort mode continued to reveal its driver-orientated yet passenger-focused twin-personalities, zipping in and out of gaps while remaining comfy and composed inside.

Only when parking in tight spots are you truly aware that the W223 is longer than a Mazda CX-9. The optional four-wheel-steering system is claimed to slash the turning circle to A-Class hatchback levels. 10.9 metres is the claim.

The 2021 S-Class never ceases to amaze and delight.

Okay, so first up this is one fierce four-door, claimed to sprint from 0-100km/h in 3.2 seconds, which is properly supercar fast, and if you’re game and have a driveway long enough, able to blast up to a maximum velocity of 315km/h. Wow.

And behind the wheel it feels every bit of it. A flat-chat, launch-control assisted take-off narrowing your field of vision ever-so slightly and inducing an involuntary tensing of the abdomen.

The accompanying soundtrack is suitably ferocious, with a full-noise pass delivering a satisfyingly sharp spike on the decibel meter.

With 900Nm available from just 2500rpm there’s always an ocean of torque available, and by the time you’re into the upper rev range in anything above third gear you’re either headed for licence loss or the first corner of your favourite race circuit.

The nine-speed ‘MCT’ transmission in the 63 S features a (wet) take-off clutch and the big four-door puts its power down beautifully, the rear axle LSD and carefully tuned ‘4Matic’ all-wheel drive system seamlessly distributing torque between the axles and individual wheels able to make best use of it.

Slip into manual mode and the fun factor dials up a few notches with sharp and positive moves between ratios. But if you prefer leaving it in drive the transmission will sense what you’re up to and pick up ratios at just the right spot to keep things on the boil.

The electrically assisted steering delivers good road feel and the 63 S’s rear axle steering helps with precise and predictable turn-in on cornering.

The adaptive damping system helps keep this roughly 2.0-tonne weapon in check on twisting backroads, the optimal setting for our launch drive being engine, transmission, steering and exhaust turned up to 11, with the suspension in ‘Comfort’ mode. Spot-on.

A monster brake package comprises big ventilated discs (390mm fr / 360mm rr) with six-piston fixed calipers at the front and single-piston floating units at the rear. They wash off speed quickly and calmly time after time.

But dial things back to a less aggressive, more everyday mode and the ride comfort remains a stand-out trait. Even on big 21-inch rims the GT 63 S turns coarse-chip rural bitumen into a smooth carpet, with very little noise filtering into the cabin.

The front seats are super-supportive and comfortable for long stints behind the wheel and ergonomics are top-shelf with all major controls ideally placed and easy to use.

And if you want to get into the nitty gritty the AMG ‘Track Pace’ function in the Comand media system captures and analyses over 80 vehicle-specific data points as well as circuit lap times. Fun

The Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe offers in impressive suite of active features including ABS, BA, EBD, stability and traction controls, a 360-degree camera and reversing camera (with dynamic guidelines), ‘Active Brake Assist’ (Merc-speak for AEB) with cross-traffic function, ‘Adaptive Brake’ (with hill-start assist and brake drying in wet weather), active cruise control, ‘Active Lane Change Assist’, ‘Active Steering Assist’, ‘Attention Assist’ (drowsiness detection), and a tyre pressure monitoring system.

If all that fails to prevent an impact ‘Pre-Safe’ arms various systems to minimise damage and injury and you’ll be protected by nine airbags (front, pelvis and window for driver and front passenger, side airbags for rear seat occupants and a driver’s knee bag). The standard ‘Active Bonnet’ automatically tilts to minimise pedestrian injuries in a collision.

The Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe hasn’t been assessed by ANCAP or Euro NCAP for crash safety performance.

For kids there are three child restraint/baby capsule top tether points across the back seat, with ISOFIX anchors on the two outer positions.

Unlike many luxury brands that persist with a sub-par three-year warranty, Mercedes-Benz offers a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty.

Intervals are every year or 25,000km, with a capped price service plan starting at $800 for the first year, $1200 for the second year and $1400 for the third year, totalling $3400. Alternatively, there is a Service Plan starting at $2700 for the first three years (saving $700 from the normal capped-price service plan), $3600 for four years and $5400 for five years.

Mercedes-Benz covers its AMG range with a three year/unlimited km warranty, like the other two members of the German ‘Big Three’ (Audi and BMW) lagging the mainstream market where the majority of players are now at five years/unlimited km, with some at seven years.

On the upside, Mercedes-Benz Road Care assistance is included in the deal for three years.

Service is scheduled for 12 months/20,000km (whichever comes first) with pricing available on an ‘Up-front’ or ‘Pay-as-you-go’ basis.

For the GT 63 S pre-payment delivers a $1230 saving with the first three services set at a total of $6450, compared to $7150 PAYG. Fourth and fifth services are also available for pre-purchase.