Starts at $117,300
2024 S-Class Selector
FAST FACTS
MotorDonkey's proprietary vehicle data identifies every significant version of each model so that you can compare and decide. Ordered by price from low to high, here are the versions of the 2024 Mercedes-Benz S-Class that you need to be aware of, along with our expert analysis and recommendations.
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Checking in at 31 mpg on the highway and 4.5 seconds to 60 mph, the "entry-level" S500 4MATIC may be all the S-Class that most folks need. There's no V8 burble from under the hood, but Benz's excellent turbocharged inline-6 is a fine substitute. Of course, if you'd like to pay more to get that burble, Mercedes will oblige.
The S580e plug-in hybrid's parlor trick is its impressive all-electric range, which is EPA-estimated at 46 miles. There are compromises, however, including about 800 extra pounds of complexity and a trunk that's smaller by a third.
The S580 is about character more than anything else. If you don't care about the sound and feel of a world-class V8 engine, just get the base S500 and save some coin — it's almost as quick and significantly more fuel-efficient. But for many S-Class shoppers, this legendary sedan just isn't the same without a V8 under the hood, so the extra $11k or so will seem like a bargain.
Now available only as a plug-in hybrid, the AMG S63 comes up way short of its lesser S580e sibling in terms of all-electric range. So what's the point of this barge? Power, of course — lots of it, and even more torque. There's also AMG's excellent twin-turbo V8 stuffed in there amongst the hybrid hardware, so you get a little V8 rumble that's absent in the six-cylinder S580e.
The Mercedes-Maybach S580 is all about the backseat, where you'll find more than five extra inches of legroom compared to the regular S-Class. The additional space comes courtesy of a significantly longer wheelbase, which in turn pushes out the length of the entire car considerably. But listen — if you're seriously considering a Maybach, why would you stop at the S580's V8? Isn't this a V12-or-go-home kind of purchase?
Now that's more like it. The V12-powered Mercedes-Maybach S680 only gets to 60 mph 0.2 second quicker than the V8-powered Maybach S580, but it's the character of that speed that wins the day. If you've ever accelerated in a turbo V12 Mercedes, you know what we're talking about. There's nothing else like it and it's worth whatever Mercedes wants to charge for it.
Publisher and Donkey-in-Chief
Josh has been reviewing cars professionally since joining Edmunds.com fresh out of grad school in 2008, personally driving most new cars on the market every year since. He also served as the project manager for Edmunds' expert vehicle rankings from their inception in 2018, building the product out from the back end to the front end. Josh is a card-carrying member of the Motor Press Guild and a lifelong car nut who has tested, compared and critiqued a ridiculous number of cars in his career.
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