2011 Mercedes-Benz S Class - Quality Review

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The standard front seats are 16-way power-adjustable, leather-trimmed, and suitably wide and firm. There's heating and cooling on offer for front and rear occupants, but our preferred option is the optional multicontour seats, which employ air bladders that inflate or deflate either to help keep you in place on mountain roads or to help invigorate on longer trips. All S-Class variants here in the U.S. are long-wheelbase versions—meaning that even with the front seats back all the way, there's still enough back-seat space, and doors open wide for easy access; it's truly limo-like. The backseats are sculpted comfortably, too, and interior upholstery and trims are top-notch; we especially like the AMG models' sueded fabric.

You'll rarely find space at a premium within the cabin of the S-Class. There's plenty of storage space for smaller items—including a glovebox and console large enough for small handbags and even the larger electronic gadgets. The fold-down armrest in back has its own hidden stowaway space and a pass-through to the 16-cubic-foot trunk that's well-shaped for suitcases of golf bags.

Ride quality is nothing to fret about either, even if you choose one of the top-performance AMG variants. Whether you get the active suspension system or the base air suspension, the S-Class will soak up even the roughest washboard surfaces or potholed city streets without ever feeling floaty.

Over repeat drives of various S-Class trims, varying from the Hybrid to AMG, we've found these big luxury sedans to be about as tightly assembled and vaultlike as their predecessors, with a detailed, delicate look up close. While the S-Class's cabin is outdone at the base level by top efforts from Audi and BMW, step up to any of the uplevel trims and you get some of the richest textures and finishes you'll see in a German car: case in point, the lush wood trim applied to the dash, doors, and consoles.