Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe (2014-2021) interior
The Mercedes S-Class Coupe comes with one of the plushest interiors around, but it doesn’t get quite the same range of advanced tech you’ll find in some alternatives
Style
Dominating the Mercedes S-Class Coupe’s plush cabin is a pair of huge infotainment screens. These stretch more than halfway across the dashboard and together they replace conventional free-standing infotainment displays and analogue dials.
If you’re used to Audi’s slick touchscreen climate controls, the Mercedes S-Class Coupe’s physical toggle switches might feel a bit old-fashioned. That being said, the Mercedes’ switches are much easier to use when you’re driving.
Add to these a set of cool metal air vents and some achingly posh laser-etched speaker grilles, and the Mercedes S-Class Coupe makes a strong case for itself as one of the most elegant interiors of any upmarket coupe. It might not have quite the same wow factor as the Bentley Continental GT, but that’s like comparing a 24-carat diamond to the Crown Jewels – they’re dramatically different but you won’t have anything to complain about in either car.
Just like the Bentley, the Mercedes S-Class Coupe comes with leather upholstery as standard. It feels supple and soft, but even plusher Nappa leather trim is an optional extra.
Another extra worth considering is the optional panoramic glass roof. This makes the Mercedes S-Class Coupe’s already airy interior feel particularly spacious.
If you fancy adding your own touch to the Mercedes S-Class Coupe’s cabin, there are plenty of extra upholstery and trim options for you to choose from. The AMG carbon fibre pack adds a sporty (if slightly incongruous) atmosphere to the interior, or you could go for a more subtle combination of ash wood, black lacquer and brown burr walnut trims.
Driving the Mercedes S-Class Coupe feels like you’re cruising around in an interior designer’s fantasy. You’ll struggle to find anything that doesn’t look and feel fabulous
- Used
- £34,500
Infotainment
Watch our Mercedes S-Class Coupe infotainment video review
Every Mercedes S-Class Coupe comes with a huge dual-screen infotainment system. This consists of a pair of 12.3-inch screens that make up one almost seamless display stretching across the car’s dashboard.
It certainly looks more futuristic than the BMW 8 Series’ more conventional free-standing screen and digital driver’s display, but the graphics aren’t quite as sharp. The menus aren’t quite as logically laid out, either, and you can’t operate the central display like a touchscreen.
Instead, you navigate through its often cluttered menu screens using a scroll wheel on the centre console. At least this feels relatively intuitive – especially when you’re driving – but the wheel is hidden under a bulky touchpad that’s too large for you to comfortably rest your hand on.
At least this pad lets you enter letters of a postcode into the sat nav – just like in the BMW. Unfortunately, it can’t recognise whole words like the latest Audi system, and it won’t recognise a postcode unless you include all the relevant spaces.
Once you’ve entered an address, the system calculates routes quickly. It’s not particularly difficult to add a waypoint either, but you can’t swipe or zoom to preview your route ahead like in the BMW 8 Series. Instead, you have to use the scroll wheel to rather clumsily traverse the map screen.
Thankfully, the steering wheel comes with a pair of touch-sensitive pads that are much more intuitive to use. The left one lets you scroll through menus on the left-hand screen, while the right pad lets you tweak the layout of digital driver’s display.
Speaking of which, you can customise the driver’s screen to display one of three increasingly sporty designs or swap out the rev counter completely in favour of an additional map. The latter feels a little like peering at your route through a snowglobe – albeit during rather more agreeable weather.
And if you don’t like the Mercedes’ navigation system, you can always mirror your phone’s navigation apps on the central screen using Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. These features are a doddle to use, but they don’t quite fill the Mercedes S-Class Coupe’s vast widescreen display. As a result, you’ll be left with a rather ugly Apple or Android logo filling in the blank space – hardly befitting an uber-luxury coupe.
These smartphone mirroring features also let you play music from streaming services such as Spotify through the Mercedes S-Class Coupe’s stereo – a seriously impressive piece of kit from Burmester that sounds absolutely fantastic. It’s so good, in fact, that you might wonder why Mercedes doesn’t charge extra for it…
- Used
- £34,500