The rebranded S-class does feel truly special, but it carries a serious price.
The potential customer base for a car that can deliver the sumptuous comfort of a private jet and the performance of a muscle car is likely a small one, but we should be happy that the Mercedes-Maybach S580 has it covered. Wearing the two-tone paint scheme that signals its superiority over the regular S-class—a $14,500 option we suspect most buyers will go for—this XL sedan looks like it should be gently shuttling A-listers between red carpets. Yet it is brutally fast when unleashed, even if doing so would likely cause rear-seat passengers to spill their champagne (from their Maybach-branded flutes).
How fast? During testing, the Maybach S580 blasted its way from zero to 60 mph in just 4.1 seconds, from rest to 100 mph in 10 seconds flat, and through the quarter-mile in just 12.6 seconds. The V-8 Bentley Flying Spur is slightly quicker, but it is also more obviously aimed at those who drive themselves rather than relax in the back. The Maybach feels like a luxury yacht with the punch of a speedboat—and the forthcoming S680, with its 621-hp V-12, should be even quicker.
Yet even the most demanding plutocrat would find it hard to feel shortchanged by the S580 and its 496-hp twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8. Performance is delivered without drama—full throttle produces an exhaust note that sounds as if it's issuing from several towns away. Under more respectful use the engine is almost silent, with the Maybach's cabin very hushed at cruising speeds. We recorded 64 decibels at a 70-mph cruise, and Maybach's active noise cancellation effectively suppresses low-frequency road rumble and makes the cabin seem even quieter. The low ambient noise also provides a blemish-free auditory backdrop for the superb 30-speaker Burmeister audio system.
HIGHS: Punchy performance, superb comfort and refinement, luxurious rear cabin.
From the driver's seat, there are no obvious differences between the Maybach and the regular Mercedes S-class. Both cars share the same controls and displays, with a 12.3-inch screen for the instruments that features 3-D rendering. Some of us loved the effect, others immediately switched it back to 2-D. The vast 12.8-inch touchscreen in the center of the dashboard runs the same MBUX UI system as lesser Mercs—and suffers from the same usability issues. It does grow easier to understand with prolonged use, but the need to interact with the screen to adjust heating and ventilation settings requires you to take your eyes off the road. Both the Rolls-Royce Ghost and Bentley Flying Spur have much-nicer-feeling physical controls.
It's when you move to the back that the Maybach turns truly special, combining the room of an extended-wheelbase S-Class—7.1 inches longer than the regular car—with plusher trim. Our test car had been given the sort of full-options workout we suspect few Maybach buyers will be able to resist, albeit one that took its asking price to near
