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2022 Mercedes-Maybach S680 4Matic First Drive: Big Luxury in Every Sense
It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got
The 2022 Mercedes-Maybach S-Class S680 4Matic is a glittery thing. The grille and the front intakes, the trim down the middle of the hood and across its broad rump, the frame around the greenhouse, the exhaust pipes, and the wheels all sparkle as brightly as a diamond-encrusted Rolex in a Miami nightclub. Subtle it ain't. But, as Mercedes-Benz has learned, when it comes to Maybach, all that glitters is gold.
It didn't start that way. Panicked by Volkswagen's purchase of Bentley and BMW's audacious acquisition of Rolls-Royce in the 1990s, Mercedes-Benz decided that it, too, needed an über-luxury limousine. The car it built on the W140 S-Class platform and launched to much fanfare in 2003 was as technically competent and lavishly finished as its rivals, but management decided the Mercedes-Benz name didn't have the gravitas needed to compete with the gilded British brands. Instead of being badged Mercedes-Benz Maybach, it became, simply, Maybach.
Wilhelm Maybach was an engineer who worked with Gottlieb Daimler at the dawn of the automotive age and built his own luxury cars in the years leading up to World War II. It was a revered name among some prewar car buffs, but it meant nothing to anyone else. Before Maybach was quietly taken off life support in 2013, barely 3,000 examples had been sold worldwide. One well-placed industry source suggests Mercedes lost more than $350,000 on every car it built.
In 2015, the company did what it should have done in the first place: It overtly linked the Maybach name with the three-pointed star. The largest and most lavishly equipped versions of the W222 S-Class were badged Mercedes-Maybach, the three-pointed star standing proud on the hood, and although the decision was made so late in the car's development there was no time to design and engineer any unique parts, it proved a runaway success. Mercedes has since sold more than 60,000 of these blinged-up S-Class models, many in China, where in 2019 demand was running at 700 cars a month.
Now That You're Up to Speed…
The new Mercedes-Maybach is based on the redesigned W223 S-Class launched late last year. Unlike the outgoing car, though, it does have unique sheetmetal, including a new hood that sits three-quarters of an inch higher than the S-Class hood and runs back from a large, more upright grille with bright vertical bars. It also features a redesigned greenhouse that includes a slightly higher roofline, fixed rear quarter windows, and a more formal C-pillar. And more chrome. Because that's what the customers like.
The new Mercedes-Maybach rolls on the longest of the three platforms developed for the new S-Class. Codenamed Z223, it boasts 7 inches more between the axles than the long-wheelbase platform (codenamed V223) that underpins all S-Class models sold in the U.S., and 11.5 inches more than the standard-wheelbase S-Class that's common in Europe. All that extra length is dedicated to the rear passenger compartment, not the least because that's where many of the cars' owners in its three largest markets-China, Russia, and South Korea-spend most of their time, their chauffeurs handling the driving chores.
The rear seats can be reclined from a 19-degree rake to 43 degrees, while the leg rests extend 2 inches further than before and will give you a calf massage should you so desire. Neck and shoulder heating is standard, and the seat belts are presented to you like those in the front seats of Mercedes coupes so you don't have to twist and find them. The standard infotainment screens on the backs of the front seats can be controlled via a smaller, removable touchscreen device mounted in the rear center console so you don't have to stretch forward, either.
Among the few options to be offered to American buyers is a package that adds heated and cooled cupholders to the rear-seat center console, along with tables that fold out from it like those in a first-class airline seat. Other options include a fridge-complete with a pair of metal champagne flutes-that's accessed via a panel between the seats, and an electric opening and closing system for the rear doors actuated by switches mounted in the roof, just above the rear windows.
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