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Mercedes does not usually mess much with the S-Class mid-life. This time it went all in. The refreshed flagship has around 2,700 changed parts, making it the biggest update the luxury sedan has ever had.

A Bolder Face

The grille is now 20 percent larger, with a star-pattern insert and an illuminated surround on plusher versions. It gives the big Mercedes an even more imposing presence.

The 20 percent bigger grille is the clearest tell from a distance, a deliberate nod to the imposing look luxury buyers in key markets want.

New lighting does the rest. The headlights wear three-point star daytime running lights, and the tail lamps switch to a triple-star graphic in place of the old horizontal bars.

Screens and Switches

Inside, the S-Class moves to the latest MB.OS software, a new digital brain that enables over-the-air updates across the car. A 14.4-inch central screen sits between two 12.3-inch displays.

It is a quiet admission that all-touch cabins went too far. Owners wanted real controls back, and Mercedes listened.

Mercedes also did something rare lately. It brought physical buttons back, adding a knurled scroll wheel, a steering-wheel toggle and haptic shortcut keys below the screen.

Power and Polish

Under the bonnet are updated six- and eight-cylinder mild hybrids. The 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8, now called M177 Evo, switches to a flat-plane crank and makes 530 bhp.

Higher up, AMG versions will keep the fight going with BMW's M division, while the plug-in hybrid targets company-car tax breaks in Europe.

A plug-in hybrid pairs a straight-six with an electric motor for up to 577 hp, and the whole range is Euro 7 compliant. Rear-axle steering is standard, with up to ten degrees available.

Still the Benchmark

There is also Level 3 automated driving in approved markets, letting you take your hands off the wheel at speeds up to 95 km/h in the right conditions.

The S-Class has long been the car other luxury saloons measure themselves against. With this much changed under the skin, Mercedes clearly intends to keep it that way.

Prices will climb, as they always do, but so does the kit. Few cars pile on this much hardware in a single mid-life refresh.

Mercedes is also leaning harder on comfort and quiet, the things that made the S-Class famous in the first place.

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The S-Class Gets Its Biggest-Ever Facelift