12 - 20
429 - 621
9 speed, Automatic w/OD
Intercooled Turbo Gas/Electric I-6, Twin Turbo Gas/Electric V-8, Twin Turbo Premium Unleaded V-12
All Wheel Drive
For most of us, Mercedes-Benz’s top-tier sedan, the S-Class, represents a pinnacle of vehicular luxury, an aspirational purchase that lies out of financial reach. For others, the vanilla S-Class isn’t quite good enough. That’s where the Maybach comes in. The designation for ultimate luxury from Stuttgart, a Maybach sedan is in many ways just an S-Class elevated to another level. But when that level is this high, the result is something special.
Photo: Tim Stevens
Mercedes reintroduced the Maybach nameplate to its lineup in 2014 , and since then, the ultra-luxury sedan has seen continuous refinement and improvement. The latest version comes in S 580 4Matic and S 680 4Matic models. My test vehicle arrived in top specification, equipped with a twin-turbocharged, 6.0-liter 12-cylinder engine and a suite of bespoke interior appointments. It was something special.
However, where a top-tier standard S-Class, the S 580 4Matic, starts at $124,000, a Maybach S 680 4Matic requires a minimum outlay of $229,000. Is it worth the six-figure premium? Let’s find out.
In the sections that follow, our independent expert analyzes a 2023 Mercedes-Maybach S 680 sedan equipped with the following options:
The test vehicle’s price was $247,600, including the $1,150 destination charge to ship the sedan from the Sindelfingen, Germany, assembly plant to your local dealership. The Maybach S 680 also carries a $2,600 gas guzzler tax.
Photo: Tim Stevens
The first question you must answer in considering a Maybach S 680 is which seat you’ll be occupying. This is one of those cars where to be driven is, in many ways, the ultimate experience. But we’ll start from the driver’s seat because that’s also an excellent place to experience the car.
The Maybach’s seats are incredibly plush and comfortable, yet they offer quite deep, active bolsters that can hug you a little tighter through the corners if you like. When just cruising, head reclined on the understuffed, sueded pillow, it is among the most comfortable cars in the world.
And that’s before you fire up the massaging seats. The Mercedes offers ten separate massage routines, each with customizable intensity, and that’s on top of the various Energizing Comfort modes that combine music, sound, massage, heat, ambient light, and even scent to create dynamic experiences. Many cars offer a stress-free driving experience, but few can provide a net-positive impact on your mental well-being like this one.
And should you need to simply take your mind off things more directly, a Champagne chiller sits between and behind those opulent rear seats. That option takes up a good chunk of the S 680’s already slender 12.3 cubic-foot trunk, but it certainly does impress.
Not that you’ll need any help in that regard. The rear seats are wildly comfortable, especially with the Executive Rear Seat Package Plus. And while they don’t quite recline to fully flat, the front passenger seat folds forward with the touch of a button, providing room for the rear seat leg support extension to deploy.
The Maybach’s seats are, of course, heated and cooled, and you can localize heat intensity in different parts of the seat. Even the armrests are heated, which sounds like overkill until you climb in on a really chilly day.
Quality materials cover every surface, from the quilted leather upholstery to the bright metal covering the various Burmester speakers, of which there are 31 on this 4D Atmos-equipped machine. Atmos only works with a compatible music source, which right now means Apple Music. But when the right song from the right source fires up, the result is an eye-opening acoustic ride that shakes right through you.
Though the Maybach’s interior impresses, some materials aren’t quite up to par with a Bentley or Rolls-Royce. Many of the satin metal-look surfaces are actually plastic, but in exchange, you get a remarkable amount of technology compared to those more traditional brands.
Photo: Tim Stevens
As in the company’s other vehicles, the Mercedes Benz User Experience (MBUX) powers the in-cabin tech. In this application, it offers a dynamic and customizable experience with incredible depth for those who want to fiddle with everything. Despite that, it’s easy to find virtually any setting without spending too long tapping through menus.
Major highlights include:
You activate the digital voice assistant by saying, “Hey, Mercedes.” From there, you can execute spoken commands for numerous vehicle settings, and yes, the assistant is smart enough to know which seat occupant is speaking.
So, imagine the rear passenger gets a bit hungry. They can simply say, “I’m hungry,” pick from the list of suggestions on either the rear-seat headrest-mounted display or the removable tablet between the seats and send that destination straight to the navigation system. Rear-seat passengers can also select the media to play through the car’s sound system or the included Bluetooth headsets.
The native navigation experience is excellent, including dynamic traffic re-routing and augmented-reality projection of turn indicators that appear to float in space from the driver’s perspective. However, the system also plays nicely with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, pulling in and displaying turn information and arrival time into the vehicle’s head-up display (HUD).
Beyond the HUD and the 12.8-inch central touchscreen, the 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster is incredibly customizable, with numerous layouts and endless pages of information. Additionally, the S 680 has a custom Maybach layout with white-faced gauges and subtle visual texture thanks to glasses-free 3D technology. It provides a sense of depth so things like album art or your next turn appear to hover slightly. It’s yet another special touch in this special car.
Photo: Tim Stevens
The Mercedes-Maybach S 680 is nearly 18 feet long and weighs over 5,300 pounds. It is a massive car with a giant motor to match, as a twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter 12-cylinder engine fills that prodigious nose, offering 621 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque.
Though often used to screaming excess in exotics, Mercedes deploys the V12 here for its smoothness. Yes, that’s a lot of power at your disposal. Still, it hits in an understated way. The accelerator and brake pedals have long, relaxed throws, meaning you, the driver, must go pretty deep to tap into maximum performance.
Similarly, the nine-speed transmission slips between gears exceptionally smoothly. Even in Sport mode, the Maybach never feels rushed, but the tremendous power means the car is happy to be in a hurry if you are.
The handling is surprisingly good as well. A rear-axle steering system offers an impressive 10 degrees of wheel angle at the back. You’ll feel that immediately upon driving the S 680 around a parking lot, where this big sedan can pivot like a much smaller car.
But out on twisty roads, you’ll feel it, too. The Maybach ducks into turns so responsively that I often found myself unwinding the steering wheel lest I clip the inside of the lane too closely.
There’s plenty of body roll, even when the adaptive suspension is in its stiffest setting, meaning it’s not a car for particularly aggressive, sporty driving. Likewise, your rear-seat passengers won’t appreciate being thrown around. But, when they’re running late for a flight, they will appreciate the car’s ability to hustle to get them there on time.
Photo: Tim Stevens
The Maybach S 680 offers one of the most comprehensive collections of advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS) available on any vehicle, and despite all the sensors watching you and the world around you, the tech is never annoying. Warnings and chimes are subtle but valuable, providing everything from a change of color to the cabin’s ambient lighting to a subtle nudge of steering input from the steering wheel.
The car’s adaptive cruise control works well on highways and secondary roads, spotting stopped traffic with plenty of distance to smoothly bring the car to a halt. The lane-centering system is also excellent, with the S 680 smoothly remaining in the middle of its lane even through turns and in crosswinds. Unfortunately, the S-Class lineup hasn’t received the automatic lane change feature on the new E-Class.
Another thing missing here is a hands-free driving assistance system like you can find in a BMW, Cadillac, and Lincoln. While the Maybach’s hands-on tech is terrific, being able to remove your hands from the steering wheel is one luxury this machine doesn’t yet offer.
Photo: Tim Stevens
A typical Mercedes-Benz S-Class is hardly a class leader in cargo space, offering a meager 12.9 cubic feet of volume in the trunk. In the Mercedes-Maybach S 680, that drops to 12.3 cu-ft. Add the optional Champagne chiller, as equipped here, and you’ll charge the narrow trunk with carrying a giant refrigerator in addition to whatever luggage you want to bring along for the ride. Thankfully, the chiller is removable.
According to the EPA, the Mercedes-Maybach S 680 gets 14 mpg in combined driving. I scored considerably better in my testing, at 22.6 mpg, likely thanks to spending more time wafting down the highway than sampling the performance of the V12 or navigating crowded city streets.
The Mercedes-Maybach Sedan includes a comprehensive set of active safety systems engineered to prevent collisions. Unfortunately, neither the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) nor the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has performed crash tests on the Mercedes-Maybach sedan. And they’re unlikely to. So, if you’re riding in the back seat, buckle up to be on the safe side.
The 2023 Mercedes-Maybach sedan is available as the S 580 4Matic ($193,400) and the S 680 4Matic ($229,000). These prices do not include a $2,600 gas guzzler tax or the $1,150 destination charge to ship the car from its assembly plant in Sindelfingen, Germany, to your local dealer.
In the JD Power 2023 Initial Quality Study (IQS), the BMW 8 Series ranks highest in the Large Premium Car segment. In the 2023 APEAL Study, the BMW 7 Series ranks highest in the segment, followed by the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Moving up a price class or two, competitors to the Mercedes-Maybach include the Bentley Flying Spur, Cadillac Celestiq, and Rolls-Royce Phantom.
Photo: Tim Stevens
The Mercedes-Maybach Sedan is, in many ways, the ultimate luxury car for someone who wants all the pomp of a premium machine but also craves an overwhelming selection of technology and audio/visual performance. The cabin is spectacular, and this is a car that you will always look forward to occupying, whether you’re driving or being driven.
About the only thing that feels off is the presence of that V12. It’s a decidedly old-school mechanical power plant compared to the impressive Mercedes-Benz EQ electric vehicles. Even the best transmission and internal combustion engine can’t match the smooth luxury of electrification.
Still, for those who want classic power wrapped in a bespoke, high-end automobile, the Mercedes-Maybach S 680 is an absolute marvel.
Tim Stevens is a veteran automotive and technology journalist with over 25 years of experience covering everything from smartphones to supercars. In addition to JDPower.com, his expert perspectives have appeared in numerous national and international outlets, including print, online, and broadcast television.
