You could drive the Mercedes S-Class Coupe for 1,000 miles and get out feeling more relaxed than you did when you started. It’s luxurious and quick, but if you have someone to drive for you, the saloon is more spacious in the back
wowscore
9/10
This score is awarded by our team of expert reviewers after extensive testing of the car
What's good
- Extremely comfortable
- Effortless performance
- Surprisingly energetic in corners
What's not so good
- You can't stretch out in the back
- Alternatives are more opulent
- S65 makes no sense
Find out more about the Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe (2014-2021)
Is the Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe (2014-2021) a good car?
The Mercedes S-Class Coupe is based on the S-Class saloon but it has two doors, quite a lot less rear legroom and offers a slightly more energetic drive.
It’s been on sale since 2014 and was facelifted in 2018. Changes included a new Panamerica-style grille – with vertical rungs instead of horizontal ones – revised infotainment screens, a sporty steering wheel and new self-drive tech.
The bigger screens are the most obvious change when you first get sat behind the wheel, they sit proud of the dashboard and blend seamlessly together rather than being separated as they were before. Their graphics are beautifully detailed and make following the sat-nav easy.
The screens can be controlled via touch-sensitive buttons on the steering wheel or via voice commands. Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are also fitted as standard.
The only conventional buttons you’ll see are metal and sit in a row under the air vents – pretty much everything else is covered in leather and your choice of wood, metal or carbon fibre trims. But, while it definitely feels special, the Mercedes’ interior is still some way off the opulent cabin you’ll find in the Bentley Continental GT.
You won’t be complaining about comfort though, because the Mercedes’ heavily padded front seats feel more like lounge chairs – but only if your lounge chairs have heating, cooling and massage functions.
Unfortunately, your back seat passengers will feel a little more ‘cosy’. Just getting in means squeezing them behind the huge front seats and, once in, they’ll feel tight for head and legroom. At least the boot has space for everyone’s luggage for a week away and is noticeably bigger than you get in the Continental GT.
An expensive trip to the options list isn’t even an essential because the S-Class Coupe comes with a panoramic glass roof, air suspension, keyless entry, a Burmester stereo, ambient lighting and wireless phone charging as standard.
In its softest suspension setting the S-Class Coupe feels a bit like driving down the motorway on a bouncy castle
The engine range kicks off with the S560 with a 469hp 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8, which can sweep the big coupe from 0-62mph in 4.6 seconds – likely to be more than adequate for your needs – and easily return 30mpg cruising on the motorway.
If you’re looking for something with a little more punch choose the thundering Mercedes-AMG S63. Its 4.0-litre V8 is tuned to produce a staggering 612hp, getting the Coupe from 0-62mph in just 4.2 seconds producing a cacophony of pops and bangs from the exhaust as it does it. It is most definitely the enthusiast’s choice and looks like a bargain next to the significantly more expensive, 630hp S65 V12.
Whichever model you choose, the Mercedes is most at home on fast A-roads and the motorway. Its colossal power makes overtaking easy and even in its stiffest setting, the air suspension is comfortable at speed. Things unravel a little on tighter roads where the Coupe feels like a big car and isn’t particularly easy to place on the road. That said, considering its 2.2 tonnes it suffers from very little body lean and it’s powerful brakes always feel up to the job of stopping it.
If you’re in the market for a fast and comfortable GT car then the Mercedes S-Class Coupe makes a lot of sense – it’s more engaging than a Bentley Continental GT and makes the fit and finish in the Aston Martin DB11 look decidedly average. It’s most obvious selling point is, however, that it’s much cheaper than both.
How practical is it?
The Mercedes S-Class Coupe’s front seats are an extremely luxurious place to sit, but space for your rear passengers’ feet is tight and alternatives have more practical boots
You’d be forgiven for thinking the Mercedes S-Class Coupe’s back seats would be little more than sumptuous leather-clad coffins. Thankfully, they’re spacious enough for adults…
Boot (seats up)
400 litres
Boot (seats down)
-
Despite its low roof, there’s ample space in the front of the Mercedes S-Class Coupe. You won’t have any trouble getting comfortable if you’re very tall – even in cars with the optional panoramic glass roof – and every model comes with electric seat adjustment as standard.
There’s also four-way lumbar adjustment to help prevent backache on long drives and a memory function for the seat that helps you find your preferred settings if someone else has fiddled with them.
Pay extra for the Premium Plus equipment pack and you also get a range of massage functions for the front seats. Unfortunately, most of the pre-programmed massages feel like you’re being nudged in the back by an irate passenger – not particularly relaxing, then.
The Mercedes S-Class Coupe’s front seats slide forward automatically when you fold them forward which helps make it reasonably easy to climb into the back. Surprisingly, there’s just enough head- and legroom for two six-foot-tall passengers to get fairly comfortable but there’s very little space under the front seats for them to put their feet.
The seats themselves are soft and supportive, and your passengers won’t feel too claustrophobic thanks to the S-Class Coupe’s relatively large windows.
It’s relatively easy to lift in a large child seat through the Mercedes S-Class Coupe’s wide-opening doors, but you’ll have to be careful not to snag any of the soft leather trim as you manoeuvre it in. The Isofix anchor points are hidden behind a padded cushion which makes them hard to access and you’ll have to stoop down to strap in a child if you’re quite tall.
The Mercedes S-Class Coupe’s cabin isn’t the biggest around, but it comes with enough handy cubby holes to help you keep it looking tidy. The front door bins are wide enough to hold a 1.0-litre bottle each and there’s space under a lid in the centre console for a pair of large coffee cups.
The glovebox is reasonably deep and there’s plenty of space under the large two-way opening front armrest for a few bulky valuables. There’s a small tray in the back that’s large enough to hold a phone and two extra cupholders built into the rear armrest.
The Mercedes S-Class Coupe’s 400-litre boot is significantly larger than the Bentley Continental GT’s load bay, but it can’t quite match the space served up by the BMW 8 Series.
There’s space inside for a set of golf clubs and some soft bags, but there’s a large load lip that makes lifting heavy items in rather tricky. At least the boot opening is wide and square, so long luggage won’t snag as you lift it in and out.
There are a few tether points dotted around the boot so you can secure smaller items, but there isn’t any usable load space under the floor. You don’t get a ski hatch between the back seats to help you carry very long luggage, either, and the back seats don’t fold forwards like in the BMW 8 Series.
What's it like inside?
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
Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe (2014-2021) colours
- Designo magno - Selenite grey
- Free
- Metallic - Anthracite blue
- Free
- Metallic - Cavansite blue
- Free
- Metallic - Diamond silver
- Free
- Metallic - Emerald green
- Free
- Metallic - Graphite grey
- Free
- Metallic - High tech silver
- Free
- Metallic - Iridium silver
- Free
- Metallic - Magnetite black
- Free
- Metallic - Obsidian black
- Free
- Metallic - Ruby black
- Free
- Metallic - Selenite Grey
- Free
- Special metallic - Diamond white
- From £760
- Designo metallic - Diamond white
- From £795
- Designo metallic - Mocha Black
- From £3,130
- Designo Magno - Allanite grey
- From £3,650
- Designo Magno - Cashmere white
- From £3,650
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