AMGshaks

Hi,

Decided to place an order for 2020 S560. not sure between 4matic and Magic Body Control. I live in southern California so not sure how much would need the 4matic! I heard 4matic gives you a better ride quality and stability. Please share your opinion? which one would you pick?

SteveVukelich

I have owned both. I live in an area of the country that gets some snow and ice, and I found that 4matic traction on my 2018 560 is excellent. I owned a 2014 550 with MBC and was underwhelmed for the cost; it missed at least half of the bumps and to me was not worth the cost. There may have been an improvement since the 2014 model year, but when I ordered my 2020 560 I again selected a 4matic. Leaning into curves probably would have some, albeit brief, impact on ride comfort (unless you always ride on curvy roads).

whoover

It really sucks that MB never developed an MBC that would work with 4matic. They would be fantastic together. AWD makes the car much more secure feeling in the wet and keeps all the engine's power on the road. In other words, 4matic is probably the choice for extracting the ultimate performance from the car. With my current E63S, it's lots of fun to be able to floor it under any circumstances and not have the 600+ hp cause a wheel to slip.

MBC is the ultimate suspension for comfort. It is like noise-cancelling headphones for road imperfections; it senses them and applies opposing motion to cancel them. It does a great job at limiting body roll in these heavy cars. I had an S65 and the active hydraulic suspension seemed to tame the front-heavy understeer and roll beyond what the laws of physics would allow, as well as providing an amazingly comfortable ride.

So I'd say if you want to push the car and performance is most important, go for 4matic; if you want the ultimate large-Mercedes sedan experience in terms of comfortable ride with still reasonable handling, go with MBC. It's a damn shame you can't have them both.

JohnDoeMB

To add to this, MBC works under only the most perfect conditions. If the bump in the road is "non visible" to the camera (variations of matte and shiny) nothing will happen, additionally if there is inclement weather (rain or snow) it will not work. Also the system is not always on, your foot has to be on the accelerator and must be actively accelerating.

If they opted to use lidar cameras they could solve half of these issues, but alas we are with stereoscopic cameras instead.

whoover

That's a misconception. The camera scanning for upcoming bumps is an ADDITIONAL input to the system, added when they changed the name from Active Body Control to Magic Body Control. But 90+% of the system's input is real-time body motion. As the car begins to react to a road force, within milliseconds the hydraulic struts respond with opposing force. It's a feedback mechanism that is quite like that of a noise-cancelling headphone. The camera scan is to allow dealing with major imperfections, like speed bumps, that are too great to deal with post-sensing. But for normal road imperfections, body movements during curves, etc., the basic sensor feedback system does all the work. I had a W220 S65 with pre-camera ABC, and it was quite effective. I considered the addition of the pre-scan camera largely a gimmick.

JohnDoeMB

I see, thanks for clarifying! I did not realize that... Unfortunately the camera doesn't work always but apparently that is only the tip of the iceburg.

Thanks!

bkdc

It exists on the new GLE and GLS.

The experience of running over a large speed bump at 35 mph with MBC is amazing. You feel the initial bump and then when you expect the cabin to bob up and down, it stays completely level.

I'm very excited to see the new advancements in the W223, but I'm almost certain my next car will be electric so I expect a lot from the EQS in two years. More luxurious than Tesla is the expectation. It would be nice if were designed for unlimited updates as a Tesla but I doubt the big automakers will do this and shoot themselves in the feet regarding future sales/upgrades.

whoover

E-Active Body Control on the GLE and GLS is based on AirMatic, not the purely hydraulic MBC suspension. But it does use some of the ABC/MBC technology so it has promise. It's optimized for these SUV chassis, with the ability to rock out of sand, for instance, so I'm not sure that it will be as effective on the big sedans as the fully active hydraulic suspensions, but I also have hope.

Chucky3000

Never could understand it either. The A8 now has it - and the 7 series has had it for years - both systems.

Chucky3000

You mean that Bouncing thingy? E-ACTIVE BODY CONTROL Package $8,100

amir1

I too live in Southern California and ordered my 2020 S560 with magic body control. I have never needed 4matic and will benefit from MBC every second i'm driving while only benefit from 4 matic in inclement weather (which we don't have) or when pushing the car aggressively. (Rarely)

bkdc

https://mbworld.org/articles/2020-me...e-party-trick/

Try the video at about 4:10

Heisenberg

Airmatic/4MATIC: more comfortable ride, better traction in bad weather, quicker acceleration to 60mph, more reliable and less costly to repair out of warranty; poor handling with excessive body roll, slower acceleration past 60mph, no donuts/burnouts/driftng (except on AMGs with drift mode e.g. E63S/GT63S)

MBC/RWD: superior handling with minimal body roll, faster acceleration past 60 mph, donuts/burnouts/drifting possible; less comfortable ride, limited traction in bad weather, slower acceleration to 60mph; less reliable and more costly to repair out of warranty

Basically, for a sedan to be used on the street, Airmatic/4MATIC makes more sense as it is more comfortable and will accelerate quicker. For a coupe taken to the track or used for pleasure drives on curvy roads in good weather, MBC/RWD as it handles better and accelerates faster once traction is achieved. Both suffer in terms of reliability compared to springs but Airmatic is simpler with fewer things to break/leak, and will be cheaper to maintain and fix over the long haul.

bkdc

If you take turns in a spirited manner, get the MBC. . The lack of body roll when taking corner at speed puts a grin on my face. I have yet to hear horror stories second-generation active-body control (MBC) systems breaking down. It costs 160 dollars in Pentosin CHF11 fluid, a 30 dollar filter, and the 140 dollar AGA Mercedes flush tool to perform the hydraulic fluid change at home. I did mine at 50K and the fluid looked cloudy grey but I really only saw one 2mm particle come out of the system with the flush. I’m a little overkill with my service schedule, and I do transmission, rear diff, coolant at 50K intervals (add MBC suspension to this on the S class). If you plan on keeping your car forever, the air suspension system makes more sense as it is easy to service/repair even for DIY folks.

Quietride

Most comments praise the additional comfort of MBC. Curious why you found it to be less comfortable?

JohnLane

MBC is not just for a supple ride... it is for those of us who are savages and actually DRIVE our cars. Near zero body roll, it makes the car seemingly a physics cheat... You’d never think that a 5000 lb car can do that... and it does so with aplomb whilst never putting a wheel wrong... so long as the driver points it in the right direction. Lol.

Get one with MBC and Carbon Ceramic Brakes. You will love it.

S_W222

I agree with both of you. I've been searching non-stop for literally 10-12 months to find the exact spec's and options I need on a single vehicle, until I found one. Got the chance to test drive over 25 vehicles, with periods ranging from 15/30 min drive to an entire afternoon, several of them had MBC. I also posted here and on other forums several times asking same questions during that process.

I would go with 4-Matic if subtle normal driving comfort while cruising around or on a road trip is your goal. For driving the S-class like a true AMG vehicle or like a sport car on curves, MBC has an advantage. Keep in mind that during normal driving conditions, MBC barely works or is active. Most owners who have had both, are disappointed by the MBC as it does not offer what it promises to offer for gentle soft family-like driving. 4Matics offers more in snow/winter, and sells faster in most states.

Quenthel

Disclaimer: I haven't tried or even been in an MBC or ABC vehicle. That said, for my use cases for the car it would make more sense to go for an MBC version, probably: I don't drive often in difficult conditions and the S is not exactly an off-road vehicle. On the other hand, 4MATIC got me out of a dangerous situation (icy road) and I've learnt to appreciate what it offers, even if the ride suffers a bit.

Pros:
Faster acceleration
AWD can get you out of sticky situations
Cheaper to maintain
Easier to find used vehicles (at least where I am)

Cons:
Not as smooth
Higher fuel consumption


MB ought to combine 4MATIC and MBC. It's not like it hasn't been done already by other companies, is it?

S_W222

I don't know if it is similar, but I have two BMWs with the (Dynamic Handling Package, DHP) combined with the X-Drive, which I think is kinda similar though not the same as MBenz MBC and 4-Matic. It works like a dream on my BMW SUVs, am sure maybe MBC is better, but still BMW has something similar while combining AWD with adaptive suspension yet combined with rear wheel steering!. I would say MBenz is behind on that end really.

chassis

For clarity:

4MATIC is a drivetrain (all wheel drive) system

MBC is a suspension system.

The two systems share no hardware and share no functionalities.

Combining the systems would be done with the stroke of a marketer’s pen, to put them into a “package”.

Quietride

I understand the performance benefits of MBC, that's pretty clear. But since I'm looking at the S-Class as a luxury cruiser that's less important. I know from experience that the standard vehicle can securely cruise in the 90 mph range on the roads that I drive.

It's surprising to hear that it's less smooth, when so many comments liken it to "ANC for road surfaces."

Does it not neutralize bumps and uneven roads? What is the effect over potholes? Positive or negative effect on road/reverberating impact noise? In my area we have few potholes, but patchy and uneven surfaces everywhere, which makes for a jittery ride in most cars.

If MBC really doesn't improve comfort that makes my search considerably easier!

chassis

All optional suspension systems are claimed to improve comfort, as long as we are talking about sedans like the S-Class and comfort-oriented SUVs like the GLE and GLS non-AMG versions.

MBC uses cameras to anticipate bumps and uses hydraulic actuators on top of steel coil springs to manage wheel forces into the vehicle body. MBC also has an anti-roll function.

Airmatic, ABC and E-ABC use air springs, with or without additional hydraulic or pneumatic force-generating devices. In the end they are air suspensions.

MBC is not air suspension.

There have been genealogies written of past Mercedes suspensions on this site. Need to search for them.

MBNUT1

One could infer from your post that the MBC does not offer better ride quality but I just read another post that the poster selected MBC for just that reason. Now having said that there are different aspects to perceived ride quality. For example the Airmatic could give a softer ride but poorer body control which results in things like head toss that some people find objectionable.

joeshannon095

On the W222 MBC is ABC with a camera that can anticipate the road ahead and react ahead of time. It is an active suspension system, one of the only available on the market. I had a 2012 S550 with airmatic and I currently have a 2007 CL600 with ABC. Cost aside, I prefer ABC. I found ride quality comparable (wheel size and tire selection will have a bigger impact on ride quality), but ABC provides an extra layer of connection to the road that air ride cars don't. There' still a layer of butter between the inputs and the driver, but I feel more in control in an ABC equipped car. Once I learned more about it I began to notice the lack of pitch, dive, and body roll when driving. It has an almost magic carpet effect (McLaren has a similar setup in the 720s and that's how journalists have described it). It also feels more composed at higher speeds. Most won't know or care. I've been with at a Mercedes dealer for five years and I have yet to have a customer inquire about ABC, MBC, or E-ABC. Shame because they are amazing systems.

Quietride

Fascinating that nobody every asked about MBC/E-ABC. This seems like one of the most compelling features of the car.

Comfort is to some degree subjective. I need to experience this. Is e-ABC on the W223 comparable to MBC on the W222?