I think MB or MBUSA have lost it by only offering the 4MATIC AWD system and not the basic RWD. Unless you live in a place with snowy winters and hills there is no need for any AWD. A RWD system is lighter, less moving parts, better gas mileage and lower price. Also, I suspect that front wheel steering angle could be better on cars that don't have FWD. I have owned about 23 cars and never needed or wanted one with AWD. To me, lack of the basic RWD system is one of the things that makes the new S-Class less desirable, just like any other car that offers only AWD.

 

I used to feel exactly the same until I owned two MB's with 4matic. It doesn't snow here, but the 4matic is just incredible in the rain, and also with fast starts from a stop or quickly turning into traffic...no wheel slip to slow you down. Try it, you'll like it!

 

Never had any problems with RWD.

 

Agree with the above post. It will definitely depend on how spirited your driving style is and terrain/roads you drive on. In the northeast I'm nearly certain my e63 woulda ended up in a ditch the way I drive on some the dirt/gravel, sometimes hilly roads. The 4matic seems well suited to these less than ideal driving circumstances.

 

Most buyers for the S-Class (and new cars in general) want AWD, offering a RWD model on a big boat like this would have only catered to a small few.

 

Why? Guess they have no idea about driving dynamics and friction circles, etc. Were there ever any F1 race cars with AWD? When we lived in the PNW most of the cars in the ditches during the winter snow were AWD. You can get the car moving faster with AWD, but on a slick road it does not stop any better.

 

I'm not sure driving dynamics, friction circles, or F1 is in the mind of most S-Class buyers. Most modern car buyers simply like the piece of mind that AWD provides and the idea that it will help them even if they barely drive the car in certain circumstances (rain, snow, etc.), or even if there are stronger benefits to RWD or the use of winter tires. Its very difficult to convince a customer out of AWD, most customers find it a necessity for their purchase. Even Porsche (a car you would buy for driving dynamics) only offer RWD on the most base version of the Panamera with the remaining 10+ trims only offering AWD, and the base version of the Panamera represents a small fraction of sales.

The demand for RWD on this type of vehicle is just not strong enough for MBUSA to make a business case compared to other markets. Areas such as weight for this car, are not exactly light regardless of 4Matic or RWD, nor important to this class of buyers, and modern AWD systems don't suffer much on MPG when compared to older vehicles, with most models losing maybe 1 or 2MPG to 4Matic, and the new S500 is much more efficient than the outgoing S450 anyways (I can get 30 MPG in my CLS53 which uses the same powertrain, and got around 27MPG in my boss' V8 S580 during a road trip with my heavy foot). As for price, this is an S-Class, I'm not sure losing $2,000 to the already higher six-figure price would have added much appeal, especially when most dealers are marking these cars up anyways.

Trust me, I also prefer RWD, but only really on vehicles in which driving dynamics and weight/balance are more important, such as an AMG GT or an M3. There are some other RWD-only MB's available such as the EQS450 and CLS450 or BMW will also sell you a 740i, and Porsche a base V6 Panamera if RWD-only is a must.

 

Awd systems have gotten a lot more efficient and reliable the past few years. Imo there are more pros than cons when compared to a 2wd vehicle.

 

True but this depends on personal preferences. In the US fuel consumption is less important than for many of us from Europe. Equally the car price. Fuel consumption is mostly important because of the yearly tax that is heavily dependent on the CO2 figure for us. And we have a pretty real winter, at least long.

The wife used to have a AWD Mercedes. Nice but a MY2009 C-class had worse mileage than my RWD W222, even the W221 was better. I'm going for the RWD 223, the only RWD model available for us currently.

 

Yeah, same people who put 'high performance tires' on the S-Class and then drive at 30 mph.

 

No one ever had a problem with crank up windows but that doesn't mean people shouldn't prefer power windows.
After years of driving RWD cars I went with an BMW 550ix and haven't looked back since. The added traction in all conditions is unmistakable. Maybe from a purest point of view RWD is more engaging and difficult to get everything just right but for an S class buyer AWD is better in almost every possible way.

 

From what I understand, they were planning on making a RWD version available when the AMGs are. For example the 2014 S Class was 4Matic only, and 2015 introduced the AMG and RWD and some new features. Same with the GLE, same with a bunch of them. But because if the chip shortage it’s been delayed or canceled for now. I may be wrong but that’s the sense I got.

 

I quickly scanned the website of an MB dealer in Germany. Looks like the diesel engine S-Class is available with RWD and AWD. The others are AWD only.

 

The best S-Class I ever owned was a W222 with RWD and Magic Body Control/ABC suspension.

You certainly feel the weight of the AWD, especially at take off from a stop, but overall it is the better configuration to have because of the stability and traction- just not as enjoyable to drive.

 

No, the 580e is currently RWD only! An AWD coming. For some reason the e-model is not listed currently, can be found from our price list, cannot remember if it is the same with the German site.

 

I do prefer power windows. I would enjoy driving an AWD S-class, just too expensive and not available for the "e" at the time of order.

 

It's driving me crazy that AWD and 4wd.are getting misused lol

 

Sorry, I though everyone can see I'm not native English speaking and accepts mistakes, after all I can do much bigger mistakes. Even my dictionary does not help here.

EDIT: google says: "Four-wheel drive is used as a description of vehicles that are more inclined to be used for actual off-roading. Many, but not all, 4WD vehicles have a centre differential that helps divide the power and torque between the front and rear axle." The S-class must be inclined for off-roading then as it comes with a centre differential.

The G-class must have All-Matic then if the S-cass has 4-Matic.

 

Just be happy nobody is calling the S-class a 4x4!

 

Never say nobody!

 

Is it wrong that I think that looks awesome?

 

over time, somebody WILL do this!!

 

This thing is a boat; get rid of the all-wheel and it's a boat with less traction. I feel you on the driving dynamics part of it but as a Porsche fanboy coming from Porsche I can say for sure that rear-wheel drive will not make this anything close to a car that's actually fun to drive.

The ol it's the four-wheel drive trucks in the ditch thing isn't a seller. It's a combination of those who simply didn't know better, idiots, and those who wouldn't have even tried without 4 wheel but needed to go and found hope to be a bad strategy that end up in a ditch. When you think about it, it's the same 2-wheel drive operators that end up in the ditch, they just didn't make it as far on average. Ignorance, idiocy, and pushing questionable driving conditions will do you in no matter what you drive.

 

Does that look like going hiking with hiking boots but wearing a tux?

 

The bottom line on this is that 4-Matic, along with a bunch of other features—the ugly Panorama Roof comes to mind—should be OPTIONAL! If someone wants to place a special order, they should be able to check the boxes they want and leave others empty. I would definitely not have ordered 4-Matic, or the Panorama Roof, OR the big brakes, which would have allowed me to order 18” wheels. I would have been able to order the 10 Degree Rear Axle Steering, without all those heavy, expensive, rear seat options that I never use.

True luxury is having something exactly the way YOU want it, not how some bean counter decides you SHOULD have it.