New Mercedes S-Class Will Offer World-First Protection For Rear-Seat Passengers

TheMercedes-Benz S-Classis simply the best. As good as BMW's7 Seriesand Audi'sA8may be, the S-Class is the undisputed king of luxury and innovation, year in and year out. Night-vision cameras? The S-Class had them long ago. Suspension that can predict how to behave to minimize cabin disturbances? Old hat.

Now the 2021 S-Class is breaking new ground once again by becoming the first car in the world to offer frontal airbags for rear-seat passengers. This isn't as simple as it sounds, since child seats go in the back too, but the new safety feature from Merc can adapt to this irregularity, too, by deploying the airbags in a way that protects kids as much as adults.

This new offering will also be accompanied by a clever inflatable seatbelt that acts as a supplementary airbag. We've already been blown away by the new model'sstunning infotainment system, but Mercedes continues to impress us with its new flagship. Beyond frontal rear-seat airbags, the latest S-Class will also feature PRE-SAFE Impulse Side tech, which uses radar sensors to detect imminent side impacts. This then tells the air cushions in the seats to shift occupants away from the impact, but now there's a new facet to the safety system. In the 2021 S-Class, E-ACTIVE BODY CONTROL suspension also diverts impact through the car's stiffest structures, thus maximizing safety.