2018 Mercedes-Benz S-Class Inches Closer to Fully Driving Itself

The 2018 Mercedes-Benz S-Class, which will debut later this month at the 2017 Shanghai Motor Show, will automatically slow itself for corners and intersections, the automaker has revealed.

The S-Class will use its map and navigation data to identify upcoming junctions, turns or highway entry and exit ramps, for example, and adjust its speed accordingly. The full-size sedan will also leverage its enhanced camera and radar systems to properly slow itself. The driver will still need to make steering inputs, but the vehicle will self-adjust its speed, braking and accelerating out of turns as needed.

In addition to the new driver assistance function, the 2018 S-Class will also feature Active Lane Change Assist, which will enable it to autonomously switch lanes at speed between 50 and 112 mph. Mercedes’ Active Distance Assist system will also make it easy for the driver to maintain a safe gap from the traffic in front and will work in unison with Active Steering Assist to ensure the driver stays within the lane safely.

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Other technologically advanced safety features to be offered on the new S-Class include Active Speed Limit Assist, which informs the driver of the current speed limit using navigation data, Active Emergency Stop Assist and Evasive Steering Assist. Mercedes’ ‘Car-to-X Communication’, which debuted on the 2017 E-Class and informs the driver of hazards on the road detected by other vehicles with the system, will also be present.

“The new S-Class raises Mercedes-Benz Intelligent Drive to the next level,” said the head of automated driving at Mercedes-Benz, Dr Michael Hafner. “We are approaching the goal of automated driving more purposefully and faster than many people suspect. From the autumn, the new S‑Class will be able to support its driver considerably better than all systems which have been available to date.”

More information on the 2018 Mercedes-Benz S-Class and its host of active safety systems will become available following its debut in Shanghai on April 19th.