2027 Mercedes-Benz S-Class Priced for Australia: S450 From $264,200, V8 S580L Holds at $353,900

Image credit: Mercedes-Benz Australia. Current S-Class W223 shown; the 2027 facelift carries the same silhouette with the redesigned grille, Digital Light headlights and updated tail-light graphics detailed below.

If you had a six-cylinder Australian luxury flagship on the shortlist for the next tax year, that shortlist just shifted. Mercedes-Benz Australia has opened order books on the facelifted 2027 S-Class ahead of a November 2026 delivery window, and the pricing sheet does two interesting things. The six-cylinder S450 lands at $264,200 before on-road costs, roughly $13,700 under the equivalent updated BMW 740, while the V8 S580L holds its outgoing $353,900 sticker despite gaining a completely new engine and a four-second flat 0 to 100 time. Two very different value stories in one car, and neither of them reads the way most facelift press releases usually do.

Australian Pricing

Order books are open through Mercedes-Benz Australia retailers now. Delivery windows are quoted as November 2026 for both the S450 and the S580 L. The refreshed Maybach S-Class is confirmed for the first half of 2027 with Maybach RRP still to come. Sixty per cent of what walks into the dealer as an S-Class after that date will look identical to the outgoing car in silhouette, but Mercedes says roughly 2,700 components across the platform are either new, updated or refined, so the shopping list underneath the paint is genuinely different.

Powertrains

The S450 stays with the M256 3.0-litre turbocharged inline six, but the calibration is fresh. Mercedes has re-worked the fuel injection strategy and raised the compression ratio, then paired it with an updated 48V integrated starter-generator. Continuous output climbs to 280kW, with peak torque at 560Nm rising to 600Nm on overboost. The claimed 0 to 100km/h time is 4.9 seconds, a tenth of a second down on the outgoing car. Transmission is the same 9G-Tronic nine-speed auto and drive still goes to all four wheels through 4MATIC.

The V8 story is more substantial. The S580 L drops in Mercedes-AMG's new-generation M177 Evo twin-turbo 4.0-litre with a flat-plane crankshaft, a revised injection system and a stack of internal changes. Output moves from 370kW/700Nm to 395kW and 750Nm, with 0 to 100 falling from 4.4 seconds to a flat 4.0 seconds. Both models keep the 48V mild-hybrid layer, rear-axle steering as standard and adaptive air suspension with adaptive damping.

Full Specs Table

What Has Actually Changed

Exterior-wise, the giveaway is the grille. It is about 20 per cent larger than before, framed by an illuminated surround, and the three-dimensional Mercedes stars sit on a redesigned pattern. Digital Light LED headlights are new, with a high-resolution illumination field Mercedes claims is roughly 40 per cent bigger than the outgoing units and beam projection out to 600 metres on high beam. The tail-light graphics have been redrawn, and the boot lid is subtly re-sculpted around them.

Australian-market cars pick up the AMG Line exterior package as standard, which brings gloss black and satin chrome accents, plus 20-inch AMG alloys finished in Himalaya grey. That AMG Line grade separation is a real trim-cost that is now bundled into the sticker rather than sitting on the options list, which is worth remembering when comparing headline RRPs against the pre-facelift car.

Interior and Tech

Inside, the big change is the software layer. The 2027 S-Class runs the new Mercedes-Benz Operating System (MB.OS), positioned as an integrated supercomputer that also handles ADAS, infotainment, comfort and drivetrain. Sitting on top of that is the latest MBUX generation, now with the MBUX Superscreen as standard across both the S450 and S580 L. Digital vent control is new, and heated front seatbelts appear on the options list for the first time.

Image credit: Mercedes-Benz Australia. Current W223 S-Class shown; the facelifted 2027 car keeps this silhouette and dimensions, with revised lighting, wheels and cabin software.

Standard kit runs long. Both grades get the panoramic sliding sunroof, four-zone climate control, front massage seats with heating and ventilation, KEYLESS-GO with fingerprint recognition, digital rear-view mirror, head-up display and a Burmester 3D surround sound system. Rear-seat comfort is the S-Class hallmark and the S580 L keeps the executive rear package with reclining rear seats and a rear tablet controller as standard. If you want the true "chairman package" theatre, the S450's Comfort Plus package at $13,900 layers in a boot cool box, MBUX rear tablet and additional rear ambient lighting.

Options Worth Knowing About

The one to think hard about is E-Active Body Control. On the outgoing car it dramatically flattened cornering and pre-loaded suspension over speed humps using the stereo camera, and it is now bundled with the Rear Comfort package. At $17,100 it is not cheap, but on a car that spends most of its life in the back seat, it is the option that most reliably impresses rear passengers.

Safety

The current W223 S-Class has never been assessed by ANCAP, and the facelift does not change that. There is no independent Australian crash score to point at. What Mercedes does fit as standard covers nine airbags including a rear centre airbag and front-centre airbag, PRE-SAFE Impulse Side, autonomous emergency braking with intersection turn assist, adaptive cruise with active lane change assist, blind spot assist, active steering assist, evasive steering assist, active brake assist with cross-traffic function, and a full 360-degree camera. Digital Light headlights carry the projected road symbol functions where legislation allows them.

How It Compares

Cross-shopping this segment usually comes down to two cars, and now three. The most direct petrol rival is the updated 2027 BMW 740 at $277,900 before on-roads with its mild-hybrid inline six, sitting $13,700 above the S450. BMW's spec sheet is competitive on power and torque, but the S450 undercuts on RRP and matches on drivetrain layout (48V ISG, nine-speed, AWD). If it is a badge-versus-badge choice at $270k-plus, Mercedes has just moved the entry point down.

On the CarSorted BMW i7 xDrive60 page you can see the electric flagship holds at $306,900 with 727km of Gen6 WLTP range. That car aims at a different buyer entirely. There is no electric S-Class today in this bodyshell; the closest Mercedes plays are the EQS Sedan and, on the SUV side, the EQS SUV. Cross-shopping is really a values question: mild-hybrid V6/V8 refinement (S-Class) versus one-pedal EV silence and 727km of range (i7). Both sides of that argument are now well over $260k in Australia, so there is no obvious value winner between them.

For V8 buyers specifically, the S580 L at $353,900 has almost no like-for-like petrol rival. The BMW M760e is no longer sold locally, the Audi A8 has been discontinued, and the Genesis G90 3.5T is more of an outlier at $109,000. Anyone specifically wanting a naturally credible twin-turbo V8 luxury sedan in Australia in 2026 is effectively looking at the S580 L or nothing.

Warranty and Servicing

Mercedes-Benz Australia backs the S-Class with a five-year, unlimited-km warranty and 24/7 roadside assistance across the same window. High-voltage components in the 48V mild-hybrid system carry the same five-year cover. Capped-price servicing is available on a three- or four-year plan, with pricing set by dealer, and the recommended interval is 12 months or 25,000km.

What This Means for Buyers

There are two ways to read this pricing sheet, and the answer depends on which end of the range you were already leaning towards.

On the S450 end, the maths just shifted in Mercedes' favour. At $264,200 before on-roads it is $13,700 cheaper than the updated BMW 740 for a directly comparable powertrain layout. Both are LCT territory, both are well over the $91,387 fuel-efficient LCT threshold, and both attract full LCT plus stamp duty in most states, so the on-road walk is significant either way. That $13,700 differential does not sound like much on a $264k car, but on the way it flows through into LCT (33 per cent on the amount above the threshold) it works out to roughly a $4,570 saving in tax on top of the sticker gap. If S-Class and 7 Series are genuinely on your shortlist and you do not care about the badge above the grille, the S450 is the value pick this update.

On the S580 L end, the story is different. Mercedes has left the sticker at $353,900 while adding 25kW, 50Nm, a completely new flat-plane V8 and dropping 0.4 seconds off the 0 to 100 time. On a car this expensive, a static RRP with a materially better drivetrain is genuinely rare. It also matters because there is almost no petrol V8 competition left in this bracket in Australia. If the V8 was the reason the S-Class was on your list, the case for waiting for November is stronger now than it was a month ago.

The one caveat sits outside pricing. The current W223 has never carried an ANCAP score, and the facelift does not add one. On a car with nine airbags and the full active-safety pack, that is a technicality rather than a red flag, but if you weight independent star ratings in your buying decision, the S-Class is one of the few flagships in the segment where you cannot point at a number. Compare it directly with the CarSorted comparison tool against a five-star 7 Series if that matters to you.

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