Driving A Mercedes-Maybach S-Class And Pushing Every Button

• The Mercedes-Maybach S-Class is an ultra-luxury sedan that can cost over $250,000.
• The interior features a refrigerator, folding tables, and touch screens on the backs of both chairs.
• We explored how it sounds and feels to both drive one and be driven.

Narrator: This is the 2022 Mercedes-Maybach S-Class, a four-door ultraluxury sedan for just under $250,000. Despite having 500 horsepower under the hood, it's more satisfying to ride in rather than to be behind the wheel. We got our hands on one with all the gadgets, including a refrigerator, heated massage seats, and more touch screens than an Apple store, to find out what ultraluxury really feels like.

Entering the rear passenger seats, don't waste time shutting the door behind you. A small button on the ceiling does the job. Simultaneously, the seat belt automatically extends forward, making it easier to grab. Inside, you have two seats with pillows for headrests. In place of a middle seat is a center console with a refrigerator and temperature-controlled cup holders. It also contains foldout tables for each seat that can be used for dining or working. Reach into the center console. There is a removable tablet the size of a smartphone that mirrors the rear touch screens that can control multiple functions, including the navigation, massaging seats, surround-sound audio system, and multicolor ambient lighting.

For those looking to fully embrace the relaxation, there's a button on the side of the door that reclines the seat to 43.5 degrees. At the same time, the passenger seat in front of you is moved forward to provide extra legroom and an extendable footrest presents itself to you. Thereafter, raise the rear-window blinds, close the panoramic sunroof, and you'll easily doze off.

Up front in the driver's seat, on top of the optional $3,200 walnut-wood dashboard is a 12.8-inch infotainment display. Here, you can control the same variety of functions found on the rear but also a number specifically for the driver. For rougher roads with bumps and potholes, the touch screen can even be used to raise the car's suspension by an additional 5 centimeters.

Driving the Maybach S-Class is like floating on a cloud. The active air suspension with level control uses automatically adaptive dampers at each wheel to keep the body of the vehicle level no matter the road surface and even in the event of a side collision. The vehicle also has rear-axle steering up to 10 degrees, which makes turning the 18-foot-long, 7-foot-wide, 5,000-pound monster effortless. Perhaps most noticeable, though, is how quiet the interior is while driving. That's because Mercedes does everything to reduce road noise. This includes tires with sound-deadening foam inside, thick laminated glass, and a high-tech sound system that detects and cancels out road noise. No matter which engine you choose, even on the highway, you practically ride in silence.