Mercedes has always been at the frontline of innovation in the automobile industry by introducing features that ultimately become industry standards in the future. The new 2022 Mercedes S-Class is no exception. It sets a new benchmark in terms of technological prowess among luxury cars.
It will come with an augmented reality head-up display, an intelligent AI voice assistant, up to five screens, and advanced driver assists that can foresee and prevent accidents, thereby, saving tons of human lives.
Enhanced safety has been a principal heritage of the automaker ever since the Mercedes S-Class debuted as the first production car with a driver airbag and seatbelt tensioner in 1980.
Even though the first airbag was invented by Walter Linderer in the 1950s, the one that you got in a Mercedes was miles ahead in terms of functionality. It was built in collaboration with Bosch and could inflate within milliseconds of being activated by sensors that detect sudden deceleration such as braking during a severe head-on collision.
Along with the airbag, the seatbelt tensioner was also introduced for the S-Class that year. By 1984, both of these innovations turned into standard equipment for the front seats of all Mercedes-Benz passenger cars.
To eliminate the slack between the passenger’s upper body and the seatbelt, a propellant charge is fired to tighten the seat’s three-point seatbelt upon being activated by the sensors to secure both the driver and front passenger firmly in the seat.
The innovation on this platform continued with Mercedes introducing belt force limiters in 1995 and an electronic seat belt tensioner in 2002 to loosen the seat belt at the time of a collision.
The driver airbag became a standard safety feature in all Mercedes models by 1992. And by 1994, all Mercedes cars were equipped with a passenger airbag too.
Mercedes has introduced several other additions to the feature since then. Adding a side-bag to the 210 model series E-Class, a window airbag in 1998, and a knee airbag in 2009 among the rest have reinforced the safety features in all its cars.
The new S-Class will sport frontal airbags for rear passengers carrying the legacy of developing new safety technology forward. These are designed to limit the load on the head and neck of passengers restrained by seat belts in the rear seats.
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