NEW YORK, Oct. 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- From cutting-edge technology and innovative design to performance and fuel efficiency, today’s car buyers have more to consider than ever before.
Each year, MotorTrend puts the latest vehicles to the test to determine which one truly stands above the rest. Its coveted Car of the Year award recognizes the vehicle that best delivers on six key criteria: engineering excellence, advancement in design, efficiency, safety, value and performance of intended function. Now the results are in.
Recently, Head of Editorial at MotorTrend Ed Loh participated in a nationwide satellite media tour to reveal this year’s winner and discuss what made it stand out from the competition. Here’s what he had to say:
What is MotorTrend’s 2027 Car of the Year?
Ed Loh: We’re proud to announce that MotorTrend’s 2027 Car of the Year is the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. It’s absolutely a technological and luxury tour de force, with an all-new 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 engine. V8s are back! It sounds like a super sports car, but it’s actually a buttery-smooth luxury car filled with leather, wood and all the technology you’d ever want. It’s just a fantastic vehicle that hit it out of the park on our six key criteria, and that’s why it’s MotorTrend’s 2027 Car of the Year.
What makes this year’s winner stand out from the competition?
Ed Loh: Mercedes-Benz decided to bring back a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 that makes about 553 horsepower in the S 580, and it’s all-wheel drive. It drives like a dream — all the power, all the torque, all the acceleration you really want. But then there’s also a tremendous, very smooth ride. It has an optional active suspension system that actually looks ahead and remembers the roads you drive on, especially if they have bumps, and it can lift the wheel over those bumps so your ride stays super smooth. There’s also a new Mercedes-Benz operating system on board that provides a unique, seamless digital experience, including an AI assistant you can ask all sorts of questions — not just the standard navigation and climate control, but interesting web lookups, too. So it’s that combination of a fantastic drive and high technology, plus everything else you’d expect from Mercedes-Benz.
How does MotorTrend evaluate the contenders each year?
Ed Loh: MotorTrend’s award has six key criteria. We look at value, safety, fuel efficiency, advancement in design, engineering excellence and one criterion we call performance of intended function — basically, how well a vehicle executes its mission. We take every all-new or significantly updated vehicle available on the market out to a proving ground and do all of our testing. Then we take a small group of finalists out into the real world for a couple of days and drive them over [28] miles of city and highway roads — everything you could experience. Then we get in a room, vote and decide our Car of the Year. In this case, that’s the Mercedes-Benz S-Class.
What does this year’s winner tell us about where the car market is headed?
Ed Loh: Mercedes has led the way in bringing technology to the industry. The S-Class has been around for seven generations, and it’s been the flagship where technologies like anti-lock brakes and radar adaptive cruise control debuted — and those are now very common in average consumer cars. In fact, some of the features that debuted on the S-Class, like ABS and other safety technology, are now federally mandated on vehicles sold in the U.S. So it’s kind of like looking into the future. You get to see what’s coming, perhaps to your own driveway.
Where can we go for more information?
Ed Loh: For more on MotorTrend’s 2027 Car of the Year, go to MotorTrend.com.
About Ed Loh
Ed Loh is the Head of Editorial at MotorTrend, where he has shaped the brand’s voice and coverage since joining in 2007. With a career that began in niche automotive media during the rise of the tuner and performance car scene, he quickly rose to editor-in-chief roles before bringing his expertise to one of the most trusted names in the industry. Today, Loh is recognized as a leading authority on car culture, testing, and trends, guiding MotorTrend’s award-winning content across digital, print, and broadcast platforms.
* YourUpdateTV is a property of D S Simon Media. The video included and release was part of a media tour that was produced by D S Simon Media on behalf of MotorTrend
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A video accompanying this announcement is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/66cbd51e-48a6-42d5-bdf3-50fc910f04df
