On-Sale Date: Fall 2013

Price (est.): $95,000

Competitors: Audi A8, BMW 7 Series, Lexus LS, Jaguar XJ, Maserati Quattroporte

Powertrains: twin-turbocharged 4.6-liter V-8; 455 hp, 516 lb-ft; 7-speed automatic; RWD or AWD

EPA Fuel Economy (city/hwy, est.): 15/25

What's New: The 2014 S-Class is smart—really smart. Using a network of cameras, sensors, and radars to see the road and its surroundings, the car can steer, brake, correct lane drifting, prevent a head-on or cross-traffic collision, identify people and wildlife at day or night, parallel park, and do a whole lot more. Sure, other cars have similar features, but no other vehicle has such an extensive suite of technology that works so well.

We especially like the S-Class's new headlights, each sporting 56 separate LEDs that give the new face a dramatic demeanor. (In total, the car has 486 LEDs.) We're also glad Mercedes designers decided to drop the last generation's rear wheel-well bulges for clean sheet metal accented by a simple, arching character line that begins at each headlight and shoots through the rear doors.

The new interior features two giant 12.3-inch screens serving as the instrument cluster and navigation/infotainment system displays. This high-tech dash juxtaposes nicely with the traditional materials in the rest of the cabin: wood trim, supple leather, chrome air vents, and knurled metal window switches. Oh, and let's not forget about the S-Class's most ridiculous new option: the $350 Air Balance Package. Just place a small jar filled with one of four exotic aromas—Nightlife Mood, Sports Mood, Downtown Mood, or Freeside Mood—onto a base in the glovebox (kind of like a Glade Plug-In), and soon the scent wafts through the ventilation system and disperses throughout the car in small enough doses to avoid leaving passengers smelling like a frat boy covered in Axe body spray.

Under the hood is a twin-turbocharged 4.6-liter V-8 that comes paired with a 7-speed automatic transmission, just like in the old model. But according to Mercedes, this new mill gets at least 20 percent better fuel economy. This is partially thanks to the S-Class's greater use of aluminum in its underlying structure—50 percent more than before—and high-strength steel, which combine for almost 200 pounds of weight loss and 50 percent stiffer torsional rigidity.

Tech Tidbit: Three words: Magic Body Control. The S-Class is brimming with technology, but what amazed us most was its predictive suspension system. Using the two onboard stereo cameras, the car reads the road ahead and can adjust the suspension damping, making split-second chassis adjustments to mitigate bumps or potholes. As silly as the name sounds and as skeptical as we were, when the car swallowed a speed bump whole at 18 mph, we were left with one thought: This really is magic. Available only when the car is in comfort mode, the system is fully operational up to 60 mph. Past that, performance reduces to about 50 percent, and the system completely cuts off above 80 mph.

Driving Character: The 14-foot sedan is actually a bit bigger than its predecessor, and we immediately noticed its size as we maneuvered through a crowded hotel parking lot. That said, the car is far from unwieldy or cumbersome. Cruising on highways and back roads outside of Toronto, we found that the twin-turbocharged V-8 promptly delivers a steady stream of power and a seemingly endless supply of torque. And when you jam the gas pedal, just make sure you have the hot-stone massage feature on as your spine sinks into the seatback. Flipping a small switch in the center console toggles the car's air-spring suspension and adjustable damping between comfort and sport modes, the latter delivering a noticeably more rigid personality.

There isn't much to complain about here. Simply put, the new S-Class drives wonderfully.

Favorite Detail: When you first get into the 2014 S-Class, your eyes immediately fall on the two sprawling LCD screens that take up more than half of the dashboard. At first it looks wrong—too empty. But turn on the car and the screens come alive with crisp graphics and an enormous map that will forever ruin every other navigation system for you. Neither screen responds to touch commands, and we like that—it's a gimmicky feature that only increases distraction.

The left steering wheel spoke has controls for the information display in the instrument cluster, and the main screen is controlled via a small knob in the center console. The input system is basically the same as in the old S-Class (and every other Mercedes), but with a few updates. As before, we're big fans of the intuitive menu layout. Along with navigation and media selection, just a few scrolls away are your massage and lumbar options, heated armrests (yes, heated armrests, in the door panels), and even a new color for the ambient lighting hidden throughout the interior (might we suggest Twilight Purple paired with the Downtown Mood scent?).

Driver's Grievance: If anything should leave the American S-Class buyer a little miffed, it's that the new S-Class will be hitting our shores hamstrung. How so? Because of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration guidelines, there are two lighting features we won't be getting. The first is part of the S-Class's Night View Assist Plus system, which uses an infrared sensor to detect people or animals in or on the side of the road. Once detected, the infrared image appears in the instrument cluster as a warning. At the same time, the headlight strobes the person or animal as the car approaches for further warning. The latter feature isn't legal in the U.S.

Another lighting feature we're missing out on is the rear brake light warning. When the car's rear radar detects an approaching vehicle at an unsafe speed, it flashes the rear light to grab the attention of the driver in the approaching vehicle. It's a smart and simple way to possibly prevent an accident, but this, too, is against current regulations. Mercedes says it's working with NHTSA to change the laws, but who knows when that will happen.

Bottom Line: The S-Class has always been the nachos grande of the Mercedes-Benz lineup, and this newest iteration is no exception. Loaded with technology and oozing with luxury, it looks poised to stand at the top of the big-sedan market. Pricing will be announced closer to when the car goes on sale this fall, but expect the price to exceed the posh, gated neighborhood of $100,000 as soon as you check an option box. That's an exclusive price tag, but the S-Class is more than just a car for the well-to-do. With every generation, this model is a rolling showcase of technology that could eventually trickle into more mainstream vehicles. In this light, the 2014 S-Class gives the rest of us plebeians something to be excited about.

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