You don't so much drive an S-Class...

In my illustrious career in the auto industry, I have had the privilege of driving many cars, including various Mercedes Benz models.  Recently, I spent some quality time in a late-model S600 (W220) as I drove it from Dallas to Houston.  You don't so much drive an S-Class as you pilot it.  No, not another "land yacht" cliche.  One pilots an S-Class much as I would imagine one would pilot a very large and powerful space ship.  Especially the 12-cylinder twin-turbo variant of which I took the helm on the aforementioned voyage.

From this trip I learned that 500hp is absolutely unnecessary, but quite entertaining.  I also learned that active suspension can make a very large, heavy car behave like a much smaller and more agile car, which is also quite entertaining but also a little creepy.  I pretty well knew all this before, but there's nothing like a few hundred miles to refresh one's memory.

All that entertaining power and technology not withstanding, give me a simpler, smaller, car with good seats and a respectable power band, and you can keep the S600.  BMW is releasing a diesel 3-Series in the U.S. this fall...