Bigger-is-better" seems to be the automotive mantra in the age of the full-size sport-utility vehicle. The old S-Class proved the fallacy of that logic. The new S500 is just big enough, and the result is a modestly downsized sedan that's markedly more nimble and aggressive, as we discovered driving a looping route through the foothills of the Swiss Alps. The 2000 S500 is powered by a 5.0-liter V8 pumping out 302 horsepower. That's slightly less muscle than the old car, but you're not likely to notice. Stomp on the accelerator, and you feel an extra kick, the most immediate payoff of trimming the car's weight. And it's more than just throttle feel. Steering is more precise, with far more road feel than the last-generation S-Class, a car that seemed numb by comparison. The suspension is firmer, but certainly not harsh. Setting the transmission into S, or Sports, mode, yielded crisp, aggressive shifts, and there's a new Tiptronic-style mode. In manual mode, you tip the shift lever left or right to downshift or upshift, or simply leave it in "D" for fully automatic operation. The old S-Class was always a chore to drive in Europe, especially on the hills and lake country roads we roamed outside Zurich. The new car is still quite imposing, and more than a few times we found oncoming traffic meekly yielding to us as we raced down a narrow lane. Yet this car feels surprisingly agile for its size. Give some credit to the AIRmatic suspension, which replaces the usual steel coil springs in the suspension with air-filled rubber bellows. At speeds over 68 mph, it lowers the car a half-inch. There's also an Adaptive Damping System, or ADS, which automatically adjusts shock-absorber settings to match the moment's driving conditions.
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