The old S-Class was among the world's most refined automobiles, but it had a Germanic formalness that was never truly inviting. One felt more admiration than aspiration. Not so the 2000 edition S500. It is still very Teutonic in design, clearly expensive, but far less imperious. It is a much warmer, inviting and contemporary vehicle, softer and, yes, even sensuous. The S500 is now more than just a car you'd like to be seen in. Now it looks like one that would be fun to drive.

The old S-Class was the definition of overkill. To minimize wind noise, for example, the windows consisted of two thick panes of glass sandwiched together. It's an example of why the old S-Class was so massive, weighing a daunting 5000 pounds. The new S-Class still has double glass, sandwiched around a noise-reducing plastic sheet, but the panes are half as thick yet just as quiet. They're also notably lighter. Mercedes engineers paid painstaking attention to holding down the new car's weight, ultimately trimming 500 pounds off the new S500.

They've also downsized the wheelbase and overall length by more than 2 inches. It's 1.3 inches narrower and nearly 2 inches lower. There's a modest loss in shoulder room, but it is a statistical anomaly in a car this big. What you're more likely to notice is that there's more leg- and headroom due to clever engineering and better component placement.