The Mercedes-Benz S-Class remains the ultra-luxury car against which other ultra-luxury aspirants are judged. That's impressive given that it was last redesigned for model-year 2000. The S-Class has been mildly face-lifted for 2003.The Mercedes S-Class is a beautiful line of cars, sleek and aerodynamic. They are smaller yet roomier than the bulky pre-2000 models they replaced. And they are extremely sophisticated. Microprocessors and onboard sensors instantaneously determine forces acting upon the car, filter the data, and adjust the handling. There's much technology here and learning all of the features takes some time.
The Mercedes-Benz S430, the most popular model, offers plenty of power for quick passes, merging into fast freeway traffic, and accelerating out of corners. It exudes the tremendous presence of a Mercedes S-Class. The S500 delivers much more responsive performance, with crisp acceleration that should please any closet hot-rodder. The top-level S600 and the high-performance S55 AMG get even more power for 2003. A lot more power. As if they needed it. Fast traffic is a description fits an S600 and an S55 AMG. The S600 represents the ultimate in Mercedes-Benz luxury and power. The S55 AMG is a limited-production high-performance model.