I had the opportunity recently to drive the new 2007 Mercedes-Benz S-Class, during its debut to U.S. journalists in Paradise Valley, Arizona. It should begin arriving in showrooms later this month.

The “S” designation has adorned top-of-the-line Mercedes-Benz sedans and coupes for more than 50 years. The ninth-generation S-Class defines the thoughtful and intelligent use of automotive technology. Some manufacturers — most notably BMW — have over-engineered technology so much a non-techie can’t figure out how to even start the car or turn on the radio without an instruction manual. Mercedes meanwhile, is using technology to enhance and add to its already impressive list of safety features, while simplifying its use for the driver.

Walkaround: This is a beautiful car with a commanding presence. It features cleaner lines and sharper angles than its predecessor, striking a bold, wedge-like profile that makes it appear to be in motion when standing still. Although it’s gained 3.10 inches in wheelbase, it’s only 1.7 inches longer, almost an inch wider and 1.10 inches taller.

The new S-Class features distinctive clear-lens headlights molded into the fenders. Fog lights now reside in the front bumper, adding an aggressive, athletic look to the car. The sculpted, V-shaped hood sits above the front fender line, while a dominant front bumper features a large air intake.

The arched roofline and stylistic flared fender profiles form a sweeping line running the length of the car. While the front wheel arches are circular, the rear ones open upwards toward the rear, emphasizing its aggressive presence. Chrome is used sparingly — only on a thin frame around the side windows and just above the rear license plate.

Like the hood, the trunk lid sits above the lines of the rear fenders. Taillight include body-color accent strips between them.

The S-Class also features a nearly smooth underbody to aid airflow, and using its standard Airmatic air suspension, the car lowers itself at higher speeds to reduce air drag.

Interior: As you would expect in the top-of-the-line Mercedes, high quality materials are used throughout. Exotic wood accents chrome trim in sweeping lines. The centerpiece of the dash is an eight-inch, high-resolution display for a new COMAND system. It’s positioned at the same height as the primary instruments, and operated by a mouse-like controller on the lower center console. Most vehicle controls are accessible via conventional hard keys, the multifunction steering wheel, voice control, or the COMAND system.

There’s also a slot in the dash that accepts PCMCIA cards. MP3 formatted digital music can be played back through the standard 600-watt, 14-speaker harmon/kardon 6-disc, in-dash surround sound system that boasts DVD audio capability, or have the card’s data displayed on the COMAND screen. Data and/or song titles can be selected through the multifunction steering wheel controls.

New 16-way electrically variable, heated front seats offer several optional choices of ventilation and ergonomic adjustability. Optional Drive Dynamic seats feature 11 individual pneumatic chambers helping the driver find a perfect seating position, and 14 more chambers provide four levels of pulsating massage to relieve fatigue. Naturally, everything is high-quality leather.

Other standard features include all the expected power accessories; an integrated telephone kit with a Bluetooth option; Voice Control System for most functions; tilt/telescoping steering wheel; 18-inch, 9-spoke alloy wheels, and a power moonroof with tilt and slide functions.

Under The Hood: The new S-Class debuts new engines with more horsepower — 604 in the top-of-the-line V-12 S65 AMG, and 510 in the 5.5-liter twin-turbo V12 powered S600 — both to be introduced later this year. The 5.5-liter V-8 powered S550, which is what we drove in Arizona, boasts 382 horses with 391 lb. ft. of torque, — 26 percent more horses than the previous S500 — while delivering the same fuel economy. It features four-valves-per-cylinder and variable valve timing.

All the engines offered in the S-Class are mated to the world’s first 7-speed automatic transmission — a smooth-shifting driver-adaptive unit that features shift buttons on the back of the steering wheel for manual shifting.

Safety: The S-Class PRE-SAFE® system, which made its debut in 2002, is perhaps the heart of this car. Sadly, space limitations prevent me from really detailing all this encompasses, because this is also where Mercedes has hit a technology grand slam.

During testing at Phoenix Firebird Raceway, we experienced hands-on driving demonstrations proving how Mercedes engineers have used PRE-SAFE® technology to capitalize on the precious seconds between when a collision is imminent, and impact, to deploy a bevy of safety systems.

The “Distronic Plus” cruise control feature maintains a pre-set following distance behind the vehicle ahead, automatically braking when necessary, and is integrated with the PRE-SAFE® radar-based system that operates at nearly all speeds up to 125 mph. This can be especially helpful in stop-and-go traffic as well as in possible collision situations.

In the early 1990s, Mercedes-Benz engineers conducting simulator tests discovered many drivers don’t push the brake pedal hard enough during emergency braking. This led to the development of Brake Assist, which became standard equipment on all Mercedes vehicles.

An enhanced version, Brake Assist Plus, not only adds appropriate braking help in emergencies but thanks to Distronic Plus also measures speed and closing distance to the vehicle ahead and adjusts brake pressure if the driver doesn’t brake hard enough. It figures the closing speed of the vehicle ahead based on radar signals output from the Distronic Plus system.

Prior to impact, PRE-SAFE® automatically tightens the front seat belts, while the front passenger seat (and optional power rear seats) move into positions that provide better protection. If the system senses an impending rollover, the sunroof also closes while side windows close to provide better support for the window curtain air bags. Special seat cushions inflate to provide greater lateral support for occupants and help the side air bags provide increased protection.

Distronic Plus also incorporates radar-based Park Assist. This new option utilizes six radar sensors mounted behind the front and rear bumpers – eliminating the need for the visible “portholes,” and displays the available parking area using lines superimposed on the COMAND screen, There are colored lines for the vehicle shape and turning radius, and different color lines for the direction of travel. There’s also an LED display which can be seen in the rear-view mirror that lights up the closer you get to an object.

Debuting on the 2007 S-Class is Night View Assist, an option that extends the driver’s ability to see ahead to nearly 500 feet. In contrast to passive systems that rely only on thermal imaging such as the one General Motors (GM) developed for Cadillac a few years ago, this active system bathes the road ahead with invisible infrared light from two projector beams mounted in the headlights. An infrared camera mounted in the windshield receives the reflected images and displays them as detailed black & white video images on the COMAND screen.

The demonstration of Night View Assist — which we experienced at night — was impressive to say the least. It is far superior the GM system.

Behind The Wheel: The new S-Class is a marvel to drive. Not only does it handle well at all speeds, over all types of terrain, but it offers so many amenities that seem a little over the top at first, but after just a short time behind the wheel, you come to take for granted.

The optional Drive Dynamic seat for example was especially impressive. Not only is it adjustable 16 different ways, which you can control from the COMAND screen, including height, width, lumbar support, thigh support, headrest and of course, the massage feature, but the harder you push the car in turns, the more it reacts. The inflatable chambers combine with the seat belt pre-tensioners to hold you in the seat, so that your body stays positioned for optimum driving control. You aren’t “hanging on” in a tight corner or during emergency maneuvers. At first, this seemed a little odd, but after 10 minutes of winding terrain, I just took it for granted and didn’t even notice it.

We drove the new S-Class about 300 miles under a myriad of driving conditions and terrains — stop and go city driving through suburban Scottsdale; winding two lane blacktops on the way out to Roosevelt Lake; highway driving from there up to Payson; uphill, winding two lane mountain roads out of Payson up to the bluff above; and one of my personal favorite stretches of road from the top of the bluff over to Camp Verde. This includes a long, flat, 10-mile straightaway ideal for opening a car up and seeing what its really made of. From there, it was south on I-17, which included stretchs of open road giving way to rush hour freeway (great opportunity to really check out Distronic Plus) the closer we got to Phoenix, and back to our hotel in Paradise Valley.

The new S-Class took it all in stride, and bathed us in comfort, quiet, and safety. Acceleration is awesome, but because the car is so quiet and handles so well, the concept of speed can be an issue. Several times I found myself driving near 100 mph without even realizing it.

Whines: Hmmm… Just my usual — and the same one of every other auto writer I know that’s ever driven a Mercedes has — the positioning of the cruise control stalk on the left hand side of the steering column just above the turn signal lever. I don’t know many times I have unintentionally engaged the cruise attempting to signal for a left turn. This has been a topic of conversation on every Mercedes event I’ve ever driven on.

Bottom Line: The new S550 is priced at $86,175, including a $775 destination fee — $650 below the previous S500 it replaces. With more then $2,000 worth of new standard features, it’s about $2,500 less expensive than the S500 on an equipment-adjusted basis.

The S600, with the 515-horse powerplant will be introduced in the second quarter of this year and will retail at $140,675. Pricing hasn’t yet been announced on the S65 AMG which will debut in the third quarter.

But to just sum the S-Class up in a few words... This car rocks! Production-built cars just don’t get much better than the new Mercedes S-Class.