In a world where every manufacturer offers cars with heated seats, quilted leather interiors and fancy heads-up displays, it can be hard to immediately see the value in something like the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. After all, leather is leather, and a heated seat is a heated seat, yeah? So buying into an S-Class is really just buying into a badge, right? Wrong. Stepping into the latest Mercedes-Benz S-Class, the W223, reminds us why the S-Class remains not only the benchmark in luxury, but a benchmark in engineering as well.

The luxury gods must have been smiling upon us, because Mercedes-Benz gave us not one, but two versions of its latest luxury sedan: the S500 4MATIC and the S580 4MATIC. But if you never popped the hood – or looked at the badge – you’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference between the two. Both cars arrived in the exact same exterior color, and boast the exact same interior features. In essence, writing a review on one is writing a review on both, save for the bit later on where we lay out some engine specs. Suffice it to say, no matter which version you buy, you’ll still be buying one of the finest automobiles ever made.

The S-Class has long been known for its series of innovations, and this newest car is nothing less than a technological wonder. It’s got thematic ambient mood lighting, and seats that can massage you a number of different ways. And should you decide to tell it how tall you are, it can even automatically adjust the seat, steering wheel and mirrors, based on what it thinks is best.

But what amazes us is the digital gauge binnacle – it uses cameras to individually track your left and right eyes, and splits the image ever so slightly to offer a true 3D experience. Gauges float above an isometric map. Warning lights and text messages pop out of the screen. It truly feels like you can reach inside and spin things around as if they existed in a physical space. This 3D effect also appears in the augmented-reality heads-up display, which digitally positions navigation arrows and other key driving info onto the road in a way that makes you feel like you’re living in the future. And as touchscreen tech becomes commonplace across all vehicles, it's stuff like this that makes the S-Class feel special.

As for the primary control screen? Yeah, that feels average. But at least its resolution is high, and it doesn’t ask you to dive through menus should you want to do something like, say, adjust the temperature. It’s nothing home to write about, but it’s pretty, and it works. Moving on.

You want leather? Fine woods? Plenty of room for activities? The Mercedes-Benz S-Class offers all that, and more, in spades. But what’s most striking is the artistry of it all. We hesitate to call what sits in front of the driver a “dash,” as it feels more like a flowing piece of sculpture, with lines of brightwork accentuating the curvature of the glossy, piano black-finished wood. Everything that looks like it could be made of metal, is. And crafted to tolerances more befitting of a timepiece than transportation. Soft, inviting leather wraps almost every touchpoint. And the premium Burmester 4D sound system delivers a sound experience that will make your downtown concert hall jealous. In other words, it’s everything you’d expect an S-Class to be.

And here’s where we get to the mechanical bits, and more precisely, how the two S-Classes differ from each other. The S500 4MATIC features a 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-6 rated at 429 horsepower and 384 lb-ft of torque. The S580 4MATIC is powered by a 4.0-liter biturbo V8 rated at 496 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of torque. Both engines are of the mild hybrid variety – where electric bits take off some of the engine load. No battery power whatsoever gets sent to the drive wheels, because there isn’t any. Battery power, that is.

Both engines are also mated to an incredibly sophisticated 9-speed automatic transmission, and as their names suggest, come standard with a rear-biased all-wheel drive system. And both models ride on Mercedes-Benz’ signature AIRMATIC air ride suspension.

And the drive itself? One word: smooth. Acceleration is smooth. Power builds on smoothly. Gear shifts are almost imperceptible. And that AIRMATIC suspension delivers a ride that is – you guessed it – smooth. We’re sure that if we did some instrumented testing, we’d find some key differences between the powertrains. But in everyday driving – even back to back – we couldn’t feel a marked difference between the two. Both powertrains are phenomenal. It’s really up to you if want six cylinders or eight.

It's a big car, this S-Class, and it certainly feels it. An active rear steer feature helps reduce the turning circle a bit, but this car doesn’t try in any way to feel “small.” It’s a big luxury sedan, not a track car. It wants to get you inside and shuttle you around in total luxury. And it does so perfectly.

After writing almost 900 words on the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, we now realize we could have summarized the experience in just two: it’s perfect. There’s a reason the S-Class remains the benchmark of luxury, and this car shows us why. We hate telling people what to do with their money, but if you have the means, buy one.

We drive the W223 Mercedes-Benz S-Class