Over three decades-plus of automotive journalism, there have been occasions when having a particular car outside my door made me nervous, writes Brian Byrne. Mainly due to its price, and my responsibility for having the vehicle in my care. Most recently, such a car was the Mercedes-Benz S 580 e. Thankfully, I returned it at the end of my time in the same pristine shape as I had received it. Provided you don’t aspire to the even more rarified Maybach-Mercedes, the S-Class in any form is not just the top Mercedes-Benz model, it is also arguably the benchmark for its rivals to attempt to match or surpass. Whether they succeed in that is very much a personal subjective matter, as cars at any level tend to be. But there’s no doubt about the exclusive cachet to the S-Class. When I first reviewed the current S-Class back in late 2021, I mentioned what I saw as an unexpected positive in that the styles of Mercedes saloons have all become alike — it’s not always easy to identif...