This diverse segment offers the widest price range. It covers everything from the $34,000 Saab 9-5 to the $130,000 Mercedes-Benz SL500. Obviously our Best Buys are somewhere in between. We think that the Acura RL is a steal at $42,000 fully equipped. Though it is a front-drive V6 in a field of V8 rear-drive models, it has a great ride, plenty of power, and is quite luxurious. Mercedes-Benz E-Class, though a bit long in the tooth, also continues to impress with its impeccable road manners and luxurious comfort.

If you are looking for something a bit more sporting we recommend the BMW 5-Series. If your taste ranges more toward the luxury end, then take a look at the Cadillac DeVille or Lexus GS 300.

Sales of Mercedes' most popular U.S. line eased 1.2 percent in calendar 2000, losing a token 622 units to 49,952. We suspect this reflects a few cancelled orders once all those dot-coms became dot-bombs.

Mercedes is rejuvenating its entire lineup, first with the flagship S-Class/CL, then with this year's C-Class compacts. E-Class is next on the list--and not too far off, with a March 2002 European debut and a U.S. on-sale date sometime in late summer or early fall for model-year '03. That's for sedans; new-design wagons should arrive in the first quarter of '03. All models will have a longer wheelbase for more passenger room within little changed overall length, plus sleeker styling with S-Class cues. Powertrains should be basically carryovers at first, but engine remouting will lower the vehicle center of gravity, which ought to improve cornering ability; this also allows for a more steeply raked hoodline that should work with other styling elements to reduce air drag and thus wind noise. Later, Mercedes will likely substitute revised engines with direct fuel injection. DI squirts fuel straight into the cylinders instead of feeding it from tubular "rails," resulting in more efficient combustion that increases mileage and reduces emissions. Due to be available from day one is Mercedes' anti-lean Active Body Control suspension, probably reserved for V8 models. Standard front knee airbags will give all models a record 12 inflatable restraints. A new electrohydraulic brake system is also slated, and Mercedes is developing a 6-speed automatic to replace today's 5-speed transmission.

Because Mercedes seems bent on plugging every conceivable gap in its various model lines, we expect the 4-Matic all-wheel-drive option to be offered on V6 Es as well as V8s. Mercedes is also said to be working on an E-based unibody "crossover" with a new-design AWD system, minivan-type high-rise styling, and an air-spring suspension with variable ride-height control a la Audi allroad. This vehicle will reportedly be built alongside the next-generation M-Class SUV at Mercedes' Alabama plant. It should debut here for 2004 in 5-passenger and long-wheelbase 7-passenger versions, the latter with standard fold-flat 3rd-row seats. Prices will be at the high end of the crossover spectrum. Expect V6 and V8 engines with direct injection and four valves per cylinder instead of today's three. Mercedes' new 6-speed automatic is likely to be the only transmission.