Some Drivers Will Never See Mercedes' Coolest New S-Class Feature

The new Mercedes-Benz S-Class is here, and with it a host of new features, bits, and baubles for the discerning luxury executive sedan buyer. It will come in three distinct flavors, starting with the S500, S580, and the plug-in hybrid S580e. Both the S500 and S580e will utilize a 3.0-liter inline-six, while the non-hybrid S580 gets a 4.0-liter V8, which is an interesting move in a world of semi-autonomous cars and hybrids. 

It continues the long line of successful cars to wear the Mercedes badge. You already know the S-Class will be comfortable, quiet, powerful, safe, and expensive (although Mercedes hasn't detailed the exact pricing yet). One feature, however, stands out as particularly innovative, and very localized. 

The new S-Class has an icy-road warning system that extends significantly beyond the normal "Icy roads possible, drive carefully" warning that pops up when you start up most newer cars. Using the S-Class's new "digital" headlights, it will now project an image of a snowflake onto the road surface to indicate to you, and potentially other drivers, that the roadway might be hazardous or slippery. It kicks in, according to Mercedes, at temperatures under 39 degrees Fahrenheit. 

That's certainly a welcome and nifty feature if you're driving to the slopes in Colorado, or on your way to an upscale night on the town in New York City when the temperature suddenly drops. That warning systems will likely get a lot of use anywhere it gets cold or snows regularly. After the storms that a large portion of the United States has had towards the end of this month, everyone is learning how their cars handle in inclement weather.

However, as cool as the feature is, it likely won't ever kick in if you live in Los Angeles or Miami. Even now, as the temperature drops to single digits and negatives in a large part of the country, it's 68 degrees and sunny in Miami, Florida. 

A new S-Class is right at home in Santa Monica, given its likely around six-figure price tag, but if you aren't driving it where the weather gets even a little bit cold, you aren't using every feature you paid for.