Chassis settings, along with engine and transmission response, steering weight, and sound, are keyed to seven drive modes. These include Electric, Battery Hold, Comfort, Sport, Sport+, Slippery, and Individual. Electric activates all-electric driving, Battery Hold saves the charge for later, Slippery is for white-knuckle situations, and Individual allows you to mix and match settings. That leaves Comfort, Sport, and Sport+ as the modes that reveal this car’s true character.

Comfort mode provides the full S-Class land yacht experience. The engine is on but not fully awake, so ambient noise remains fairly low. The ride is at its plushest. Motoring down California’s Pacific Coast Highway, our test car’s carbon-fiber interior trim and AMG badging were the only indicators that we were in an AMG model.

Switch to Sport mode, and you get a subtle burble to remind you that there is in fact a V8 under the hood. As with many other performance cars with programmable drive modes, the steering becomes unnecessarily heavy, but still allows for a fine level of control—which you’ll definitely need to aim a car of this size down a twisty road.

In Sport mode, the S63 no longer feels like an ordinary S-Class. Nor does it just feel like a big car with a powerful engine. It has the confidence-inspiring poise of a true sports sedan, one that impresses not only with its ability to move its considerable girth around corners, but also makes the experience enjoyable. Cars that rely this heavily on tech to overcome the laws of physics can be quite dull, but this is definitely one that makes you want to take the long way home. And that’s before shifting to Sport+ mode, which offers more of everything without making the car too uncomfortable for long stints.