The Mercedes-Benz S550 4Matic has all-wheel-drive and a seven-speed transmission that can be shifted automatically or manually.

MERCEDES

CORNWALL, N.Y. — I’ve driven poor. I’ve driven rich. It doesn’t matter the season, bad times or good, I much prefer rich.

That might seem a feckless assessment in this winter of fiscal discontent. Joblessness, homelessness, swindles and bankruptcies frame the times. It is a season so dour, it seems impolitic to smile in public, let alone to motor about in an iconic luxurious car, the 2009 Mercedes-Benz S550 4Matic sedan.

But the simple truth is that many rich people remain rich, the shenanigans of Ponzi maven Bernard Madoff notwithstanding. And they can choose to be taken for a ride in a much more reliable, enjoyable carriage, such as the S550 4Matic.

It is a big sedan, “full-size” in the truest meaning of the word. It stretches a tad longer than 17 feet, end to end. It has a vault-like presence and weight — a curb weight, or factory weight minus passengers and cargo, of 4,630 pounds. You can load it with five huge adults and still have enough room for all passengers to feel like royalty in their own castle.

Extravagance is the nature of luxury; and the makers of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class cars have always taken great pride in expressions of luxury’s essence. Why else would they have included a six-liter, 604-horsepower, V-12 engine in the S-Class line?

But I am a driver of gentler sensibilities. I like rich. But some things border on sacrilege. I chose, instead one of the more reasonable offerings of the S-Class — the all-wheel-drive S550 4Matic, equipped with a 5.5-liter, 382-horsepower V-8 linked to a seven-speed transmission that can be shifted automatically or manually.

“Reasonable” should always be this good — a big, heavy car, an automobile that gives you the feeling of being inside a motorized fortress, yet one that moves with the alacrity and nimbleness of something smaller, sportier.

The nearly 325-mile drive here from our home in Virginia was no work at all. My passengers — my wife, Mary Anne and youngest daughter, Kafi — equated it to a ride aboard a luxury yacht or train.

“This is the meaning of luxury,” said Kafi, settling back into one of the S550 4Matic’s soft leather seats.

“You should have seen what he was driving last week,” said Mary Anne, referring to a base Nissan Versa subcompact. It was an economy car that, while it has many admirable qualities, was absent the most rudimentary niceties, including a radio.

There ensued a conversation about values, too lengthy to recount here. But its substance was that no one, at least no one we know of among our well-educated friends in the United States, dreams of owning a base Nissan Versa.

The S550 4Matic, by comparison, is a bona fide dream car.

There is a pecking order to aspirations, Kafi said. “It’s why so many young people fight so hard to get into Ivy League schools,” she said.

I suppose.

But I know this: Rich, in the guise of the S550 4Matic, feels good. Smooth, expertly delivered power feels good, even with the consumption of premium unleaded gasoline at the rate of 21 miles per gallon in highway driving. Being in a car that cradles you, protects you with an array of active crash avoidance and passive crash mitigation devices, feels really good.

If you spend enough time in cars such as the S550 4Matic, you begin to understand something about how rich people think. It feels good to feel that good, so much so, you want to feel that good all the time. Wealth is addictive.

2009 Mercedes-Benz S550 4Matic

Complaints: There was some grumbling about the absence of seat heat in the rear seats of the test car. Rear seat heat, however, is available as an option.

Ride, acceleration and handling: Ride and handling are firm, but comfortable, pleasing to anyone seeking superior sedan performance. Considering its weight, the car is remarkably fast. But it falls short of the rip-roaring performance of a muscle car, or a track-ready machine.

Head-turning quotient: Rich and built to look that way. It’s best to drive this one humbly and politely in these trying times.

Body style/layout: The S-Class is a line of full-size, premium luxury, front-engine sedans available with rear-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive and with a long list of options, including an available 604-horsepower V-12 engine.

Engine/transmission: The S550 4Matic comes with a 5.5-liter, 32-valve V-8 engine that develops 382 horsepower at 6,000 revolutions per minute and 391 foot-pounds of torque at 2,800 revolutions per minute. The engine is mated to a seven-speed transmission that can be shifted automatically or manually.

Capacities: There are seats for five people. Luggage capacity is 16.3 cubic feet. The fuel tank holds 23.8 gallons of required premium unleaded gasoline.

Mileage: That big fuel tank masks the reality that the S550 4Matic swallows premium fuel at the egregious rate of 21 miles per gallon on the highway.

Safety: S-Class Mercedes-Benz cars historically have been among the safest on the world’s highways. The 2009 model comes with an array of active and passive safety devices, including electronic collision avoidance systems, four-wheel disc brakes with antilock control, electronic brake assistance, side and head air bags, electronic stability and traction control.

Price: The base price on the 2009 Mercedes-Benz S550 4Matic is $92,350. Dealer’s invoice price on that model is $85,886. Price as tested is $114,410, including $19,885 in options (AMG sport package including sport wheels and lower body trim, radar-supported collision avoidance system, premium leather seats, power glass roof, onboard navigation, premium sound system with iPod/MP3 player compatibility), a $875 destination charge and $1,300 federal gas-guzzler tax. Prices sourced from Mercedes-Benz, Edmunds.com, and Cars.com, an affiliate of The Washington Post.

Purse-strings note: Compare with Audi A8, BMW 7-Series and Lexus LS 460.