Despite a scheduled release date of sometime in November, the lucky chaps over at Inside Line were fortunate enough to get their hands on a prototype Mercedes S550 4MATIC and put it through its paces.

Not surprisingly the test vehicle performed well, with the testers noting that on dry roads the 4MATIC was indiscernible from a standard S550. On icy roads only occasional wheel slips were felt, which were quickly corrected, and on the snow, as you can probably expect, the tester noted much more input from the 4MATIC system.

Personally, I've never been a huge fan of four-wheel drive anything unless it's on an SUV; however, for the northern-dwelling individuals looking to traverse the occasional snowy road or driveway, I'm sure the S-Class 4MATIC will more than suffice.

As already mentioned, the S-Class S550 4MATIC is scheduled for release this November, with pricing expected to be about $5,000 over a standard S550 ($86,175).

For more info, you can check out the full review over at Inside Line.