To come up with a short list of great four-door sedans for mature drivers, we started with the data from our December car issue and sorted it on three measures that older drivers consider particularly important: safety, comfort and power.
Our top ten picks: the Cadillac DeVille DTS ($46,987 retail), Lexus LS 430 ($57,990), Mercedes-Benz S500 ($79,595), Lincoln LS ($36,280), Chrysler 300M ($30,295), Infiniti I30 ($29,990), Buick Park Avenue Ultra ($38,210), Lincoln Town Car Cartier ($44,420), Jaguar S-Type ($44,250) and BMW 740iL ($67,470).
Not surprisingly, most of them are brands that older drivers already favor. Purchasers of Buicks, Cadillacs and Lincolns have the highest median age, according to consulting firm J.D. Power and Associates of Agoura Hills, Calif.
The Cadillac DeVille received our highest combined score. Its ample leg room, excellent safety ratings and powerful engine should make it easy to get in and out of and comfortable to drive.
The 2001 model looks a lot like this year's redesigned DeVille, but Cadillac has incorporated new safety features, including a tire-pressure monitoring system that alerts the driver when tire pressure is too low or high.
Among the first-time options: a gee-whiz voice-activated Internet connection, which should be available by midyear. The car's onboard computer recognizes your voice commands and will link you to the Internet. You can even ask the computer to read your e-mail aloud as you drive around.
The Cadillac DeVille has the most combined front and rear leg room (85 inches total), followed by the Buick Park Avenue Ultra, Lincoln Town Car Cartier and BMW 740iL.
To get an idea of how much emphasis the manufacturer puts on safety, we looked for and counted extra equipment such as traction control and side-impact air bags.
All the sedans come equipped with driver and passenger air bags and anti-lock brake systems. And with the exception of the Chrysler 300M, all have side-impact air bags as standard equipment.
We also factored in safety ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, an insurance company research group based in Arlington, Va.
Of the cars on our list, the Insurance Institute gave the highest safety marks to the Buick Park Avenue, followed by the Mercedes-Benz S500 and the Cadillac DeVille.
Our selections should provide you with all the power you need when you need it. But if you want that extra edge, consider test-driving the Lexus LS 430 and Mercedes-Benz S500. Both will give you even more oomph to pass another car or merge onto a busy highway.