American historian Will Durant once paraphrased Aristotle in this clever way: "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit." We wouldn't be surprised if  uses this as a motivational poster for its engineers. Year after year, the Mercedes Benz E-Class exemplifies excellence, regularly ranking at the top of our midsize luxury car list. It's a benchmark for refined ride quality, confident handling, meticulous craftsmanship, clever innovation and sophisticated comfort.

With the 2013 Mercedes-Benz E-Class, excellence also includes variety. There are sedan, coupe, convertible and wagon body styles, plus engines that range from fuel sippers to outlandish horsepower monsters. The E-Class lineup alone would otherwise represent the full model portfolio from some other luxury brands.

For 2013, the lineup expands with the new Mercedes-Benz E400 Hybrid, which will be available later in the model year. Similar to the S-Class hybrid, the E400 hybrid pairs its 3.5-liter V6 with a small electric motor and a lithium-ion battery pack. The improvement in fuel economy isn't substantial, but the wallop of extra torque from the electric motor should appeal to those with a penchant for acceleration rather than conservation.

The 2013 Mercedes-Benz E-Class is available in five-passenger sedan, four-passenger coupe, four-passenger convertible (Cabriolet) and seven-passenger wagon body styles. Each is further broken down into different trims that correspond with its engine. The sedan is available in E350, E350 Bluetec, E400 Hybrid, E550 4Matic and E63 AMG variants. The cabriolet is offered in E350 and E550 (with a coupe-only E350 4Matic) trim levels, while the E-Class wagon is available in E350 4Matic and E63 AMG guises. (4Matic refers to the all-wheel-drive system.)

The E350, E350 Bluetec and E400 Hybrid sedans are similarly equipped with 17-inch wheels, automatic headlights, LED running lights, a sunroof, automatic wipers, cruise control, dual-zone automatic climate control, 10-way power front seats with four-way lumbar adjustment and memory functions, MB-Tex premium vinyl upholstery, a power tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel, ambient lighting, auto-dimming inside and driver-side mirrors, the COMAND electronics interface, Bluetooth, the Mercedes' mbrace telematics system and an eight-speaker sound system with a six-CD changer and an auxiliary audio jack. The E350 sedan distills further into Luxury and Sport sub-trims, which vary in suspension tuning, styling, interior trim and wheel design.