A vehicle control system that classifies a driver's driving style based on characteristic maneuvers. The system includes a plurality of vehicle sensors that detect various vehicle parameters. A maneuver identification processor receives the sensor signals to identify a characteristic maneuver of the vehicle and provides a maneuver identifier signal of the maneuver. A style characterization processor receives the maneuver identifier signals, sensor signals from the vehicle sensors and the traffic and road condition signals, and classifies driving style based on the signals to classify the style of the driver driving the vehicle. The classification of the driver style can be provided for a level-1 combination that combines the classification results from different maneuver type classifiers for a single maneuver, a level-2 combination that combines the classification results from multiple maneuvers that are of the same type and a level-3 combination that combines the classification results from different types of characteristic maneuvers.