Falling a little flat, the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class looks terrific but still manages to be slightly too evolutionary. Judging by their middle sedan, Mercedes enjoys the past. Four lamp housings at the front remain an E-Class trademark. The stance hasn’t been altered. Overall, it’s fresh but doesn’t feel new.
Clearly, Mercedes-Benz has not ripped a page out of BMW’s design handbook. When BMW most recently introduced a new 5-Series, they broke with tradition and got all crazy up in here… yo. Though that didn’t always work out well for BMW in the critical press, consumers continue to flock to the propeller badge. Fearing slightly for Mercedes, I wonder if it’s possible that the ho-hum redesign of the 5-Series competitor, this E-Class, will make loyal E-Class owners wonder if it’s worth trading in for a car that seems to move the game on to such a small extent.
Now, that’s just the surface. Judging, books, covers… and all that. Mercedes claims that the 0.25 CoD of the new E-Class is the lowest in the world for luxury sedans. That helps fuel efficiency and hush.
The 3.5L V6 produces around 290 horsepower now. The 5.0L V8 cranks out 382. Meanwhile, at the top of the mud pile, AMG’s 6.2L settles in nicely at 517. Improved fuel economy is to be expected across the board. All-wheel drive is available in mainstream E350s and E500s.
Benz’s Attention Assist is believed to discover when you’re drowsy by continuously monitoring 70 parameters. Mercedes-Benz sold more than 1,300,000 E-class sedans and wagons since 2002. Keeping this people awake long enough to buy another is serious business.
