Despite What You Think, This Really Is The New Mercedes E-Class
It used to be Audi we poked fun at for producing what looked like a range of identical cars, save for a few size differences. But, this copy/paste styling approach seems to be spreading: just check out the new Jaguar XF, which looks scarcely different to the XE. And now thanks to an early leak, we can see that the new ‘W213’ looks just like a C-Class, a car which looks rather like a downsized S-Class. Oh dear.
Still, I was never much of a fan of the outgoing E’s fussy and angular styling, and this is a neater-looking thing, even if the similarities to the C are a little irksome. So, now we’ve dealt with the elephant in the room, what’s new?
Official details are limited at this stage, but Mercedes has previously revealed that the new E-Class will get a pair of 12.3-inch touch screens, and touch-sensitive buttons on the steering wheel that’ll allow the driver to control various functions with a mere swipe of the finger. According to Stuttgart, it’s the first time this sort of tech has made it into a car.
Also on the tech front, there’s a set of - most likely optional - posh LED light clusters, which each feature 84 light modules, up from 24 in the outgoing model.
We’re expecting to see a variety of four-cylinder diesel and petrol engines, plus a six-pot E400 model (pictured here) that’ll top the range. For now, at least: we’ll get an E63 AMG in 2017, which will almost certainly use the bombastic 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 found in the C63 with even more power cranked out of it. Since the new E-Class is 100kg lighter than the old one, that should be one hell of a car.
The car will make it’s public debut at the Detroit motor show next week.
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
Im a BMW guy but it looks like Mercedes are back to their roots with the elegant styling. It looks nice albeit copy and paste.
Am I the only one who doesn’t spot the difference between the C Class and the new E Class?? 😯
The c and e class look the same
They are not unique any more like they use to
I’m dissapointed
I much prefer the angular design of the E class a few years prior (2012), it set it apart from other Mercs and any other car in the full size sedan/autobahn ripper category.
The new SL looks so ugly compared to what it looked like in the 2000s
Nice taxi, can’t wait to ride in these while taking taxi to school :p
S Class size M
This is the first good-looking E class in like 15 years, and I still hate it because it looks exactly like a C and a E. FFS Mercedes. Looks like all brands are going at it, if you’re at enough distance it’s hard to tell apart a F30 from an F10 (and I’m a bmw guy who has trouble admiting this) and audis have been doing this for ages. Good time to like classics I guess.
Mercedes just change the badges and give bigger screen. Impressive!
To be fair past mercedes have looked a bit similar, the W123 and the W116, and the W201, W124 and W126 look pretty similar. But yeah, this time they look even more like each other.