Mercedes reckons the new E is the Future. Possibly even the FUTURE. Looks rather like an upscaled C-class to us. Or a downsized S-class.
It’s all of the above. Merc’s design vice president Gorden Wagener bristles slightly if you suggest Mercedes is re-embracing the ‘Russian doll’ idea for its volume saloon line. “What’s the problem with that?” he says. “We wanted the C-, E, and S-class to sit at the heart of it all, with 40-odd other models around them. I think the new E-class is as elegant as the CLS. It’s certainly the most luxurious E-class Mercedes has ever created.”
Anyone anticipating wholesale rejection of diesel in the wake of the VW scandal won’t get any joy from Mercedes: Zetsche says take-up rates on diesels are exactly the same as before, and an engine as good as this is only going to keep it in play. On a night drive into Lisbon, the 220 proves whisper quiet at motorway speeds, and doesn’t grumble too much if you do lean on it to summon all 295 torques. The 9G-tronic auto wafts through the ratios so smoothly it makes the smoothest-talking bar steward sound like Ronnie Barker’s stammering shopkeeper in Open All Hours.
On the Drive Pilot system:
“As impressive as the tech is in theory, it remains imperfect in practice: I found myself second-guessing it repeatedly on the test route around Lisbon, unable and unprepared to trust it. If you take your hands off the wheel, a warning chime will sound, and if you keep them off the wheel longer than 60 seconds the car will assume you’re a moron or have passed out, and glide carefully to a complete stop. It’s fiendishly clever, but really — what’s the point of an automated car that still needs your hands on the wheel?”
Prices start at £35,935 for the E220 d SE, rising to £47,425 for the E350 d in AMG line trim. As ever, the options list groans with pricey possibility. So choose wisely. “Making the best cars is our core business. But the car doesn’t end with the hardware. Now it’s about widening the scope,” Dr Zetsche concludes. The new E-class does so with impressively realised, widescreen ambition.
Specification
1950cc, four-cylinder, 194bhp, rwd, 295lb ft, 0-62mph 7.3 secs, 149mph top speed, 72.3mpg, 102g/km CO2