Filed under: Spy Photos, Sedans/Saloons, Euro, Mercedes-Benz
New Mercedes E-Class coming this September
Mercedes is moving beyond the neo-retro theme it's cultivated for its E-Class middle child. The C-Class has established some new familial cues with its recent redesign, and Autocar is reporting that the E-Class will expand on those themes. Tauter, edgier, and crisper are the words used to describe the new look, and Autocar's rendering certainly backs up its statement. The attendant increase in bulk that seems to plague each new generation will hopefully be held in check by further use of weight-saving construction techniques and materials. Powering the new E-Class will be the 3.5-liter V6 with direct injection (E35), as well as newly revised V8s. Based on the current 4.5- and 5.5-liter V8s (M273), the new versions will pick up direct injection, as well as efficiency and performance tweaks. More exciting, perhaps, will be a hybrid model by 2010, and BLUETEC diesels. With a mileage target of 47 mpg, the hybrid is not likely to follow the "V12 performance with V8 consumption" model of the Lexus LS, but will still do that Benz thing; get you there stylishly ,safe and comfortably cosseted.
[Source: Autocar, Rendering: DeLuisi]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
eddie 10:46AM (12/16/2007)
That looks like it could have some potential. The current E is boring when compared to a 550i or A6 S-Line. It needs the update.
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Me Too 3:01PM (12/16/2007)
Allow me to disagree. Although I will personally choose A6 over E-class, it's not as nearly as nicely designed as Mercedes. Let alone BMW, which is fairy ugly.
bob 11:47AM (12/16/2007)
as much as i hate to say it, this is really nice looking, but I'd still rather go with the Audi or Infiniti
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Tim 2:48PM (12/16/2007)
Which is your favor part of the new C? The oversize three pointed star, the Chrysler Sebring Taillights or the classy chrome strip above the license plate. Maybe the breathtaking rubbermaid interior?
Lantern42 11:50AM (12/16/2007)
So...from the looks of the drawing, in response to the Lexus GS cribbing from the E, Mercedes has made the E look more like the GS.
...wonderful.
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nagmashot 12:55PM (12/16/2007)
you recived the price for the most stupid comment ever.. congrats..LOL
The last think Mercedes would do is copy somehting..
That rendering is bad and party wrong
The new E-class...
http://www.autobild.de/ir_img/38960016_a3c8335d3c.jpg
http://www.autobild.de/ir_img/38490894_f2c153884a.jpg
http://www.autobild.de/ir_img/38490897_3d81c7a1d3.jpg
I wait for the day that JDM ilk expalin the "Mercedes grill and star" is a copy from a Lexus..
The new E-class is a sclaed up C-Class and the round head lights are replaced by square headlights
Lantern42 1:47PM (12/16/2007)
What's the "price" I receive?
If you could strain your brain to look past the three-pointed star, you'd see the obvious similarities between the new E and the Lexus GS at least from the front.
Everyone copies everyone else's good (and sometimes bad) ideas. Deal with it.
Mike 3:22PM (12/16/2007)
I agree with Lantern. From the front, the GS is very similar. I mean... Look at those headlights.
The back looks familiar. Like a mixture of Chrysler Sebring, BMW, and Cadillac styling cues.
I'm not impressed. I think the E-Class should continue a "classic luxury" look. There's no denying that it should be updated, but it should be updated with design cues that feel highly polished and conservatively placed. If anything, they should have taken the current E-Class, made it larger, updated the interior, and update its classic appearance.
Apart from the S-Class, Mercedes to me seems like the kind of car people buy when they want people to think they're rich. (That's why I always see a parking lot full of Mercedes outside the super cheap Chinese market I pass on my way to silicon valley.)
LeRobert 1:19PM (12/16/2007)
That rendering is ugly, and so are the ones from Autobild that nagmashot pointed to (those look like sad attempts by Chinese auto companies to copy MB). No wonder these photochoppers are stuck in the automotive journalism business and will never get the opportunity to design a real car themselves.
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Chaz 1:54PM (12/16/2007)
Reliability qualms aside, the current MB range is my favorite in years (that is since the Bruno Sacco ironside S Class era). I really like the new C, current E, CLS, SLK...
Current S is not imposing enough in my eyes, as S is the kind of car that should strike fear and and awe, given what the person inside could do without getting arrested, and W221 is just a bit too slick for that IMHO.
I really wish they would euthanize the dreadful Alabama trucks and make the G-wagen proper militant/agrarian again, but sales figures make that unlikely.
Let's hope der neue E can keep up the winning streak for MB (cars)
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Mike 3:28PM (12/16/2007)
The CLS is amazingly beautiful. The C-class is very nice but if you go car shopping, I doubt you'd choose it over the 3 series or the ES.
The G-Wagon is a very, very nice niche car. However, it's priced absolutely ridiculously. $50,000 for the G-Wagen would be stretching it. But since Mercedes always prices 130% of the cars value, I think $50,000 would sell them infinitely more G-Wagons. (I mean $87,000 for a stripped down Mercedes Jeep? That's just sad.)
Zane 4:31PM (12/16/2007)
Mike, I guess you're mistaken about the target demographic for the C-class. Prospective buyers usually consider the 3-series and Lexus IS and NOT the ES.
Mike 7:58PM (12/16/2007)
You're right. Although, the Lexus IS and ES are in the same price area. Having driven inside a C-Class and a 3 series, the C-Class seems to be more ES and less IS whereas the 3 series seems to be more IS and less ES. Mercedes and BMW do not offer a car like the ES. (Luxury without being $40,000 minus the sportyness) It's pretty hard to compare the three. I said the ES because if it were me, I would be considering the ES, 3 series and C-class.
Then again, maybe I would consider the IS. :) After all, it's about the drive... Not the ride, right?
dean 2:12PM (12/16/2007)
Lantern42, I compared the images of the Lexus and the new E-class renderings. The only similarities I saw were that it has 4 square-ish headlamps.
The roof-line on the Merc is taller, not so circular like the GS. The main headlamp shape is different, the E-class borrowing from the C-class. The Lexus has shorter, longer in width lamps. The hood is taller on the Merc, with the center portion of the hood raised to meet the taller, more prominent grill (Merc tradition), whereas the GS's hood actually sinks in the middle (the picture I'm looking at has tricky lighting...not sure on this).
The Merc has a very strong character line/crease sloping down at the front (grabbed from the CLS), and the GS's character is not nearly as dramatic. Oh, and the rear pillar on the GS is much thicker. Lets not get started on the Merc's rear. It makes me queezy.
I think its too easy to look at one similar element and then call it plagiarism. Then people start to go on on rediculous stuff, "Oh look, they both have 4 doors, 4 wheels, and windows too!"
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Namir 2:21PM (12/16/2007)
.........its about damn time.
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Tim 2:48PM (12/16/2007)
The above renderings are not much more promising. The current C-class is the ugliest ever with probably the cheapest interior I have ever seen in a Mercedes. I can't wait until the C is super sized.
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eli 7:14PM (12/16/2007)
you guys are all taking these chops way too seriously. several sources claim that the 09 e class will loose the 4 headlights in favor of 2. Mercedes does deserve some credit, they do desing some amazing cars.
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Wig 10:42PM (12/16/2007)
I thought the new E-Class was going to debut at Frankfurt in 2009, and appear in the U.S. as a 2010 model. This article suggests that it will appear next year as a 2009 model. Does anyone know which date is correct?
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