Detroit 2016 Preview: 2017 Mercedes Benz E-Class

It looks like an E-class.  I like that the headlights have 2 light bars and 2 LED squares or whatever they are since the E-class used to have the dual headlight set up, it pays tribute to that.  I wish it looked a little more different than the C and S though, maybe use wider rear tail lights or something.  A+ interior.

I am more curious for the engines because I want the inline six.  The turbo 4 in the C300 will be slow in this car, but CAFE will probably force it in.  The 255 hp diesel six would be nice, but the VW diesel scandal will probably kill that.  

.23 drag coefficient for this car, which is remarkable.  

 The rear is lifted from the 2005 s-class. It's already tired; so tired it's boring. MB needs new designers / anything new.

Maybe the I-6 isn't ready yet.

 The rear is lifted from the 2005 s-class. It's already tired; so tired it's boring. MB needs new designers / anything new.

I was thinking the same thing. Nothing about this car looks extraordinary. People try tog give Caddy a hard time about the Alphas and Omega looking similar. Benz officially has a Small, Medium and Large thing going on with the C, E, and S Class. I won;t even get into the failed attempt by the CLA to steal from the CLS... 

Bottom line.. I keep askin myself.. HOW THE EFF IS THIS A BRAND TO ASPIRE TO?

Nothing fancy here....

The tail lights are actually closer to an 08 C-class, aside from the current cars.  I'd rather have seen them flip the tail light, make it more narrow at the top and wider at the bottom.  Or make it more of a rectangle.  I think the back end looks good as it is, but it also looks like the other 2 sedans.

And to Drew's point they seem to be dragging their feet on the I-6, which makes no sense when it would share parts with the I-4 and have cost savings.  The 3.0 turbo V6 is derived from the 3.5 V6, which dates back to 2010.  

And inline 6s date back to the 1910s.

nothing here to make one moist.

at the same time, nothing changes enough to shock the customer base.

The dash is dumpy looking.  They could have done better there.

agree, on the exterior, we've seen that look before.  The CD is impressive.

YAWN, Talk about a boring car on the outside. The rear is a dated rear as already mentioned and lets talk about the REDNECK lower front bumper with the Big Mouth Billy Bass openings on each side. How is this a luxury auto to aspire to when you have a bland un-motivational look.

I will grant them that the interior dash is nice, much better than the floating nav crap we have seen. Inside I like much nicer than past interiors but just equalling what everyone else is doing now.

Hate to say this but this E-Class reminds me of Cadillac peak just before Fake Leather and rebadging hit it's stride at GM. I wonder just how cheap MB will go next with this product.

The CD is impressive.

MB has been caught (more than once) fudging their .cd numbers downward. 

wouldn't surprise me, this doesn't look like a .23 shape

A well optioned C400 is more my style.

A well optioned C400 is more my style.

A CTS-VSport.. no.. CTS-V is more mine

This is another example of why I've liked MB for awhile now. They do their non-AMG cars with very subtle-ness and high class. Not flashy or offensive in any way, just classy and simple. 

I dig it. I'd drive something like this every day. I'd definitely have to have the largest boosted engine though. I'd want it to seem sleeper-ish while holstering 400ish hp. 

 

A well optioned C400 is more my style.

 

 

A CTS-VSport.. no.. CTS-V is more mine

 

Aren't those different classes of cars? Smaller vs mid size(or something like that).  Couldn't a C400 be more comparable to..nothing Caddy has - yet. 

What could Cadillac throw in the ATS to make a V-Sport? Or is the 335hp in the ATS comparable? Honestly, I don't know. That's why I'm asking. 

YAWN, Talk about a boring car on the outside. The rear is a dated rear as already mentioned and lets talk about the REDNECK lower front bumper with the Big Mouth Billy Bass openings on each side. How is this a luxury auto to aspire to when you have a bland un-motivational look.

 

I will grant them that the interior dash is nice, much better than the floating nav crap we have seen. Inside I like much nicer than past interiors but just equalling what everyone else is doing now.

 

Hate to say this but this E-Class reminds me of Cadillac peak just before Fake Leather and rebadging hit it's stride at GM. I wonder just how cheap MB will go next with this product.

Aren't most truly luxury items relatively bland and subtle for the price you pay for them? 

What about this is cheap in your eyes? The styling? Or have you sat in and gotten a chance to fiddle with the pieces that you actually feel? I guess I'm just confused how it can be cheap *at this stage of the game*. 

They do their non-AMG cars with very subtle-ness and high class. Not flashy or offensive in any way, just classy and simple. 

Allow me to ask for clarification on the above quoted portion.

If the '16 e-class fits these superlatives, in your opinion is this random '16 model below, any different or lesser so?

 

They do their non-AMG cars with very subtle-ness and high class. Not flashy or offensive in any way, just classy and simple. 

Allow me to ask for clarification on the above quoted portion.

 

If the '16 e-class fits these superlatives, in your opinion is this random '16 model below, any different or lesser so?

 

 

The hard angles and lines around the grill appear more aggressive, to me.  Also, chrome around the fog lights, and grill are asking for attention. The body lines on the MB are much softer and "rounder". Whereas the above are more straight lines coming to sharper points and less bends. Neither is right or wrong, but in my opinions I find the MB to be classier looking and more subtle with the body lines, less chrome, less angles, and even the head lights are much more aggressive on the above car(which I think looks sharp BTW).

To me, the best way to "clean up" the above car is just to ditch the tacky chrome around the fog lights and lower grill. I think that would make a huuuuge difference on that car. Make it body color or black.. but I think body color would look best. 

Also, in all fairness, I cannot tell from the pictures if the MB has chrome in the grill or if that is brushed/matte. It looks matte or brushed but, if I'm being honesty, it's difficult to tell. 

 

YAWN, Talk about a boring car on the outside. The rear is a dated rear as already mentioned and lets talk about the REDNECK lower front bumper with the Big Mouth Billy Bass openings on each side. How is this a luxury auto to aspire to when you have a bland un-motivational look.

 

I will grant them that the interior dash is nice, much better than the floating nav crap we have seen. Inside I like much nicer than past interiors but just equalling what everyone else is doing now.

 

Hate to say this but this E-Class reminds me of Cadillac peak just before Fake Leather and rebadging hit it's stride at GM. I wonder just how cheap MB will go next with this product.

Aren't most truly luxury items relatively bland and subtle for the price you pay for them? 

 

What about this is cheap in your eyes? The styling? Or have you sat in and gotten a chance to fiddle with the pieces that you actually feel? I guess I'm just confused how it can be cheap *at this stage of the game*. 

 

The point I am making is that Cadillac hit their ultimate stride of top quality materials and then they started to cheapen things up internally and externally. I am seeing MB do this as they expand their product line and once you grow too a certain point it seems executives then look for ways to cheapen up the auto to increase profits. The models they had at the Seattle Auto Show in Nov 2015 made me shake my head, as much as they did things right they also clearly went cheap in other areas.

 

 

YAWN, Talk about a boring car on the outside. The rear is a dated rear as already mentioned and lets talk about the REDNECK lower front bumper with the Big Mouth Billy Bass openings on each side. How is this a luxury auto to aspire to when you have a bland un-motivational look.

 

I will grant them that the interior dash is nice, much better than the floating nav crap we have seen. Inside I like much nicer than past interiors but just equalling what everyone else is doing now.

 

Hate to say this but this E-Class reminds me of Cadillac peak just before Fake Leather and rebadging hit it's stride at GM. I wonder just how cheap MB will go next with this product.

Aren't most truly luxury items relatively bland and subtle for the price you pay for them? 

 

What about this is cheap in your eyes? The styling? Or have you sat in and gotten a chance to fiddle with the pieces that you actually feel? I guess I'm just confused how it can be cheap *at this stage of the game*. 

 

 

The point I am making is that Cadillac hit their ultimate stride of top quality materials and then they started to cheapen things up internally and externally. I am seeing MB do this as they expand their product line and once you grow too a certain point it seems executives then look for ways to cheapen up the auto to increase profits. The models they had at the Seattle Auto Show in Nov 2015 made me shake my head, as much as they did things right they also clearly went cheap in other areas.

 

Alright, I understand what you're talking about with the cheapening. I cannot agree nor disagree as I haven't been in one in person(any of the new gen E-Classes). 

What about the "bland un-motivational look" part? (not trying to be a prick and start and argument, I'm genuinely curious about your opinion on that aspect of the car.)

The S-class has a .23 CD, so apparently this is an aerodynamic shape. I imagine the AMG sport package will liven it up a bit, but the E-class was never a flashy looking car.

I think this car looks better than the current car and the interior is light years ahead. The W212 interior I think is boring, it is well made, but not interesting.

This car is definitely not cheap when you look at all the color and trim choices, aluminum switches, the auto pilot features, self parking, the optional 1,350 watt stereo, etc.

 

 

A well optioned C400 is more my style.

 

 

A CTS-VSport.. no.. CTS-V is more mine

 

Aren't those different classes of cars? Smaller vs mid size(or something like that).  Couldn't a C400 be more comparable to..nothing Caddy has - yet. 

 

What could Cadillac throw in the ATS to make a V-Sport? Or is the 335hp in the ATS comparable? Honestly, I don't know. That's why I'm asking. 

 

Yup.. He did say "C." I was somehow still thinking we were in "E" segment.. my bad. Then I should have said ATS 3.6L or ATS-V... 

 

 

 

A well optioned C400 is more my style.

 

 

A CTS-VSport.. no.. CTS-V is more mine

 

Aren't those different classes of cars? Smaller vs mid size(or something like that).  Couldn't a C400 be more comparable to..nothing Caddy has - yet. 

 

What could Cadillac throw in the ATS to make a V-Sport? Or is the 335hp in the ATS comparable? Honestly, I don't know. That's why I'm asking. 

 

 

 

Yup.. He did say "C." I was somehow still thinking we were in "E" segment.. my bad. Then I should have said ATS 3.6L or ATS-V... 

 

Ahhh gotcha gotcha.. Understandable, as this is about the E Class.  That ATS-V that you looked at a little while back that was a matte pearl white.. I'd do naughty things for that car. 

The S-class has a .23 CD, so apparently this is an aerodynamic shape. I imagine the AMG sport package will liven it up a bit, but the E-class was never a flashy looking car.

I think this car looks better than the current car and the interior is light years ahead. The W212 interior I think is boring, it is well made, but not interesting.

This car is definitely not cheap when you look at all the color and trim choices, aluminum switches, the auto pilot features, self parking, the optional 1,350 watt stereo, etc.

Choices does not make a car's built and feel quality higher. 

Extreme example: You could offer a million colors of interiors and exterior colors(even materials) on a Geo Metro, but that doesn't make it a car that is built any better than the $h!bucket that it is. Unless, when you say "not cheap" you're referring to the purchase price in which you are spot on. A Mercedes E Class is not a cheap car to purchase. 

 

 

 

YAWN, Talk about a boring car on the outside. The rear is a dated rear as already mentioned and lets talk about the REDNECK lower front bumper with the Big Mouth Billy Bass openings on each side. How is this a luxury auto to aspire to when you have a bland un-motivational look.

 

I will grant them that the interior dash is nice, much better than the floating nav crap we have seen. Inside I like much nicer than past interiors but just equalling what everyone else is doing now.

 

Hate to say this but this E-Class reminds me of Cadillac peak just before Fake Leather and rebadging hit it's stride at GM. I wonder just how cheap MB will go next with this product.

Aren't most truly luxury items relatively bland and subtle for the price you pay for them? 

 

What about this is cheap in your eyes? The styling? Or have you sat in and gotten a chance to fiddle with the pieces that you actually feel? I guess I'm just confused how it can be cheap *at this stage of the game*. 

 

 

The point I am making is that Cadillac hit their ultimate stride of top quality materials and then they started to cheapen things up internally and externally. I am seeing MB do this as they expand their product line and once you grow too a certain point it seems executives then look for ways to cheapen up the auto to increase profits. The models they had at the Seattle Auto Show in Nov 2015 made me shake my head, as much as they did things right they also clearly went cheap in other areas.

 

Alright, I understand what you're talking about with the cheapening. I cannot agree nor disagree as I haven't been in one in person(any of the new gen E-Classes). 

 

What about the "bland un-motivational look" part? (not trying to be a prick and start and argument, I'm genuinely curious about your opinion on that aspect of the car.)

 

The bland un-motivational look is just that, many have pointed out the dated look of the tail lights, over all body shape and the big mouth billy bass front end. If you are to be the luxury leader that is elegant and understated but stands out, then you need to be that and not just a knock off of your older S series or other more generic jelly bean shapes. MB and BMW both have gotten very bland in their design language. Nothing inspirational here.

The S-class has a .23 CD, so apparently this is an aerodynamic shape. I imagine the AMG sport package will liven it up a bit, but the E-class was never a flashy looking car.

I think this car looks better than the current car and the interior is light years ahead. The W212 interior I think is boring, it is well made, but not interesting.

This car is definitely not cheap when you look at all the color and trim choices, aluminum switches, the auto pilot features, self parking, the optional 1,350 watt stereo, etc.

Maybe if you start with the flow on top of the windshield and flow over the super raked windshield you get .23 CD. But looking at that blunt nose, there is no way this auto is a .23 CD.