Details and high quality images of the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class saloon have leaked online by the German website Auto Press, a week ahead of the car's official debut at the Detroit motor show on January 11th. They show a car that is hardly surprising in its styling (looking very much like an upsized C-Class) but one that is, on these initial impressions, more handsome than the outgoing model.
The new E-Class rides on a platform which shares much with both the C-Class and S-Class, and with an extra 65mm in its wheelbase, it should be even more spacious than the already-roomy current E-Class, in spite of being lighter. It’s also very aerodynamically efficient, with a 0.23cd figure being rather impressive for a big, spacious executive saloon.
We’ve already seen most of the details of the interior, which features an S-Class-like cabin with full-width digital displays on the more expensive models (and more conventional analogue dials on lesser ones) and the car is promised to come with much self-driving and autonomous technology, including a system that safely changes lanes on the motorway when driving with the active cruise control activated.
Mercedes will offer four suspension options for the car; a standard setup, a 15mm-lower setting for sportier Avantgarde models, one that uses adaptive dampers (as well as a 15mm drop in ride height) for AMG equipment packs and an top-spec air-suspension model.
Engines will start with a new 2.0-litre turbo petrol E200 as well as a newly-developed 2.0-litre diesel E200d which has 195hp and returns a claimed 3.9l/100km (72mpg).
A plugin hybrid E350e with 275hp will also be available as well as the inevitable 600hp+ AMG model with its 4.0-litre twin turbo V8 engine. All cars will be available with Merc’s recently-introduced nine-speed automatic transmission and 4MATIC four-wheel-drive will be available, although it’s not yet confirmed for right hand drive markets.
