Space impact

With the new long-wheelbase, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class gets a sporty and luxurious update

In order to make the rich and mighty a lot happier, Mercedes-Benz India has launched a long-wheelbased E-Class that boasts of copious amount of space in the rear. Why the rear? Because cars like the Mercedes-Benz E-Class are usually chauffeur driven. 

Apart from the space, the car has ambient lighting, with 64 different shades for your cabin that light up areas on the dashboard, under the front seats and on the door trims.  

I was handed over the keys to the 350d, powered by a 2,987 cc V6 diesel engine in the beautiful state of Goa.  The new E-Class also comes with a 1991 cc four-inline petrol engine option. Both the petrol and diesel engines are mated to a 9G-Tronic transmission, which, in essence, means that it is automatic and has nine forward gears. 

The moment you touch the start/stop button, the engine kicks into life. Dynamic settings adjusted with the touch of a finger on a scroll button allow you to choose different drive modes: Eco, Comfort, Sport or Sport+. Seated on the driver’s seat, I found a niggling problem with the foot well area. The space between the dead pedal and the brake pedal was a bit narrow for my liking. 

Photos: Afsar Baig

The new long-wheelbase is 5,063 mm in length, which means it is 184mm longer than the current E-Class and translates into more than 50 per cent rear space as compared to the current version.  There are signature twin LED daytime running lights and high-performance headlamps in the front , while the rear has LED taillights with a crystal look. There is an LED turn-signal in the outside rear-view mirrors. 

The smart design of the new E-Class is further accentuated by  a large panoramic sunroof. The bold and muscular front grille with large air intakes in the bumper as well as grille areas, along with the 17-inch, 10-spoke light alloy wheels, make this version very sporty in its appearance. Interestingly, to give the rear section a spacious feel, the rear quarter glass has also been moved into the C-pillar.

The diesel variant comes with additional front-door illuminated sills, apart from the standard rear-door illuminated sills. The seat diagonally behind the driver has several controls that come alive with the touch of a “chauffeur package” button. 

While the front area has two climate zones for the driver and the co-passenger, the entire rear area has one climate zone and can be adjusted with the tweak of two switches that take care of the car’s fan speed and temperature. But what are horribly missing are the controls for the 13-speaker Burmester sound system in the car, which can only be controlled from the front.

The dash area is made of stitched artico that find their way into the plush seats too. The dash has a smart analog clock giving the car a retro touch. The console area has wooden trimmings in piano black finish. The steering wheel with paddle shifts can be electronically adjusted for rake and reach and what makes this car unique is the fact that even the steering has two touch pads on either sides of it. The left one controls the display of the 12.3-inch screen on the dash, while the right one controls the display in the 7.4-inch area in the instrument cluster area. Apart from this, the steering has the usual buttons to adjust sound and receive, reject or mute phone calls. The larger touch pad in the console area also serves the purpose of changing the setting on the 12.3-inch screen, as does the large knob. The screen now also gets Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smart phone connectivity.

The new E-Class can even park itself, for which it takes assistance from the 360-degree aerial view cameras and several sensors. It also comes with parking sensors for front and back.

The new E-Class diesel comes with Air Body control or adaptive air suspension, which, once activated through the press of a button on the console, enables the car to be raised by 25 mm. But then, as the vehicle begins to climb to speeds above 80 kmph, the car comes down by 15 mm automatically. The new E-Class from Mercedes-Benz offers absolute indulgence.

Motown India; www.motownindia.com