My new E class musings..

[timskemp]

Well, while my car is racking up a labour bill to match that of a new alternator, I drove the little rented punto to my dealer and had a good sniff around this weeks fresh stock.

I like the new E class. A lot. But only the proper one. That's not to say the Coupe is rubbish (not driven either yet) but it isn't what I'd want as my daily driver.

Interiors are very special, but some of the trim seems cheaper (heater vents, auto selector) in the coupe. Options list is missing things like airmatic and distronic, revealing the W204 C class roots, and the coupe seems to be built in Bremen...

Outside though the saloon is refined but distinctive, not as big a change as the 5 series was but enough to make me wonder if I like the crease in the centre of the bootlid. I also like the front of the SE (with the twin round foglamps) more than the others (with the LED DRLs).

All the cars had leather bar one 220CDI SE, which is a shame as I wanted to see what the artico/microfibre was like in the sport. There was a seriously loaded (350CDI, auto, column shift, pan roof, comand etc) sport in obsidian that looked stunning, and it's twin but without pan roof in Tenorite was also stunning. White will take some getting used to but palladium worked well also - dark ones looked better than the light ones to my eyes.

They had a white coupe with a pano roof too, just can't bring myself to liking white cars, even though the C class isn't too bad...

Summary... I like the saloon, and I think there is going to be one in my future, the coupe is disappointing, let's see what the new CLS looks like before making minds up...

 

[corned]

I have to say I agree with every word you have written.

When I was sat in it, the 212 saloon seemed smaller and more enclosed than my 211, head room in particular, but that could of course have been the seat base being set higher.

The colours I agree with you about as well. I hate to say it, but I like the press-release brown!

I'm not entirely happy with the styling of the rear wings, but having read the literature I understand that it is designed to be reminiscent of the Ponton saloon rear wing of the '50s.

I'm sure we'll all come to love it. The coupe, like you, I'm not so sure about. I think naming it an E-Class might be a step just a little too far, which is a shame as it otherwise may well be a perfectly competent car.

 

[DieselE]

Summary... I like the saloon and I think there is going to be one in my future.

Those were my thoughts exactly after a tyre kicking session in my local dealer. I was surprised at how small the interior of the coupe seemed. Leg room in the rear with the front seats well back looked particularly restricted.

 

[Smatt]

Those were my thoughts exactly after a tyre kicking session in my local dealer. I was surprised at how small the interior of the coupe seemed. Leg room in the rear with the front seats well back looked particularly restricted.

I compared the coupe to my CL203 coupe & thought it was pretty reasonable in terms of legroom etc. What I did not think was so good was the headroom in the back

 

[Mactech]

Just got back from the local dealers who had a whole flock of new E class saloons and coupes. Had a good look around and have to agree with most of the comments above. However I left with a distinct impression of being…well…underwhelmed.
My wife was aghast that she had to fumble under the front of the seat to move it forward (!) maybe she’s been spoilt. She did feel the seats in the sport model were very comfortable, but that was the extent of the praise.
Unlike the American reviewer in another thread, I felt the totally black and aluminium interiors lacked the warm and class of the old E. Some of the detail plastics and boot trim looked like it had been signed off by the accountants and not the engineers.
I’m not big, but I would not be happy in the back of the coupe.
I have yet to drive one and might well be won over by the engineering competence, but having driven a Jaguar XF a couple of weeks ago I know which way I would jump if I decided a new car was called for.
But I suspect we are far better to stay with what we have.

 

[BenzedUP]

I test drove the new E350 Coupe it's a lovely car, I personally think the E class saloon is far to boxy for my taste, if I ever buy a new E-class then it surer would be the Coupe with the nice 3.5L V6 under the hood, love the way it drives, feels so balanced.

 

[del320]

I returned to Mercedes Edinburgh today for more bits for the coupe, so took the opportunity to have a second look at the new E-Class coupe to see if my first impressions were perhaps unfair.

Second impressions confirmed my initial opinion that it is execrable. Far above any criticism I might have about the styling - purely subjective of course, but that rear quarterlight is a truly lousy lashup of design - my greatest complaint concerns the lack of space and even more seriously, the lack of visibility.

My preference is to set my seat fairly high so that in my C124 (with sunroof) my bonce is half an inch from the headlining. Should I wish to accomodate rear passengers, there is ample room under my seat for their feet.

Set the seat in the new E-Coupe to a comfortable (for me) position and the centre roof console dips below my line of vision and with the large mirror below, effectively cuts out any view out of the whole left side of the windscreen. Incredible!

So I lowered the seat considerably and consequently had to push it back an inch or so. Result? Marginally better view forwards - though still unacceptable, and impossible to use the rear seat. No room for feet, knees pressed hard against the nasty unyielding plastic seatback and insufficient headroom. The high waistline and sharply sloping windows make for very poor side visibility and the lack of a standard sunroof - in a "pillarless" coupe is a nonsense.

The sense of claustrophobia was heightened by the oppresive all-black interior.

I don't care how well it allegedly drives, as a four seater coupe it is an utter failure, unlike it's predecessors - and remember, the C124 in considerably smaller in every direction including height.

BTW, it's also fugly.

 

[BenzedUP]

Second impressions confirmed my initial opinion that it is execrable. Far above any criticism I might have about the styling - purely subjective of course, but that rear quarterlight is a truly lousy lashup of design - my greatest complaint concerns the lack of space and even more seriously, the lack of visibility.

My preference is to set my seat fairly high so that in my C124 (with sunroof) my bonce is half an inch from the headlining. Should I wish to accomodate rear passengers, there is ample room under my seat for their feet.

Set the seat in the new E-Coupe to a comfortable (for me) position and the centre roof console dips below my line of vision and with the large mirror below, effectively cuts out any view out of the whole left side of the windscreen. Incredible!

So I lowered the seat considerably and consequently had to push it back an inch or so. Result? Marginally better view forwards - though still unacceptable, and impossible to use the rear seat. No room for feet, knees pressed hard against the nasty unyielding plastic seatback and insufficient headroom. The high waistline and sharply sloping windows make for very poor side visibility and the lack of a standard sunroof - in a "pillarless" coupe is a nonsense.

The sense of claustrophobia was heightened by the oppresive all-black interior.

I don't care how well it allegedly drives, as a four seater coupe it is an utter failure, unlike it's predecessors - and remember, the C124 in considerably smaller in every direction including height.


BTW, it's also fugly.

I disagree here, I found the car to be roomey in the front but maybe the rear has abit less room but its a coupe not a 4 door saloon, it's easily better than the CLK i'm 5ft10 and I set the seat to my position and I reckon there is easily enough room for a mid sized man but if your really fat then you need a bmw 7 series!

and you can't call the E class coupe ugly seriously it's one of the nicest cars on the market today, easily better looking than a bmw 3 series coupe or even a bmw 6series or an audi A5!

Build quality was totally fine with me, did not see any problems with it.

Personally i've already fallen in love with the E-class coupe!!

I guess end of the day it all comes down to personal taste as they say each to their own!

 

[BenzedUP]

I don't care how well it allegedly drives, as a four seater coupe it is an utter failure, unlike it's predecessors - and remember, the C124 in considerably smaller in every direction including height.

So just becuase a car has less room than you expect at the back and you don't like the looks then it becomes an "utter failure"?

what about the other points like the saftey? the technology? the luxury? the way it drives? the engine? doesnt all that count? if you want a car with alot of space buy the E class saloon, its not as good looking but it has more room than the coupe!

 

[timskemp]

I'm giggling here, that people are complaining about the rear headroom in a coupe....

If you're gonna use them rear seats regularly you'll want doors to go with them. The new shape has a record drag coefficient, driver and copilot space is fine. You can have the same car with a different interior for a lower price with extra doors and headroom by buying a W204 C class.

I wanted to like the coupe, but I want comfort and for me I'm hoping for airmatic on my next car, so that's an proper E, or a CL / SL / S.

Currently a new car is not on my list of expenditure, with me hitting high miles on mine it's got to be diesel (so that's CL/SL off the list) so the next one will likely be an E... or an S...