First Drive: 2013 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Range

Ray Leathern meets the new E-Class boss, and he’s exactly the same as the old boss, except for the bits that are different.

Mercedes-Benz has done such a convincing job with the 2013 E-Class range you might be fooled into believing this is an all-new bunch of cars. But what they’ve actually only done is give the E-Class a more finely-boned nose, a different arse on certain models, a few bits of new technology, a new engine here and new hybrid there, a splash of chrome on the interior, and ‘voila,’ the ever-green E-Class is back on everyone’s automotive wish list. Not that it ever should have fallen off, in my opinion.

The Mercedes-Benz has always been the best large/mid-size luxury sedan you can buy and now the new(ish) one lives on by the credo: “Intelligent performance through emotion.” Perfectly Germanic in philosophy then. There are 16 models in total so there’s no time to waste.

The Mercedes-Benz E-Class range spans from four-cylinder to eight-cylinder petrol engines, four-cylinder to six-cylinder diesel engines, the sedan body style, the estate, the cabriolet, the coupe, a new diesel hybrid model and finally the fan favourite AMG models. What is new across the entire range are full LED headlamps and the new ‘four-eyed’ headlamp look. Yes, the German’s have given the E-Class a pair of glasses but you know what, don’t call it four-eyes to its face, because it works.

The new E-Class front end comes in any manner of shapes across the different body styles but it displays an elegance and subtlety we simply haven’t seen yet on large cars in the market. There is the ‘elegance’ look with no star on the front grille but there is ‘avant-garde’ with a star and a single louvre going through it, then there is the double, split louvre of the AMG model. Each builds where the other left off and the car is undeniably attractive.

Starting with the BlueDirect petrol engines, the range gains a new addition courtesy of a bi-turbo 3.0-litre six-cylinder engine called the E 400. It produces 20 kW more compared with the E 350 and torque has increased by 110 Nm, we didn’t have a chance to sample it on the launch.

Another new addition to the BlueDirect petrol engine family is a four-cylinder petrol engine. The E 250 consumes just 5.8 L/100 km and produces 150 g/km of CO2 per km. It produces 155 kW and 350 Nm from its 2.0-litre displacement and will accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.4 seconds. We did sample the E 250 in the coupe body style and it felt agile and, well, sufficient for a car of this size and stature.

Below the E 250 lives the E 200 with 135 kW and 300 Nm, we did not sample this engine on the launch but have done in the past. Finally the E 500 V8 is a 4.7-litre bi-turbo with 300 kW and 600 Nm. It will sprint to 100 km/h in 4.9-seconds, consume 8.9 L/100 km and it has a very healthy CO2 g/km figure of just 209. We drove this model in the sedan body style and enjoyed the torque and muted soundtrack. It is efficient V8 performance it its very best.

Moving onto the diesel engines in the E-Class range, some of the diesel models are available as BlueTEC models fitted with the established SCR (selective catalytic reduction) technology and some without. The E 250 CDI is the same 2.2-litre as before in older E-Class models with 150 kW and 500 Nm, which accelerates to 100 km/h in 7.5-seconds, consumes 4.8 L/100 km and emits 136 g/km of CO2. We did sample it and found the performance and response, well relaxing, let’s put it that way. We may have been nodding off, if we’re honest.

You see, we had driven the E 350 BlueTec 3.0-litre V6 diesel with 185 kW and 620 Nm of torque, the day before and we believe it to be the ‘all-things-considered’ pick of the entire engine range. The torque is juicy and squelches you into your seat nicely as you sprint to 100 km/h in 6.6 seconds and yet you’ll still sip fuel at 5.5 L/100 km and emit just 157 g/km. The E350 BlueTec is a really great engine and car combination.

The diesel engine range is then supplemented with the E 300 BlueTec Hybrid. We didn’t get the chance to sample this unfortunately but what it does is combine the 2.2-litre four-cylinder diesel engine with an electric motor worthy of 20 kW. The hybrid is the first such diesel vehicle in its class and sprints to 100 km/h in 7.5 seconds and it can consume just 4.2 L/100 km, while producing only 107 g/km CO2 emissions. Mercedes-Benz believes it will account for 10% of all E-Class sedan sales in the not so distant future.

When it comes to AMG models, the E63 AMG is probably the best all-rounder of the lot. Now Mercedes-Benz has decided to take advantage of that and offer an even more hardcore version of the E63 AMG, the E63 AMG S-Model. We don’t get the E63 AMG S-Model with 4Matic all-wheel drive; that model can get to 100 km/h in less than 4 seconds thanks to the extra traction. No, we just get the extra power, but two-wheel drive only.

The new E 63 AMG S-Model has an output of 430 kW and 800 Nm of torque thanks to its AMG 5.5-litre V8 bi-turbo engine. The ‘standard’ E63 AMG model makes 410 kW and 720 Nm of torque which is a good jump up from the 386 kW and 700 Nm of torque of the old model. 0 – 100 km/h is done in 4.2 seconds and 4.1 seconds respectively between the standard and S-model.

The new E 63 AMG also presents a more dynamic appearance than the predecessor. The ‘twin blade’ radiator grille and the ‘A-wing’ of the AMG front apron define the exclusive look. The top AMG model is available locally as a sedan variant. We were lucky enough to drive the standard 410 kW E63 AMG model quite extensively and it did not disappoint. It was a journey of discovery finding its supreme confidence on the highway and on quick, sweeping back roads. The abundance of Nm of torque and the plentiful gear ratios made high speed cruising very pleasurable.

The cars commanding, LED front end also parted traffic like the Dead Sea on route. Radar cruise control would have been a nice addition though especially for a car that does everything else so seamlessly, but it wasn’t optioned. We played with wa’benzi’s toys like massaging and bolstering seats and the Sat Nav, stereo interface, which is perfectly usable and intuitive.

Also, after a fast blast in the AMG, the car felt like it had hardly broken a sweat. Hours of driving had gone by in what felt like a few minutes and the locals of the farming villages wherever you go, take it upon themselves to give waves and rubber necks to wa’benzi as you throttle past.

The dynamic control of the E63 AMG when you fiddle with a few sport+ buttons and suspension buttons couldn’t be more of a driving surprise if it jumped out of a cake wearing a bright red thong. The handling, and most importantly the grip, on the more challenging mountain passes of the Western Cape will astound you rather than frighten you. This is thanks to very balanced steering and while the ride does start to rebound when you tackle fast, bumpy corners with real gusto, 90% of the time, the E63 AMG feels poised and commanding and the bolstering seats really work wonders in this kind of environment.

Some extra praise should be reserved for the E-Class and its LED headlamps. Having all the various models to drive and safety demonstrations at the Stellenbosch airfield, it meant we went late into the night and the auto-beam function stole the show on a dangerous blast up Franschhoek Pass.

The headlamps are a fantastically advanced piece of kit that works seamlessly to not just dip the high beams when cars approach, but alter the angle of light inch perfectly when it detects another car in front. We followed a car up the pass and it left a block of darkness around its taillights the entire way up, like homing radar chasing the afterburners of a jet plane in a dog fight, but we got to see everything else in technicolour.

Check out this short video from the launch of the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class to see the vehicles in motion.

2013 Mercedes-Benz E-Class pricing: (including VAT excluding CO2 tax)

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