The Mercedes-Benz E 200 L offers meaningful upgrades and a lot of tech. Following a short drive, we bring you the most memorable bits of our experience with the latest E, the V214.
Story: Joshua Varghese
Photography: Sanjay Raikar
The new Mercedes-Benz E-Class has so much technology that it is easy to forget about the things that make it a car. We got a chance to spend a few hours with the Mercedes-Benz E 200 L and as great as the tech, widgets, apps and what not were, we were most impressed by another side of this executive luxury saloon.
With aerodynamics influencing design more than ever, the new E is the sleekest yet. No doubts there. The most distinguishing feature is the grille which not only gives the E its own identity but also sets it apart from the C-Class and S-Class. It is worth noting that we only get the long wheelbase E in India as of now and that is almost 5.1 metres in length; closer than ever to the S-Class. It is a form that is easy to associate with success and importance. Other highlights include new LED light signatures and flush-fitting door handles. There are five colours on offer and they complement the elegant design well but underplay the excitement this car is capable of. While we appreciate Mercedes’ choice of 18-inch wheels that use 225/55 Nexen tyres, we feel that 17-inch units should have been provided as an option, given that good roads are still seasonal in most regions.
The new E gets soft-close for the doors which set the tone for what to expect in the cabin. Inside, its a carnival of tech. The huge dashboard looks more like a command centre than anything else and the option of a screen for the front passenger’s entertainment is a novelty at this point, not something that was necessary. The same could be said for the selfie camera on the dashboard that is capable of taking photographs and recording videos in addition to supporting video conferences when the car is stationary. That aside, the rest is in line with what one would expect from an E-Class. There is an excellent 17-speaker Burmester sound system and ambient lighting around the cabin that transforms the car into a lounge on wheels. Since we only get the long wheelbase model in India, we feel the E-Class is best utilized by those who are chauffeur-driven or have a use for the second row most of the time.
The second row offers multiple levels of adjustability, dedicated a-c vents, electric sunblinds and the insulation is good enough to isolate the passengers from the rest of the world. There is a button to send the front passenger’s seat all the way ahead for maximum leg room and it is clear that the rear seats were the focal points of this E. We have no complaints about the space, comfort or refinement but there were a couple of things that could be improved. We feel the camera that supports video conferencing would have been more meaningful if placed in the second row and given that the front passenger has their own screen for entertainment, it feels odd that the rear passenger does not get one as standard. One more thing worth noting is that the E-Class is still a fairly low car. Which means ingress and egress is not the easiest and may be a challenge for old people.
Meanwhile, a comfortable driving position is easy to achieve thanks to multiple levels of adjustability. The steering wheel does an impressive job of toeing the line between luxury and sport. In a nutshell, the new E could be equally engaging for driver and passenger alike.
We drove the E 200 which uses the M254 four-cylinder, turbo-petrol engine with a mild-hybrid system. That is the least powerful petrol engine on offer but it does develop an adequate 204 hp and 320 Nm of peak torque while the ISG is good for up to 23 hp and 205 Nm when required. Mercedes claim that 0-100 km/h takes a respectable 7.5 seconds and the car can go on to achieve a top speed of 240 km/h. Being the smallest engine in the E-Class line-up, we did not have great expectations from the E200 and it is reasonable to say that it performed adequately. Quick overtakes were easy and getting back on the pace after exiting a slow corner was also not a challenge. Power is sent to the rear wheels and the delivery is fluid and linear with only the slightest tinge of urgency. It is a car that can be driven smoothly with ease and those who intend to spend time on the highway will be pleased to note that it is unfazed at 120 km/h. The engine lives up to expectations in terms of performance, power delivery and refinement. Although it is barely audible from inside the car, it sounds more like a refined diesel than a petrol engine from the outside and we feel Merc could do better.
The E-Class long-wheelbase was not meant to be a driver’s car and the E 200 even more so. Despite that, I had fun driving it because it handles well and displays remarkable agility for its size. The feedback at the steering wheel and the precision of the inputs make driving enjoyable. For something that has a wheelbase close to four metres, the chassis and suspension set-up do an amazing job of convincing the driver that the new E’s handling dynamics have more in common with a smaller sedan than a land yacht. The car we drove did not have air suspension but the damping was progressive and the set-up was neither too stiff nor too soft. It had the ability to waft over undulations at good pace and was also open to carrying speed around a corner with minimal body roll. Some credit is due to the reasonably-sized tyres also. Most importantly, the E 200 was able to take speed-breakers head-on and emerge unscathed but very poor roads require the driver to be extra vigilant.
With disc brakes all around, the new E sheds speed quickly and the latest in safety tech offers peace of mind as well. There are eight airbags including one for the driver’s knee and a central airbag between the driver and co-passenger (first-ever for a made-in-India Merc). Mercedes’ preventive braking feature is something that we usually switch off in Pune traffic to avoid unexpected automatic braking because lane discipline is still an unrealised dream. The new E remembers your choice to do so and does not reset the function every time the car starts. Extremely useful.
The V214 E-Class is certainly among the most all-round Es ever made. It offers a useful balance of performance, handling and luxury. At Rs 78.50 lakh (ex-showroom), the E 200 is a worthy option for top-level executives and businessmen who prefer to be driven most of the time in a car that matches their social standing but it must be said that should they get behind the wheel, it is far from mundane. My time with the car was largely effortless and the only thing I was wary of were bad roads. Otherwise, this E-Class has everything one would need in an everyday car. E is closest to C in the alphabet but this E is closer than ever to the S and that seems like the best way to sum it up in a sentence. Now, it is time to sample the 220 d and the 450.
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