Mercedes-Benz E-Class 2016 Review - International

Mercedes-Benz E-Class
International Launch Review
Lisbon, Portugal

As the heart and soul of the Mercedes-Benz brand, the E-Class has been the quintessential luxury car. And the new model will maintain this legacy when it arrives in Australia from July 2016. Only now it can think – and drive – for itself, thanks to the highest level of autonomy seen on a production car today. That it's more efficient, safer and naturally more luxurious is the icing on the cake for a vehicle providing a glimpse of the future.
It's hard to know where to start with the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class. There's so much technology crammed into the curvaceously-crafted car it's difficult to grasp at first.

But the good news is that Mercedes has made accessing the dazzling array of tech very easy – in fact some of it works without requiring toggling. The question remains, can the car drive itself? Well, sort of.

But before we get all nerdy, let's start with the basics.

The E-Class is a large car, with a big boot and plenty of room for four fully-grown humans – five at a pinch. At 4923mm nose to tail, it's slightly longer (+43mm) than its predecessor so there's a bit more leg room for everyone, never a bad thing.

The German-built car is also an adept cruiser, with supple – and adjustable – suspension, light steering and a very quiet cabin. It's effortless to drive, quite literally. All models coming to Australia will be equipped with a nine-speed automatic transmission, a silky, refined unit, and swathed in sumptuous leather.

Three engine types will be offered in Australia from July in the form of the entry-level E 200, a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder unit (135kW/300Nm), and the smooth but strong E 350d 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel (190kW/620Nm).

But the variant that took my fancy was the mid-level E 220d, powered by a quieter, more refined and convincing powerplant than its 2.1-litre predecessor. This is chiefly because it's an all-new, all-alloy turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine, and the 2.0-litre unit's 143kW/400Nm power output gives it plenty of oomph when you stomp on the 'go' pedal, whether from standstill or overtaking on the motorway.

Burning diesel at a (claimed) rate of 3.9L/100km, a figure that used to be the preserve of compact cars and hybrids, the E 220d will be the choice for economisers.

The top-selling models, says Mercedes-Benz Australia, will be the E 300 and E400 4MATIC variants, scheduled for Aussie deployment late in 2016. The E 300 is equipped with a rorty 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine (180kW/370Nm) that blends performance and efficiency, using 6.6L/100km.

There was an opportunity to take the E 400 4MATIC on the Estoril race track for a handful of flat-to-the-floor tyre shredding laps. Few E-Class owners are likely to ever do the same, but for what it's worth the car showed surprising dexterity and speed for a car weighing more than 1800kg.

The twin-turbo V6 engine is athletic and eager, pumping out 245kW and 480Nm. It makes all the right noises and easily touches 200km/h on the main straight. But the story of the new E-Class is not one of dynamics and lap times, it's a tale of technology.

The sumptuously-equipped Benz features a gigantic all-digital dashboard and it's the first 'wow-factor' moment when you step into the car. Comprising two ultra-wide, high-resolution screens that span almost two thirds the width of the dash, everything from maps to instruments (speedometer, rev counter etc) look incredibly sharp.

However neither is a touch screen, which I found frustrating at times.

Instead Benz has included two 'world-first' touchpads on the steering wheel to control most car and infotainment functions. I'm not sold on the new input system (voice control remains my favourite) but it's still early days.

Apart from that, most of the controls will be familiar to current E-Class owners, from the seat adjustment buttons indicator and cruise control stalks. Speaking of which, tap the cruise control stalk twice – the same as a Tesla Model S electric car – and Drive Pilot engages, meaning it's time to relax.

And this is where the car's clever tech manifests in a meaningful way.

Taking advantage of a dizzying array of real-time data acquisition instruments, from stereo cameras to radar and ultrasonic sensors, the car will brake, accelerate and steer itself for varying amounts of time (limited by legislation, not computing capacity).

It's true that such semi-autonomous functionality is widely available on mainstream cars today. The difference here is the E-Class does autonomy better and more accurately than most, and throws in a few extras while sharpening existing safety tech.

For instance in slow-speed traffic during Lisbon's peak hour, the car drove itself for about 10-minutes straight, the only input being a tap of the cruise control stalk to tell the car to start moving once it had stopped at a traffic light.

It's also very handy on the freeway, navigating mild bends easily and automatically, keeping pace with other traffic and even changing lanes by flicking the indicator on for more than two-seconds.

The E-Class can reads signs too and adjusts to current speed limits accordingly, meaning you'll never get a speeding ticket again!

Unfortunately the sign recognition feature will not be offered in Australia. Nor will the impressive Remote Parking Pilot, whereby owners can hop out of the car and use their smartphone to guide the car remotely into super tight spots where the doors would be restricted, for instance.

My favourite feature was the 'heart attack' mode (my phrase, not Mercedes') which after 60 seconds of no input from the driver, the car assumes there's been a loss of consciousness and engages hazard lights and slows the car to a stop.

The autonomous emergency braking (AEB) functionality is also far more advanced than anything I've tested before, the system braking from 100km/h to zero progressively, with no input from the driver – and only if it cannot swerve left or right (yes it does that automatically too).

Perhaps the most impressive braking feature was the cross traffic function. Check the video for an example, but basically if a car crosses your path in a perpendicular direction and you're honking along, it'll apply maximum brakes. And it's brutally effective.

And get this, if it thinks a crash is going to occur it emits a short, sharp, slightly painful frequency blast through the stereo that prepares occupants' ear drums for the pressure of the crash, reducing potential damage. Experiencing the systems in a controlled environment was convincing.

The E-Class happily steers itself for prolonged periods of time without your hands on the wheel – by my count for up to a minute on the freeway if there's a few straights in-between – and together with the car's other autonomous features this makes it an exceedingly relaxing car to drive on the highway, because you can be inattentive and lazy.

But it ain't perfect.

Mercedes says the car can 'find its way' at speed of up to 130km/h without clear lane markings. This is true if it's following another vehicle or has a point of reference like lane marking, but the lack of these leaves the car blind and several times during testing it became confused and started to steer in the wrong direction.

Fool-proof the Drive Pilot technology is not.

While I'm having a whinge, the exterior design is uninspired. Mercedes-Benz calls the design philosophy 'sensual purity' but at 50 paces you'd be lucky to tell it apart from a C-Class, or S-Class for that matter. It's such a fascinating and progressive vehicle it deserves its own identity, something it's been denied.

All Mercedes E-Class models coming to Australia will be fitted as standard with the ultra-wide dual-screen dashboard, some semi-autonomous driver aids, such as automatic steering, braking and acceleration, dual touchpads on the steering wheel and LED headlights.

The LED headlights are comprised of 84 diodes per headlight cluster, and can independently switch on and off to angle the beams of light around corners. We had a burl during an evening drive, and they're effective.

The Mercedes-Benz catch-cry that the 10th generation E-Class is a "masterpiece of intelligence" is a little overwrought. It can't do your tax and won't develop cold fusion, but it is one of the most accomplished cars you can buy today, packaged with the most advanced semi-autonomous driver aids yet.

And beyond the leading-edge technology it's a fundamentally sound car too.

2016 Mercedes-Benz 220d pricing and specifications:
Price: $90,000 (approx)
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel
Output: 143kW/400Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Fuel: 3.9L/100km
CO2: 102g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: TBA

Also consider:
>> BMW 5 Series
>> Jaguar XF
>> Audi A6