New look for 2013 Mercedes-Benz E-Class

A wave of development urgency at Mercedes-Benz has seen the German giant add more efficient engines, more equipment and smooth some of the awkward angles from its E-Class mainstay.

Under significant pressure from BMW’s 5 Series and Audi’s surging A6, plus its own CLS stablemate, the 2013 E-Class has been gifted a host of safety upgrades, new direct-injection four-cylinder engines and a complete reskin – just four years after its model introduction in 2009.

Mercedes-Benz design boss, Gorden Wagner, has fulfilled his wish by ditching the E-Class’s four-light face and replacing it with a cleaner, single-light treatment and chasing away angles from almost every panel in the car.

While its basic architecture and its proportions remain the same, the E-Class now has a single feature line running down each flank, a redesigned bonnet and new front and rear bumpers. It also introduces LED technology to the normally staid nameplateincluding the option of full LED headlights.

The E-Class picks up lessons from its smaller C brethren, offering two different grille treatments for the first time. While one of the C-Class’s packages is called 'Sport', that’s a bit too risqué for the E-Class, which goes instead for either Elegance or a less-staid Avantgarde look.

The new, smoother design brief for the E-Class’s once sharply creased panels carries over into the cabin, where a three-dial instrument cluster and a wide two-tier dashboard dominate the businessman’s express.

In an expensive overhaul, the E-Class’s interior also gets new vents, a new analogue clock and a new multi-function steering wheel. The gearshift moves to a stalk on the steering column to free up space for the centre console, while it also uses steering wheel-mounted paddles for manual shifting.

Beneath the bonnet, the upgraded E-Class will utilise a new generation of direct-injection four-cylinder petrol engines to pull its CO2 emissions down to as little as 135g/km and its fuel consumption down to 5.8L/100km.

Using the same 'spray-guiding' technology as Benz already uses in some six and eight-cylinder engines, the new engines are dubbed BlueDIRECT by Benz. They feature variable valve timing on both the inlet and exhaust camshafts, a stratified lean burn combustion system and multi-spark ignition. The fours use a dynamic balancer, on-demand oil and water pumps and turbocharging.

The four-cylinder, 2.0-litre engine produces 135kW of power in the E 200, but 155kW in its E 250 trim. While both models produce 135 grams of CO2 per kilometre, the E 200’s 300Nm of torque falls 50Nm short of its more expensive brother, which runs to 100km/h in 7.4 seconds.

The E-Class' range of 3.5-litre naturally aspirated V6 engines run similar BlueDIRECT technology, with twin-turbocharging now boosting the performance of the E 400 from the base V6’s 185kW to 245kW and slashing its 0-100km/h time by 1.2 seconds to enter sports-sedan territory at 5.9 seconds.

While it runs a new, smaller 3.0-litre block, the E 400 delivers a crunching 480Nm from just 1600rpm, while using 7.5L/100km of fuel on the combined cycle.

The E 500 still tops the range, with the twin-turbo V8 thumping out 300kW and 600Nm to burst to 100km/h in just 5.2 seconds.

There is a full range of diesel engines, too, ranging from the 360Nm E 200 CDI four-cylinder twin-turbo to the 620Nm E 350 BlueTEC V6.

Hybrid technology also sneaks in, with Mercedes-Benz combining its 2.2-litre, twin-turbocharged diesel four-cylinder with a larger battery and a 19kW/250Nm electric motor to deliver 0-100km/h performance in 7.5 seconds.

The hybrid system delivers a combined 150kW of power and there is 500Nm at just 1600rpm, all while delivering the E-Class’s most frugal fuel economy of 4.1L/100km and just 107g/km of CO2 emissions.

These engines all mate to a seven-speed automatic transmission and Australian versions will be rear-wheel drive exclusively, Benz’s all-wheel drive 4Matic system is optional on left-hand drive models.

The Elegance models ride on a variation of the existing E-Class’s multi-link rear suspension and wishbone front end, while Avantgarde models sit 15mm closer to the ground. The V8 models all score air suspension and a lowered AMG package is available for all E-Classes.

The steering systems will be electromechanical, with a combination of a speed sensitive, variable-rate rack-and-pinion system and on-demand help for the steering gear via an electric motor.

Inside, the E-Class gets a new TFT infotainment screen and wireless internet capability, or a larger version complete with Google search capability.

In terms of safety, the E-Class will take an incremental step forward and introduce some of the thinking that will feature in the upcoming 2013 S-Class.

Dubbed 'Intelligent Drive' by Mercedes-Benz, the E-Class will combine information from a host of new safety and comfort sensors into one big brain. Critically, instead of one large multi-purpose camera, the new E-Class will have two, set at 45 degrees. This will give the car’s 'brain' a three-dimensional view of the road for up to 50 metres, though its total range is around 500m.

The computer’s algorithms will be able to detect the differences between oncoming vehicles, vehicles crossing the road and vehicles travelling in the same direction. It goes further than that by not only identifying pedestrians of all ages, but calculating whether or not they will cross the path of the car.

It combines with Benz’s usual dazzling array of safety features, including upgrades of its drowsy driver detection system and its radar-based collision-prevention assistant and other systems that minimize the risk of rear-end collisions.

The new E-Class will make its motor show debut at the upcoming North American International Motor Show in Detroit. The range will start to arrive in local Mercedes-Benz dealerships from the middle of 2013 and, like the latest C-Class, should be accompanied by sharper pricing.

Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at the carsales mobile site