Mercedes-Benz E-Class Review
Published: 28th February 2005
Mercedes-Benz E-Class
How It Looks - Exterior
The new Mercedes-Benz E-Class is a stunningly attractive car with a sleek coupe-like side profile and great road presence.
The four-headlamp front has been revised, a hint of a rear spoiler is now visible on the boot lip, the side profile has shorter front and rear overhangs, new curved lights enhance the rear of the car incorporating LED brake lights and indicators now feature in the exterior mirror housings for safety reasons.
The familiar pop-up Mercedes-Benz badge still retains its position on the E-Class’ bonnet.
How It Looks - Interior
The interior design reflects the E-Class's exterior elegance with a beautifully crafted cabin. Our test car featured the optional leather upholstery which enhanced the ambience of the cabin and luxury colour coordinated floor mats and carpet complete the look. Black bird's-eye maple wood trim is standard on the Avantgarde model with subtle chrome accents.
The dashboard design is new and the dials are chromed with black-on-white
for the Avantgarde model.
In Car Entertainment and Satellite Navigation
Our test car featured an Audio 50 APS system (£1,160 option) which features a radio/cassette/6-CD in-dash autochanger and CD-ROM Satellite Navigation system with colour screen. The autochanger is hidden behind an innovative powered panel. The sound quality was excellent.
Rivals
- Audi A6, BMW 5 Series & Jaguar S-TYPE
What We Liked
- Exterior & interior styling
- Performance
- Ride & handling
- Optional AIRMATIC Dual Control semi-active air-suspension system
- Five-speed automatic gearbox with Tipfunction
- Fuel consumption
- Electric seats with memory function
- Automatically dimming rear view mirror and drivers side exterior mirror
- Xenon headlamps
What We Disliked
It is difficult to find many faults with the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class - However,
- The parking brake release mechanism is not lit at night making it fiddly to operate
What We'd Like To See
- A lit parking brake release mechanism
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