Prototype Drive
When January 1 hits, nobody who follows the auto industry for a living has any problem remembering what year it is. Model years have had us thinking 2013 since sometime in mid-2012. It’s as refreshing to have the rest of the country join us in 2013 as it is disheartening that Ryan Seacrest still exists. Now, thanks to Mercedes, we’re really getting ahead of ourselves.
The E-class is getting a major overhaul for (model year) 2014. The E350 and the E550 4MATIC are going on sale in spring of this year, along with a new E400 hybrid. The E350 sedan will be available with rear- or all-wheel drive; the wagon will be available only with all-wheel drive. Later this summer, the 2014 E250 BlueTec diesel will go on sale. More than a year after that, in the fall of 2014, the 2015 E400 (not to be confused with the aforementioned E400 hybrid) will appear. In the sedan, the twin-turbo six will replace the E550’s V-8. In the E-class coupe and convertible, it won’t. (More on that in a second.)
Behind the Wheel and Creeping Nannies
There’s little about the E-class to entice the driver to make those miles pass any faster. The steering—now electrically assisted—is good in that it is hefty, bad in that it is slow and boasts little feel. It’s not engaging, but neither is it off-putting. The good news is the E-class feels like it has one of the most rigid body shells in the business.
In addition to the new sheetmetal, all the next-gen E-classes get an upgraded interior. A few minor layout tweaks are aimed at a more upscale appearance, but Mercedes went heavy on the tech upgrades. The car now has no fewer than 24 cameras and radar and ultrasonic sensors looking forward, to the sides, and behind. It will watch for pedestrians and cross traffic, imminent rear-enders, and potential sideswipings; it will, in heavy traffic and at low speeds, handle all throttle, brake, and steering inputs; and it will parallel-park for you—or, if you want to try it yourself, provide a bird’s-eye view of the scene.
The parking feature isn’t as deft as some competitive systems, though, and left us feeling as if the average human might do a better job. And the traffic-following feature—included under Mercedes’ Distronic Plus adaptive-cruise-control banner—deactivates if it senses your hands are off the wheel. It does this by monitoring steering inputs; zero inputs are assumed to mean your hands are busy tapping out enraged e-mails on your cell phone. Mercedes likes to say the E-class is previewing many of the features of the upcoming S-class, but it’s also true that it’s postviewing a number of features from much cheaper cars—say, the Ford Focus’s self-parking or the European VW Passat for the trunk that opens when you wave your foot under the bumper.
