2010 Mercedes-Benz E-Class unveiled

[VenSeattle]

2010 Mercedes-Benz E-Class unveiled via web leak
Dec 9th 2008 at 3:28PM
Link to Article

We've seen so many spy shots of the upcoming 2010 Mercedes-Benz E-Class that these official images hardly move us. Yet here they are, three images leaked onto the web that reportedly reveal the final production form of the 2010 E-Class, which makes its official debut at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show in March.

The new E-Class was previewed by the Mercedes-Benz ConceptFascination that debuted at this year's Paris Motor Show, and we can see now that the front of the production car was heavily influenced by the concept. Gone are the round, quad headlamps, which have been replaced with new light fixtures that still number four but are more contemporary and clean. Strips of LEDs can also be had as fog lights in the outermost intakes of the lower front bumper, which must be a German thing as Audi and Porsche have placed the advanced lighting tech in similar areas on their cars. The soft lines of the current model have been chiseled into a crisper shape that shares creases with its big brother, the S-Class, and the new profile appears to be more forgiving of tall passengers in back. The unfortunate looking Galant-like rear end features large, rectangular tail-lights that cross over a rather voluminous-looking trunk.

We expect the new 2010 E-Class to be loaded with more advanced performance, safety and entertainment technology than ever before, including the ability to read road signs, monitor driver fatigue and see in the dark without its lights on. In Europe it will be available with engines that range from four to six to eight cylinders large and are fueled by either gas or diesel. In the U.S., we should expect what we have now: a V6, V8 and AMG model.

[Intrepidation]

I give it a solid "meh" based on what I've seen so far.

[Drew Dowdell]

Wow! No one could have predicted THAT!

[balthazar]

They really just don't know what to do stylistically anymore, do they ??

shuffle... shuffle... 'split' lights like the years-ago toyota gs & the LaCrosse... off-shelf LED light strips... hoary, tired mercedes grille... ding Done!

Reminds my of the current accord- 'gunked up' with swooshes & gimmicks. Messy.

[FAPTurbo]

[smk4565]

The front works, I like it more than the current car. Looks pretty good from the side, the rear is horrible. The back looks like a Japanese generic and ruins the car. The LED lights are an Audi ripoff, they look good on the Audi, but Mercedes didn't incorporate it as well.

[bobo]

The outgoing design is one of my favorites. As for this thing, it could be worse, but it has some unfortunate detailing that will not age well.

[Croc]

This looks really retro to me, and in a good way--I've always thought MB-design was at its zenith from the 1980s to the mid-1990s, with solid, purposeful lines that create an air of luxury and exclusivity. This is a return to that IMO. I want to see how the interior fares, though, as MB interiors have SUCKED the past decade.

[Nick]

I like it other than the rear. The back seems kind of "throwback-ish" but unfortunately has come out looking more asian-influenced in my opinion. What is it with MB and rear ends these days? I like the look of the cars until you get to the rear....Like the C-Class.

[CSpec]

No one knows how to design the back of a sedan anymore. I don't have much hope for the interior based on the awful design of the C-class.

[Nick]

No one knows how to design the back of a sedan anymore. I don't have much hope for the interior based on the awful design of the C-class.

The C-class interior has always looked awful in comparison to the other models though.

[SingleStylish]

Anyone else get an Avalon vibe from the pewter colored model?

[ZL-1]

front = good

rear = wtf is that?

[Robert Hall]

front = good

rear = wtf is that?

Same problem I have w/ the C- and S- class.... great front end design let down by weak rear end designs. The C- and E- have esp. generic rear end styling... nothing distinct about the rears, and the S- looks too Maybach-ish behind.

[balthazar]

There is a raging problem with modern design- specifically : the rear end.

Observe out on the road: 95% of all recent sedans/coupes feature the same elements: angled decklid sides dropping to a horizontal bumper, complete with a 'minivan indent' along the lower edge. Those same angled sides force taillights to likewise be angled, with perhaps 15% crossing the seam with lighting on the decklid. Roofs are all the same from the rear, backlights also... high profile, sharp-edged decks are an aerodynamic mandate.... really- what's left to juggle?? : taillight elements, reflector placement, and whether or not the license plate is in the decklid or the bumper. Whoopie-sh!t.

Face it- this is the end of the line. Aerodynamics in the name of CAFE are not going to allow anything other than a short, high, sharp-edged deck, and the diminuative dimensions & numbing practicality-first mindset of design will not allow anything less than the maximum trunk opening and minimal lift-over height, or risk ridicule.

And that's why this is so wonderfully refreshing, because the design is NOT dictated by panel seams... like every other sedan on the road :

Why there is so much focus on grades of plastics, meanwhile the entire industry stylistic trend of highlighting the most insipid detail of a motor vehicle, the panel seam, goes completely unnoticed is beyond me. Cohesive design should be based on forms, not on the 'cracks' in that form. Hail, hail the Challenger & Camaro.

[ZL-1]

Same problem I have w/ the C- and S- class.... great front end design let down by weak rear end designs. The C- and E- have esp. generic rear end styling... nothing distinct about the rears, and the S- looks too Maybach-ish behind.

Agreed on the S-Class: too Maybach wannabe. I don't dislike the C-Class butt that much. The think I find funny about the C-Class is that every time I look at one I think 'the guy who designed that front-end must have designed the Holden Statesman/Caprice's front-end too'.

Edited December 11, 2008 by ZL-1

[G. David Felt]

WOW How bland and boring can you get for a luxury car.

[MyerShift]

That rear end IS terrible. Reminds me of the newest Lexus ES.

[Sixty8panther]

Hmmm... Balthy makes an interesting point.

This "new" E-class is very *yawn* except for the rear end

where it's more just plain _FAIL. I hope to God Mercedes

does not muck up the next gen. CLK, I plan on buying one

of those decades from now as my "semi-modern" hardtop

winter beater, at least MB, unlike GM "gets it" about fixed

roof pillarless hardtops.

Shame on GM for making the CTS a 2-door sedan.

[A Horse With No Name]

They really just don't know what to do stylistically anymore, do they ??

shuffle... shuffle... 'split' lights like the years-ago toyota gs & the LaCrosse... off-shelf LED light strips... hoary, tired mercedes grille... ding Done!

Reminds my of the current accord- 'gunked up' with swooshes & gimmicks. Messy.

I would agree. This is another car that makes living on teh bus line look attractive.

Chris/66

[A Horse With No Name]

Hail, hail the Challenger & Camaro.

I would agree with this also. The Challenger is growing on me more and more all of the time.

Chris

[§carlet §wordfish]

I don't mind the rear end, love the rest.

[Intrepidation]

That rear end IS terrible. Reminds me of the newest Lexus ES.

It's a sad day when Lexus builds the more attractive car. This competes with the GS I think? Well I've always liked the current GS, and would buy one before I ever bought this E-Class. It may not be exciting to look at but at least it's cohesive.

Hail the Challenger and Camaro!

[MyerShift]

Aside from the mild facelift of the GS which I feel has uncomfortably melded the inner lamps and sculpturing of the painted surface, I really do consider the Lexus GS to be more attractive than this new E or the current E.

Mercedes-Benzes of the 1990's are my favourite stylistically. They seem very formal and classy without all the dreadful flash and overdone surface detailing born of Bangle's bastard BMW's.

Edited January 5, 2009 by MyerShift

[§carlet §wordfish]

I don't get why everyone complains about "slab-sided" designs but cars with any sort of sculpting on the body panels are "Bangled" or "overdone" or "too busy."

[fightingbee]

C-class looks like an Optima in back, now E-class looks like Amanti. Is there going to be a M-B that looks like the Kia "Soul" next?

[MyerShift]

I don't get why everyone complains about "slab-sided" designs but cars with any sort of sculpting on the body panels are "Bangled" or "overdone" or "too busy."

There's a limit to each.

I prefer less going on with the side panels of an exterior. I loved Audi's more restrained previous generation cars, like the first Audi TT or the second generation A4 from 2002 to 2005.

[Z-06]

The more I look at this thing the more it looks ho hum, generic, bland and nonexistent. It seems like Daimler used the same people who designed the Chrysler models, which is good for them considering how good they treated Chrysler.

[titan]

I don't like this car as all...

[smk4565]

The tail lights look like the Camry, the front looks almost Korean and the quad fog lights is just odd. I don't know what they were thinking, because the S-class, C-class and CLS all look pretty good and they look like a Mercedes. The interior is traditional Mercedes, but the exterior doesn't look how a Mercedes should.