E-class goes to great lengths for luxury
New two-door isn’t sensible, but it is about pleasing the senses, says David Linklater.
Bigger is still better in the world of luxury coupes. The new two-door version of Mercedes-benz’s E-class is more than 4.8 metres long: longer, in fact, than the E-class sedan and wider too, despite having a shorter wheelbase and 45mm-lower roofline. The proportions are rather extravagant.
As they should be, because nobody buys a large coupe for entirely practical reasons. It’s still a relatively useful car of course, with a spacious cabin, rear-seating for adults and a decent boot.
But the shorter, cheaper sedan is more practical still. The E-class coupe will be bought for its presence, high style and the fact that it’s clearly an indulgent choice.
Of course, imposing size is also important when there’s a C-class coupe in the showroom that looks remarkably similar.
The E-class coupe is being launched in New Zealand in three variants.
The $102,900 E 200 and $122,900 E 300 are both powered by a 2-litre turbo-four, making 135kw/300nm and 180kw 370Nm respectively. The $151,900 E 400 steps up to the 3-litre biturbo six with 245kw/480nm.
The powertrains mirror their sedan equivalents.
All coupe models have an AMG styling kit as standard, a package that’s optional on the 200/300/400 sedans.
Compared with its sedan sibling, the E 200 costs an extra $3000 but gains leather upholstery, illuminated door sills and 19-inch alloys.
The E 300 coupe is also $3000 more expensive than the sedan, but gains a sports exhaust system.
Other standard equipment includes adaptive air suspension, heated front seats, multi-beam LED lights and 20-inch rims.
The E 400 coupe costs $2000 more than the same-engine sedan and shares its 4Matic all-wheel drive system. Standard equipment includes a head-up display, metallic paint and a panoramic glass roof.
We’ve had a day to sample two of the new coupe variants in Australia: the E 300 and E 400.
The E 200 actually looks promising on paper, as you get quite a lot for your money compared with the equivalent sedan, and similar styling across the coupe-range means you’re not really losing much in terms of status compared with the more expensive models.
However, we’ll wait until we spend some time in that variant here in NZ to pass judgment.
For now, the higher-powered coupes are where things get a bit more serious from the driver’s point of view.
The 300 is where you start to get dynamic equipment such as larger wheels and adaptive air suspension.
That’s not to say it’s a sports car, despite the sleek looks. Any luxury car of this size is more about comfort than cornering speed and that’s certainly true of the E-class coupe. Even the sports exhaust is quite muted on this model.
However, the Air Body Control suspension does allow you more scope to tailor the car to your own liking, adding an extra dimension to the drive-mode selection.
It certainly has a more engaging feel than the sedan, because the twodoor has a shorter wheelbase and you’re sitting lower.
It’s a big price-step up from the E 300 to the E 400, and you really can’t tell the difference from the outside without looking at the badges on the back. But you certainly get a lot more performance and character with the six-pot model.
The engine has a nice burble and it drives though M-B’S 4Matic allwheel drive system.
Any E-class feels pretty special from the inside, but there’s even more sense of occasion in the coupe.
The twin-screen virtual dashboard is the same as the sedan, but the ambience is different because you’re surrounded by that elegant glasshouse.
And of course you can drop all four side windows to get an open-air feeling from the ‘‘pillarless’’ roof – notwithstanding an unsightly piece of glass right at the rear, necessary to allow those C-pillars to be so slim. Opportunity cost.
There’s one inconsequential but amusing design detail that marks the coupe’s cabin: the ventilation outlets are in a new turbine style.
You might say ‘‘so what?’’ and we wouldn’t argue, but there’s eight of them in the cabin and they do look kinda cool. It’s certainly a feature people notice straight away.
It’s not a car for long-distance four-up travel, but the rear seats are still adult-friendly should they be required.
You do give up quite a bit of the E-class sedan’s generously sized boot with the coupe: at 425 litres, it’s 115 litres down on the four-door and the sleek body shape makes the opening much less cargo-friendly.
But as with the interior, it’s far from impractical.
As always, good luck in constructing a rational argument for this or any other coupe: the E-class two-door is larger and more expensive than the sedan but offers less passenger and luggage space.
Just kidding, of course. The people who buy these cars revel in the high style and couldn’t care less about the sensible stuff.
M-B NZ reckons they will account for about 15 per cent of E-class buyers.
Not to mention those who might be waiting for the convertible version due here in the fourth quarter of the year.
In case you’re wondering about the inevitable crazy-fast Mercedesamg version of the coupe, the company is currently focusing its attention on the forthcoming E 50 two-door, which will combine a new six-cylinder engine with some hybridisation – including turbocharging combined with an electrically driven compressor.