OK to get emotional about E-class
A two-door E-class doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. That’s the point, says David Linklater.
Let’s start with a list of the rational arguments for buying a coupe version of a large, luxury sedan. Good, got that out of the way then. No matter which way you look at it, the appeal of a car like the Mercedes-Benz E-class coupe is mostly emotional. It’s about extravagant presence and status, because it’s so very similar to the E-class sedan on which it is based. Just less practical while also being more expensive.
But such models are also a given among luxury carmakers and there’s nothing wrong with that, surely? It’ll be a dark day when every vehicle choice has to be rational. In the words of Flannery O’Connor: nobody with a good car needs to justified.
The E-class coupe’s role as a vehicle that will be used more for showing-off than strutting its dynamic stuff is reflected in the model range. The powertrains and specification levels are equivalent to E-class sedan models, but in a selective way.
If you’re buying a big coupe you surely either want an entry-level one that has the look without the expense of the high-end hardware, or you want to go all-out and have the very best and who cares about the money?
And so the E-coupe range starts with the E 200, which is $102,900 and powered by a humble 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine. Crucially, it has the same AMG-designed body kit as the rest of the range and you’ll probably have to take a good look at the bootlid badge to know it’s the base model.
There’s an E 300 in the middle; I’m not really sure what that’s about. But the flagship for now is the one you see here: the E 400 with a twin-turbo V6 engine and 4Matic all-wheel drive. This example has also sneaked its way into a bit more exclusivity with a $2420 Edition 1 package, which includes a subtle but very sexy matte colour scheme from M-B’s Designo personalisation division called Cashmere White Magno, special badging and a contrasting red/black leather interior.
That’s it for now, folks. You will note there is no Mercedes-AMG version of the E-coupe. There is indeed one on the way, but it won’t be a two-door incarnation of the E 63 sedan – one of MercedesAMG’s most hard-core current road-and-track models. Nor are there any plans for such a thing; the coupe is not that kind of car.
But the AMG-fettled E-coupe will still be pretty spesh. The forthcoming E 50 two-door will have a version of Mercedes-Benz’s all-new inline six-cylinder engine, also just launched in the updated S-class. The most potent version of that engine (M256 in Merc-speak) makes 320kW, which is a substantial step up from the E 400’s 245kW.
For now, the E 400 is still a pretty impressive and brisk beast. It might be simply a version of the sedan, but Mercedes-Benz doesn’t really do things by halves. It has completely different proportions and the company has gone so far as to shorten the wheelbase while extending the overhangs and lowering the roofline.
The E-coupe is supremely elegant on the road, although that extra quarterlight at the back of the rear-side window will make design-conscious people despair. Imagine how clean it would look with an unbroken area under the sweeping roofline.
Inside, the driving position is lower but the interior architecture is the same as any other E-class – save some dramatic-looking turbine-effect outlets for the ventilation system. It’s a small thing, but also a striking detail.
Sophistication is what the E 400 is all about. The twin-turbo V6 emits a pleasant but unobtrusive gurgle (as it should for the extra $29k over the four-pot E 300 coupe), although it’s still a quick machine by any measure: 0-100kmh in 5.3 seconds will get your attention, especially with the sure-fire traction of 4Matic.
But the smooth powertrain (nine-speed automatic, no less) and standard air suspension make the E 400 an accomplished cruiser. In its softest setting it’s a truly waftable machine; dial things up all the way to Sport+ and there’s a noticeable increase in aggression, but still without the crisp responses of an AMG machine.
M-B is good at this kind of thing: its model ranges are so comprehensive that it knows exactly how to tweak ostensibly similar models to create a very different character for each. Drive the E 400 sedan back-to-back with the Mercedes-AMG E 43 and you’d find the latter really slips on its enthusiast driving shoes, while maintaining genuine day-to-day comfort and usability.
The step from E 400 to E 50 coupe will probably be a bit wider than that, but don’t expect the latter to go completely hard-core. It’ll still be a swish, supersized two-door with great cruising ability rather than a track-attack machine. Because the E-class coupe is not that kind of car. Might have mentioned that already.
Speaking of which: M-B’s automated driver-assistance technology is still the very best in the world. Flick the cruise-control wand and this or any other E-class can automatically maintain car-tocar distance (right down to standstill and away again), steer to keep you between the lines (or follow another car) and even change lanes without driver intervention.
It does all of the above with such effortless grace that you use the full range of automated functions whenever possible. It’s a technology coup.