“It might not look like it, but it’s one of the most comprehensive facelifts we’ve ever undertaken,” says Michael Kelz, laying his hand on the bonnet of a lightly disguised Mercedes-Benz E-Class.
We’re standing in a layby not far from the pulsing neon heart of Las Vegas, where the project leader for the facelifted Mercedes-Benz E-Class is taking a break from final validation testing to run through the changes made to the new car ahead of its upcoming Geneva motor show premiere.
This fifth-generation model is a well-known quantity, having first seen UK showrooms in 2017. But behind the mild disguise – hiding subtle styling tweaks that include a wider grille, reprofiled bumpers and a reshaped bootlid – lurks what Kelz describes as literally hundreds of detailed modifications.
"We’ve gone through every individual component and asked ourselves if it can be improved in one way or another," he says. "The biggest individual change is the upgrade to the electrical system. It allows us to add a number of new intelligent driver assistance systems with Level 2 capability and the latest in Car-to-X communications. It’s now more advanced than the Mercedes-Benz S-Class in certain areas.”
The new electrical system also provides the basis for an upgrade of the MBUX user interface used by the E-Class, bringing the latest in touch, speech and gesture controls together with a “Hey Mercedes” prompt that allows you to control various functions via conversational-style speech.
As before, buyers get to choose between a pair of standard 10.3in or optional 12.3in digital displays for the instruments and infotainment functions.
Further changes brought to the interior of the facelifted E-Class include a new multi-function steering wheel, a new frameless rear-view mirror, revised trim applications and a touchpad infotainment controller - the latter of which comes at the expense of the rotary controller previously sited within the centre console between the front seats.
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"at the expense of the rotary controller"
I wondered if they would drop this in the next update. I use mine as I find the touchpad awkward to use, as I like many am not left handed a problem for UK and other right hand drive markets. Yes I know you can talk to the system but unless that has been tweeked then getting it to deliver as asked can be frustrating
Front end
Grill to hood design
The awful grill meets hood design seems to still exist. It really is an awkward design and one that they should have remedied by now.
We went to check out the estate at a local dealer and the rear seats are not deep enough to be comfortable! This seems to be a real failing that does not exist on the BMW 5 Series which we test drove. Many YouTube reviewers pointed out this failing. VERY dissapointed as we had assumed the Mercedes E would be our nest family car. Hello BMW.