I just brought home my vehicle choice for 2018, the e400 coupe 4matic. Here are some of my impressions coming straight off of a 2017 c43.
Options: P2 - digital cluster, 19in w/t, rear spoiler, illuminated star, saddle brown leather


Interior - Everyone says it, but it is far and away the best looking, and feeling of any interior I've ever sat in, MB or otherwise. And I've had the gamut between 2013 and now- E,SL,ML,GLS,CLS,C,C43
Positives: Looks amazing, feels futuristic, very solid, very quiet, love the digital displays, love the ambient lighting
Neutrals: The media interface w/all of the new features is, well, new - thus a bit of a learning curve to get comfortable. The apple car play is very cool, and is extremely nice to have siri integrated now - however, switching between carplay and the other interface is a little cumbersome. It's hard to describe what i'd like to have work differently, but nonetheless, something feels a bit off. Could be I'm still learning how to use it.
Negatives: Not many, I've seen folks complain about the input lag, and while I noticed what people were talking about, it hasn't been an issue to cause concern over

Exterior - I am a huge fan of this styling/design language, I think it is just about perfect.
Positives - All of it, the lines are amazing, the profile is strong and sexy.
Negatives - My only issue, and this is less a styling concern and more of a chassis setup concern is 1 - the wheel offsets and tire widths (on this 4matic setup at least) are less than strong and powerful looking. They tuck into the wheel wells more than I'd like, and more than i feel is necessary. I think a 10 mm lower offset on the front would be ideal, and a 15 mm lower offset on the rear. The other issue is the puny rear tires that come on the 4matic. I know everyone will say staggered setups on 4M cars is bad, but in reality you only need to match the diameters to avoid issues. I wish they would have given the 4M cars the same 275 rear tire as the RWD cars - opposed to 245 all around. Lastly, the ride height - even with the "lowered" suspension that comes with the sport - "AMG" styling package, it should still sit a least a half inch lower, in my opinion.

Power/Trans/suspension-
Engine pulls strong - no complaints. Feels similar to the C43 (same platform afterall) even being rated 30 less hp than the 43 - and being 400 lbs heavier.
Trans - I reallllllly miss the quickness of the C43 manual shift mode.
Suspension - I really wish I had more dampening options - all that is available - and correct me if I haven't found this setting yet - is the dynamic select, which adapts the suspension firmness based on speed, as well as a minimal baseline bump in stiffness as you get sportier in the settings. The C43 Sport plus suspension setting was firm, planted and inspired confidence at speed - the Sport+ setting in the E coupe is not quite as Sport Plus-ish as I'd like. I'd like to see an individual configuration setting that allowed you to fully adjust all of the settings as you'd like. Shift-speed, suspension firmness, steering quickness, and ideally, a few different fuel/boost maps.

Overall - Love it. I am happy to replace some of the sportiness from the C43 coupe in exchange for the luxury and sexiness of the E400 coupe. It sounds like my ideal car would be the E63 coupe - but for now, i'll enjoy this one as is.

Here are some pics:







All comments written above are reflections of my own opinion and not affiliated with Daimler AG or any of it's associated brands

 

Thanks for the detailed write up - Great read! The interior is simply stunning!

Love the color combination but the black wheels simply kill it for me - they just take any MB classiness out of the look (just my opinion which you didn't ask for).

I'm sure you're wanting to add a bit of sport flare to it and I understand coming from a C43 but new larger silver wheels (nice offset and width) and a lower ride height will make the car come alive.

Cheers!

 

Hey, question for you. I'm considering the E400 coupe in case the C63 coupe is too stiff and noisy for my wife. But have one question for you. Wanted to get Napa leather, but MB only offers very weird choices, and black is not available with the AMG line, for some stupid reason. Bottom line is I don't like any of the Napa interior color combos, so would get exactly what you did, in order to get the black ash wood. The question is: How is the quality of the base leather offered in your car? Is the entire surface leather, or the bolsters are vinyl? Many times only the center portion is leather without an optional leather package, hence my asking. Hopefully it's good enough. Black with brown looks a bit weird, but not bad at all. And definitely much better than a brown or blue dash IMO, which are the other options. Thanks. I'd get a RWD, so wonder if the suspension tuning would be a bit better. I'm also a bit concerned it might be too bland, but it'd have to be between a C63 coupe or E400 couple, both with about the same MSRP. Wife can't stand my Porsche with sport suspension anymore, so need something less noisy and stiff.

 

The order guide says option 801 black napa leather "Comes w/ Black headliner when selected w/ AMG", which implies that you can get it with the AMG line.

It also says "Leather upholstery with MB-Tex dashboard", which kind of implies that everything that looks like leather except the dash is leather.

 

The configurator doesn't allow black with the AMG line, for some reason. But yes, I'd check with a dealer if I end up ordering one. And the configurator also says MB-Tex on dashboard and doors, which makes sense, so leather is only on the seats (and who knows exactly how much), center console, and maybe door armrests... unless there's an option for full leather and/or upgraded leather, or something similar. I'd have to see a car in the flesh, and could tell right away which is which. But it's safe to assume wherever you don't touch would be vinyl (aka MB-Tex). At least that looks much more attractive than freaking plastic, so it's okay in my book.

On a separate note, read a review of the E400 coupe, and tester said the air suspension option (which I also had on my list, but forgot to list it above) was a bit more 'sporty', since it allowed less bodyroll. But no mention of stance, for instance. Noticed OP said wheel gap looked wider than he liked, even with the 'lowered suspension' option included with the AMG line, I thought maybe air suspension is lower, at least on the sport modes. If somebody has tried both, and could shed some light, it'd be awesome. I don't like the videogame dash, hence only ordering Premium-1. But if the air suspension can add a bit of sportiness that it's missing otherwise, I'd gladly spend on that. Thx.

 

Seems like there must be a bug in the online configurator to not allow either black interior with the AMG line (personally, I'm annoyed that I can't get brown napa leather).

The ordering guide PDF file I have says you can order any premium package without the Digital Instrument Cluster (option Q02 and Q03 ... they are about $700 cheaper than P02 and P03). Of course, this stuff changes all the time. I think the options were created due to an initial shortage of the digital dash.

 

Haha, yeah the black wheels are an acquired taste I'd say - I'm a fan, and probably because it adds a little edge to the "country club" vibe the car had with the stock silver wheels (these are just plastidipped - woof, i know). Ideally, if I felt like spending modification money on a 1 yr lease car - I'd buy a set of 20/21 inch wheels in a dark metallic gunmetal - but the financially sensible side of me (what little exists after ordering a boat of a two door Mercedes coupe) can't quite justify the cost.

 

Here's all i'll say regarding Napa leather vs. 'standard' leather - Napa makes the regular leather feel like MBtex (at least when brand new). Quite the compliment for MBtex, but Napa is noticeably smoother and has this texture you just want to put your hands on. I'd go for it unless it's only available in odd color combos, in which case, that might bug me more than the texture. I'd recommend going in sitting in both and imagine 6 months down the road once the standard leather wears in a bit - the difference won't be as stark - but the color will always remain.

 

restriction only for the RWD variant. go figure ...

 

Sorry but the profile lines appear too plain for me on the E. Maybe its the white color but looks kinda egg'ish. They should of given it more character even on the hood as well imho.