Dema

It is an option to have rear bucket seats. Many cars have it, for example Infiniti. In this case you sacrifice capacity of your car to luxury. Very useful option when you do not want to drive.

E55 KEV

I thought so, thanks.

topspin4hand

I'm lukewarm on the front, I really am not feeling the rear. This will have to grow on me ... though I did say the same thing about the CLS.

pmb600

Thanks, I hadn't seen that video. I think that is the new Pearl Beige color which is hideous. I hope they don't bring it to the US.

Boulder GT3

I've been supportive of the design but I think I've reversed my position. Two things:

The first is that front end shot of the E lineage that DEMA put up. I just don't like it.

The second thing that has caused me to cool on the design is a remark one of my smart *** friends made. He said it looks like a Mercedes copy of a Hyundai that was a copy of a Mercedes in the first place. I know that it's just a smart remark but it resonates with me when I look at the view DEMA put up. The 210 is still the best to me but I like the 211 too.

I think MB has so been on the mark with the S, CL, and C but I'm ready to call this a miss.

K-A

Agreed. If you look at the lineage it shows how great an evolution the 211 was from the 210, definitely the same blood but updated perfectly IMO. The 212 just looks like a desperate attempt to be as "today" and angular as possible.

My opinion of a good model-replacement is one that takes what the old one had and improves and updates it (210-211), forcing the old one to look "old". This 212 IMO is such a completely different car and design, and resonates so little of the 211, IMO I don't see it making the 211 look all too dated at all. Of course besides the fact that we know it's not the new model, and due to the fact that we've been seeing 211's for so long, it will in turn will fool our minds to perhaps see it that way.

bahador

No one is down talking mercedes because obviously we are all owners...but we are saying sometimes settle changes are better than huge changes..Like the changes from the old w211 to the 06-09s..they got a new grill front bumber,dual tips and etc..it was suttle but a great change...Now the whole change to the 2010 e class is a whole different car..Its totally taking away from the E class concept..Sporty and sleak..It looks like a gezzert car now..**** might as well make it a hybrid..

Tom Sederburg

The dash/steering wheel is like some bad 80's flashback... makes me think of Knight Rider... or the Aston Martin Lagonda. (Not a good thing.)

The only aspect I like the looks of any better is the gauge cluster.

The exterior design appears even chintzier than a w221.

The dual foglights are particularly retarded.

Later,
Tom

P.S. Special congrats go out to its cheap little rims and lack of standard dual exhaust tips.

I suppose they'll wait a few years and then come out with an "updated" version... AGAIN.

pmb600

I would bet very heavily that US models will not have the cheap ugly rims and will have dual exhuast tips. Remember that the premier in Detroit was the worldwide premier which shows non-US equipped vehicles.

Alex 3

The W124 that ran through the late 90's was replaced by a new E class the preceded the current W211. It too was an ugly duckling relative to what it replaced in terms of looks and handling and it had a very short run relative to the W124. The W211 has had one upgrade in its life cycle and in now to be replaced by this one. Again MB got it all wrong. It reminds me of the Tempo rear end on the third generation Camry.

rieger

Why are we loosers? Just because it is a new design doesn't mean that it is better. Compare the new C-class interior materials to the old C-class materials and you will see a lot more cheap plastic. The new C-class does look nicer on the exterior but interior definitely steps back. And this is a good case where MB has chosen to cut price and get market share instead of holding up the MB brand.
The E-class used to be distinguishable and a leader in design from other MB products and other manufacturers but the new E-class tries to hard to blend in to other MB products and also it blends in to other manufacturers design. Not only does it imitate the new C-class a bit but it also follows the Cadillac edgy design a bit in the front end IMO.
Does the car look awful overall the answer is NO, but is it distiguishable and a class leader like it used to be the answer is also NO.

K-A

Well put and definitely agreed. I've read lots of reviews and stuff on it (trying to get myself to warm up to it, to no avail at all), and I have yet to see anyone say that it's even close to leaps and bounds superior to the 211, the obvious stuff have been improved upon and of course are superior (Electronics, chassis solidity, etc.), but besides it's drastic "newness" and change, just from my observation, it doesn't have the same enthusiasm as the 211 did when it came out, and a lot of people have said the interior materials are a slight step backward (design is objective, but to me the clunky 80'sness it a big step backward).

It definitely lacks the refined feminine grace of the 211 IMO, it has a stronger, bolder, clunkier, yet still refined in a more durable and executive/business manner than the 211. Both styles have fans, my favourite cars have always touched on the former, as that is a more true approach to automotive beauty IMO.