Umm...not sure if anyone has already found/posted this, but I just stumbled upon it on the web and thought I'd share anyway. It's a depiction of what the new "mid-cycle" refresh (exterior) is suppose to look like for the 2013 W212 (click link below & view the gallery to the right of the page):

http://www.automobilemag.com/new_and..._cycle_update/

Excerpts from the article (dated Mar 15, 2012):

"...The E350 gains extra grunt with its 3.5-liter V-6 growing from 302 to 333 hp..."

"...In Europe, the only V-8 that survives the 2013 facelift is the 537-hp 5.5-liter powerhouse reserved for the E63 AMG. The E500/E550 becomes an export-only model that sheds the ageing 408-hp 4.6-liter twin-turbo V-8 unit in favor of a turbocharged 4.6-liter motor good for 435 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque..."

"...In terms of alternative drivetrains, there is a 27-hp electric motor slated for the E300 BlueTec Hybrid and the U.S.-bound E400 Hybrid in the works, which will be followed by a 68-hp plug-in edition in 2014. In 2015, a 109-hp top-of-the-line planet saver will join the E-Class lineup..."

*Note the typo in "red"... Really Automobilemag???

Thoughts? PLEASE CHIME IN!!!

 

taillights look like audi a5. oval shape opening for foglights are too big .

 

Man, we have to cover this a lot!

M-B's give Europe the new models first, U.S follows. These Magazines don't know their heads from their buttocks', therefore they misreport. M-B will give the E the facelift for the 2014 model. FACT!

 

Researched this alot (see my other threads). Apparently alot of misinformation. Updates apparently are minor. We will know in a few weeks.

 

I know I have seen this before . I am subscribed to their mail list as well
I like styling in general but W212 and next gen E Class should come with quad lights not composite .
I see no point of why MB is urging LEDs up close to the headlamps almost in all models , present design bumper LEDs are nicer

 

I agree with everything being said about the design. When I saw the rear I was sure it was an Audi. Too bad the MB designers did not come up with something more distinctive. The tail lights of the CLS and the S class are so distinctive but these lights are so blah.

The front looks like a slightly larger C class -- but without the benefit of the integrated fog lights in the bumper that look so nice. With the general interior of the W212 looking closer to that of the C class it is a shame the direction MB seems to be going is to make the E class a slightly bigger and modestly nicer C class...

Also it is a shame we are losing the quad lights up front. Basically all the distinctiveness of the E class is being watered down.

For my next car I am really not sure if I'd stay with an E class. Too bad the CLS has an unusable middle seat in the back and you can't get the S class in the US with a SWB. Perhaps by then I should look at a *gasp* bmw 550ix but I don't think I trust their reliability...

 

I am hoping this is just infact an 'illustration' and is not representative of the real thing in the future.

Don't like the single headlights.. as the quad lights make this car unique... heck they got so many other manufacturers to follow suit.

really dislike the fog lights in the bumper.. feels out of place, the lines are not right.

i dont mind the rear tbh... looks ok from what I am seeing

technology improves seem interesting

 

calling a one-year old engine 'aging' is more suspicious than the spelling mistake. that said, it seems pretty likely to me that the E550 will get the updated engine in 2014. it's already available in the US on the SL, and they need to keep up with the competition. BMW just updated the 750i engine from 400 to 445 HP and i'm sure the 550i will get the same update (since they're basically the same car now).

i agree with everyone that it would be a shame to lose the quad headlights, but those eyebrows have already shown up on the SL and could trickle down just like the updated V8. it's interesting that Jag got rid of the quad headlights on the XJ, Lexus got rid of them on the GS, and now MB is thinking of dropping them from E...

-brent

 

Just thinking about an E with normal-2 headlights and if they even went so far as to put a star grille on it (no rumors or renders about that happening, so highly unlikely, just making it up for now), what would be the point then? It'd look like any other M-B from the front, total "corporate face".

 

well, the single corporate face is the trend in luxury cars now. Lexus is in the middle of refreshing all their models to have the same 'spindle' grille the GS & CT have. the Cadillac egg crate, the Audi fishmouth, the BMW nostrils...

-brent

 

A family tie is necessary for a luxury manufacturer, and they all have always had "corporate" or "family" faces/elements (it's nothing new) but things have become incestuous, and it's clearly most of all a cost cutting measure. Same design, parts, etc. It follows suit of platform sharing and the like in the modern era of car manufacturing/design.

The E is a rare case where some of its elements are on it and only it, yet it still is executed well enough to where it's noticeably tied in with the current Benz range, at the same time. There are already enough BMW's/M-B's out there, and having one that has its own elements is nice to have at least some individuality amidst them. Having a 5-Series means not only do you drive the same car as many others who buy the same thing, but you drive one that looks exactly like everyone else's who also drives a 7 or 3-Series.... it's just too much "sharing" for me.

The W212 lost the hockey stick LED's, and I feel like that already diminished part of its frontal individuality, and allowed M-B to stop manufacturing an extra part for just one line of cars, now giving the E the corporate-straight bars (i.e, cost cutting). Of course, some people will like one or the other better, but on a cost basis, it costs less to give the E the straight bars, rather than the hockey sticks. As for sharing design *elements* (i.e dual headlights instead of quad), whether it's actually cost cutting or not, IMO that falls more into "design sharing".

My big wonder regarding the 2014 facelift, is will it have the Ponton fenders or not? In a weird way, I hope it doesn't, because I know that I wouldn't consider a W212 without them, and I don't want any incentive to get another E-Class if I decide to part with my current one after the Lease (being honest).

 

Looking "like any other M-B" isn't a bad thing. I do agree, though, that the quad headlights look great on the E.

Regards,
Don

 

Of course not, but "looking like an M-B with some unique elements" is much better to me.

After looking at a CLS, then an SL, and what will be the upcoming A-Class, CLC, the SUV's, etc. etc., all with now-similar Star grille's, similar LED designs, and with the cars- that same blunt super flat front end with the big softnose cutline, I feel the presence will continue to diminish, as you'll see them "everywhere", and not just on one car, but all of them. I'm not saying that the facelift headlights will look *bad* at all (that remains to be seen), but it'd be sad if at least the E-Class starts getting some of its individuality chipped away. I also feel that the design was really drawn around that face, so it'd be hard for their current idiom of "organic/nature inspired headlights" to look harmonious on the W212 I'd think.

 

The latest I have heard is that th E350 will stay with he same gasoline engine but it wil get an electric motor for an additional 37HP and 180-some ft-lbs of torque. Anyone? Thanks

 

Sorry, I mean the 2013 E 350 will get the electric moror in addition to the V6.

 

Well, I know I'd hate to see the quad headlights go (diminishes the distinctive "E" image/look)...I very much welcome the added hp (+33)...and I wish the magazines would ensure their info is 100% accurate (to the tee)! Goes to show you how reliable THEIR sources are...