alsyli

If this is real, I'm assuming that it's the E63 pictured? I mostly like what I can see, although I prefer the tradition grille over what's pictured....

http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2012/10...z-e-class.html

alanme123

If this is real, I definitely prefer my 2012 over that.. The quad lights are what makes the w212 distinct. Also it seems that for the 2014, they made the front lower, making it look less aggressive..

BM2BZ

the front from this angle looks like a bmw 5/6 series .

BenzV12

MB hood emblem is a must for me not a elephant sized MB logo on the grill

I like C218 CLS but I believe these cars look nicer if they came with a proper MB grill as W212s

Meanwhile grill and bumper cover should not be integrated , whole part is plastic and looks cheap .

Quad lights are distinctive and exclusivity to E Class but I must say composite lights are better looking imo
I like quad lights though

Tomspo04

Looks too much like a C-car...

NardoNZ

I pray for the new E to look like this! Stunning!!!

clmulli

Seems as if they deleted the LED's on the front bumper. Unless they placed them in the the headlight comparment.

pwidjaja

This is how it should have been done from the beginning. Would be interesting to see rear side shoots, how it copes with the now agressive/meaner front.

hyperion667

yipes, guess I'm just a weirdo.....but this makes me really like my E even more

dsayed

Seems as though both Audi and Mercedes have their mid-range car that is visually too similar to their entry level car. I keep seeing new A4s and confuse them with A6s and now I'm going to be confusing C Classes with Es.
The current quad light ponton design is very distinctive - even more so with the 2010 hockey stick DRLs.

alsyli

Well, I think part of the problem w/ the Audi A4/A6 is that they're more similar in size and shape than a C and E class. I actually that the A4/A6/A8 are all too similar.

The quad headlamp design appears to be preserved (in spirit) by the LEDs. I thought the ponton fenders were a contrived (and not particularly effective) way to simply reduce the visual mass of the rear end, w/ the sheetmetal stamping bordering on primitive, IMHO.

I think the exterior of the E-class has been one of MB's weaker efforts (and I'm not particularly fond of the interior), and I think the new one will look markedly better inside and out, based on these photos we've seen so far....

telemakhos

I don't like that headlamp look either - the 2011 is better.

Nuieve

Not a fan of this bumper trend...

alanme123

Can someone tell me what the pontoon in the rear is? Everybody keeps bringing it up and i can't tell any difference with or without it. I sound dumb not knowing =\

BM2BZ

here you go:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponton_%28automobile%29

alanme123

Man I'm feeling even more stupid. Which part of the car am I supposed to be looking at to notice the difference?? I just don't see it

BM2BZ

more discussions here :

https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...elift-yet.html

alanme123

I was wondering after looking at that post a LONG time ago.. just never brought it up Is it just that line that runs across the car??

K-A

What really annoys me is how M-B is practically making this look like a new bodystyle rather than a facelift. Every panel is changed but a select few, and the roof. The front looks like a C, the lights are super soft which is grafted onto the super angular otherwise body, therefore giving the car no design language, and a very confused incoherent design. IMO, when you buy an M-B, you expect the design team to stand by their original design concept and have the foresight to plan something timeless that won't look technically "dated" when a mere facelift rolls out. This car might be extensively changed enough where the pre-facelift will depreciate at levels usually reserved for cars that have actually been replaced by entirely new bodystyles.

The Star grille looks so awkward and off on an upright Sedan like the E as well.

This is not to say that the car will look better than the pre-facelift, or that the pre-facelfit will look dated as a design being judged in itself, but M-B doing such a change makes it look like they deem the pre-facelift to be flawed and have done an "about face", therefore doing a disservice to owners of the pre-facelift, and conveying a sense of discordance and lack of foresight from within.

Most other M-B's, and BMW's, etc., have very minimal facelifts, enough changed/refined to ensure you're getting a freshened up and further perfected-product, but one that doesn't render the previous one "noticeably "previous version", and one that usually can't be distinguished from the facelift from a layman. This is what makes great facelifts.

petee1997

This is a first. Normally facelifts are grills and lights which are inexpensive to do. However this facelift has sheet metal changes, that is more costly. It's all about marketing. This has been the best selling E in NA and if they want people to refresh their models, they must date the older W212's.

As for myself I'm due to trade when the new model comes in and I find it a plus. Also if we get the new European V6, HP will increase to 330. All that combined with new software for e-mail reading will be the incentive to update mid cycle.

alsyli

No, that's the character line. Look at the rear fender (the part surrounding the rear wheelwells) of the current car. You'll see that there's another line (below the character line that runs along most of the car) that "wraps" around the wheelwell and down the rear door. *That's* the ponton. You can see it quite prominently in the photo of K-A's signature.


Well, the profile is still largely unchanged, so it's hardly looks like a new bodystyle, IMO. While the last few facelifted models have had more extensive changes than is the norm, MBs from the past 20 yrs or so have always looked more incoherent after the facelift IMO b/c the designers try to incorporate cues from new/upcoming models into an older model.

I thought that design of the current E-class was pretty unremarkable to begin w/, so I welcome the changes. I rather miss the days of Bruno Sacco....

As far as minimal changes making a "great" facelift, I think the subtle changes that are usually made have been as much dictated by financial concerns (i.e., not having to make sheetmetal alterations) as by aesthetic concerns....

BM2BZ

alsyli is spot on . try compare the pic w/ka's pic and you'll see the current model is more unique .

hyperion667

hard to tell from that angle, but it is kind of C'ish to me.......

I kind of like the wheels too

MinnBobber

So I'm reading threads elsewhere and... gasp... someone mentions a new 330 HP MB engine but it is a 4 cylinder, 2.0 liter, turbo engine. I sure hope MB doesn't pull a "BMW" on us and go with a little boosted 4 banger..