Ladies & Gents, the REAL/OFFICIAL 2014 facelift here>>>>
#101
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2012 CLS63
me like!
#103
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2012 E350 Sport, P1, AMG Wheels, Multi-contour seats
Whereas I don't mind the exteriors, I am not a fan of the interior. There is too much chrome. This is a Mercedes Benz, not a Cadillac. It should be subtle fine luxury, not loud "bling". The excess bling doesn't look too loud in the picture below because of low lighting, but in other well lit pictures, it looks almost tacky.
#105
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MY17 E43 Matte Selenite/Macchiato Beige, MY16 GLE350d Tenorite/Crystal Grey, MY17 B250
Whereas I don't mind the exteriors, I am not a fan of the interior. There is too much chrome. This is a Mercedes Benz, not a Cadillac. It should be subtle fine luxury, not loud "bling". The excess bling doesn't look too loud in the picture below because of low lighting, but in other well lit pictures, it looks almost tacky.
And for the Americans, Crystal Grey/Black leather with Barf Walnut wood trim.
Last edited by YYZ-E55; 12-15-2012 at 12:01 PM.
#106
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MY17 E43 Matte Selenite/Macchiato Beige, MY16 GLE350d Tenorite/Crystal Grey, MY17 B250
New Chestnut Brown (to replace Natural Beige), shown in Nappa (not likely available for North America):
The wagon looks angry!!
The wagon looks angry!!
#107
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2011 E350, 2004 911
#108
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Let's not kid ourselves. The CLS is an E class with a different shell. In Canada, the premium is 10K over a comparatively equipped E550. Is it worth it? Probably not, but it makes the car stand out from the crowd a little.
#109
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2012 CLS63
now THAT is a nice fookin' steering wheel!!!! where can I get that bad boy!!!!!!?
ugh!!
not sure about that front end.......looks like it was traveling a mock speeds and melted a little bit...
would like to see it without that huge plate on there too
#111
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2011 E350 4Matic Estate in Mystic Red
When you're being outsold, you get aggressive. MB invested heavily in the facelift to make the W/S212 the best in segment once again.
With the luxury and sport differentiation (star on hood vs star in grille), this car should appeal to a much wider audience. It's awkward in photos but it presents nicely in person.
With the luxury and sport differentiation (star on hood vs star in grille), this car should appeal to a much wider audience. It's awkward in photos but it presents nicely in person.
The design has to break mold of the conventional and expected so that it stikes out as being different. I remember that the lower LED strips on my car were very eye catching and distinctive at the start. Right now, GM is starting to incorporate LED strips, so in my view Mercedes is looking to put something on the road that sets the trend in years to come.
My only hope is that I can change the grill to the traditional one if I buy one.
Last edited by rovermark; 12-15-2012 at 10:33 PM.
#112
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2011 E350 4Matic T-Modell
Yes, that is what I think too. The B-Class looks much better in person than photos, so I suspect that this new E-class will look better in real life too. Although I love traditional Mercedes design cues (their cars used to have a design lifespan of 9 years or so) that kind of stuff does not seem to sell anymore as witnessed by the sales success of a company that (in Germany) was considered far inferior to Mercedes.
The design has to break mold of the conventional and expected so that it stikes out as being different. I remember that the lower LED strips on my car were very eye catching and distinctive at the start. Right now, GM is starting to incorporate LED strips, so in my view Mercedes is looking to put something on the road that sets the trend in years to come.
My only hope is that I can change the grill to the traditional one if I buy one.
The design has to break mold of the conventional and expected so that it stikes out as being different. I remember that the lower LED strips on my car were very eye catching and distinctive at the start. Right now, GM is starting to incorporate LED strips, so in my view Mercedes is looking to put something on the road that sets the trend in years to come.
My only hope is that I can change the grill to the traditional one if I buy one.
#113
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2011 E350 4Matic Estate in Mystic Red
The wagon in fact (with the exception of the absence of Ponton rear wheel arches which suit the current wagon very well) looks better to me. I am hopeful that the front grill can simply be exchanged (same mold) as in the C-class or ordered with a traditional grill because here in Canada otherwise I won't buy one. It seems the Star on the hood will eventually become exclusive to the S class.....
Addendum: from the pictures, it seems that the entire bumper is a different mold around grill for the sport vs. the proper one. I just hope they will give an option of getting the standard grill here.
some more pictures
http://paultan.org/2012/12/14/w212-m...led-in-detail/
Addendum: from the pictures, it seems that the entire bumper is a different mold around grill for the sport vs. the proper one. I just hope they will give an option of getting the standard grill here.
some more pictures
http://paultan.org/2012/12/14/w212-m...led-in-detail/
Last edited by rovermark; 12-15-2012 at 11:17 PM.
#116
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That's right but what I don't see is why CLS uses C Class parts such as A/C , gauge lol
#118
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W212 E350 4matic, E60 530i
I am feeling very frustrated !! I thought Benz usually keep their look for 6 years... since I bought my E350, they change the LED daytime light, ENGINE...etc It just keep change something almost every year... now to me it's more and less like BMW or Audi... so Good Bye BENZ and I will no longer spent a cent with you... I just sold my car and lease a S7! BTW, i purchased the extended warranty (just to show you my faith with BENZ when I decided to go with BENZ in 2010). I don't like the new style.. especially the Wagon front...
#119
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Mercedes and BMW change their body styling every seven years with a mid cycle facelift like we are seeing now. The mechanical and software is a work in progress. Every year MB tries to improve their vehicles to make them better. That has always been. It's testimony to a great company that strives to make a better product every day as opposed to once every seven years.
#120
I am feeling very frustrated !! I thought Benz usually keep their look for 6 years... since I bought my E350, they change the LED daytime light, ENGINE...etc It just keep change something almost every year... now to me it's more and less like BMW or Audi... so Good Bye BENZ and I will no longer spent a cent with you... I just sold my car and lease a S7! BTW, i purchased the extended warranty (just to show you my faith with BENZ when I decided to go with BENZ in 2010). I don't like the new style.. especially the Wagon front...
In regards to the Mercedes updates - all manufactures do mid-cycle updates - as well as annual "tweaks" to engine, features, etc to keep things fresh. This is good.
#121
Member
I had a 2011 E but sold it because i was not happy with the mid cycle change. I did not like the drastic changes from the quad headlights and few other aspects. I miss the E, and the 212 forum. it is always active. Im loving my CLS, but may jump back to a E550 eventually.
#122
Let me add two more cents as a general car enthusiast.
I tend to agree that MB is in a recovery/catch-up mode. It fell behind BMW long time ago in terms of global sales, and now it's behind Audi by a fairly large margin. The recent facelifts have been drastic in the standard not only of MB, but of luxury car makers in general, most likely as a result of this crisis.
But I don't think that is in and of itself a bad thing. I can see why previous owners would be rather upset about it, but I think this is a very healthy sign that MB acknowledges the problem and is willing to throw money at it to fix it. Look at what happened to the Civic, which is getting an extensive make-over after only one model year. Sure it sucks for the first year buyers, but for the brand in the long run, it's better to address the problem sooner rather than later.
The danger in this is if the fix is hastily done and half-assed. But I don't think that's the case. Both the C class and GLK have become much more competitive thanks to the significant FL they received, which are in the main very well executed. I suspect the same is true with the W212. The interior looks to be a definite improvement, and the star grille that is being much criticized here will probably attract a lot of younger buyers that would otherwise have passed on the E. And it's not like you don't have a choice, if you really wanted the traditional grille.
So while I do think that the E class in pre-FL form was still one of the most competitive products in the MB lineup, and was doing better against its competitors than some other models, as a brand-wide strategy, this type of drastic FL makes sense to me, and I think it's a good thing for the brand in the long run.
I tend to agree that MB is in a recovery/catch-up mode. It fell behind BMW long time ago in terms of global sales, and now it's behind Audi by a fairly large margin. The recent facelifts have been drastic in the standard not only of MB, but of luxury car makers in general, most likely as a result of this crisis.
But I don't think that is in and of itself a bad thing. I can see why previous owners would be rather upset about it, but I think this is a very healthy sign that MB acknowledges the problem and is willing to throw money at it to fix it. Look at what happened to the Civic, which is getting an extensive make-over after only one model year. Sure it sucks for the first year buyers, but for the brand in the long run, it's better to address the problem sooner rather than later.
The danger in this is if the fix is hastily done and half-assed. But I don't think that's the case. Both the C class and GLK have become much more competitive thanks to the significant FL they received, which are in the main very well executed. I suspect the same is true with the W212. The interior looks to be a definite improvement, and the star grille that is being much criticized here will probably attract a lot of younger buyers that would otherwise have passed on the E. And it's not like you don't have a choice, if you really wanted the traditional grille.
So while I do think that the E class in pre-FL form was still one of the most competitive products in the MB lineup, and was doing better against its competitors than some other models, as a brand-wide strategy, this type of drastic FL makes sense to me, and I think it's a good thing for the brand in the long run.
Last edited by SpinZero; 12-16-2012 at 05:41 PM.
#124
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Porsche Macan S SportDesign / Ex M-B's: 11 & 10 & 06 E350's, 02 S500
It reminds me of the W204 C-Class interior facelift. Every sane person knew that interior was more fit for a low end Toyota than a Mercedes, yet Mercedes tried to employ "distorted reality" to pass it off.... then, for the facelift, they all but admit it was a joke and do something never seen before by them or almost anyone: Literally put in an entirely new interior structure.