E Classy

http://www.caranddriver.com/news/201...-photos-news-2

K-A

And in one fell swoop the C Class totally kills the status and presence of the new S, IMO. M-B just one-upped Audi and BMW in a complete copy/paste exterior job. As I've said in another thread, everybody was trying to say that M-B were trying to rise higher with the S to compete with RR/Bentley's. Technologically that may be true indeed, however much of that segment is dominated by perception and status, and having a super-mass-market/affordable compact Sedan like a C Class owning the design that the S Class will share ("owning" it because C's will outnumber S' massively so especially auto-plebians will view that look as the "C Class look", logistically) will all but ruin that effect.

People have complained on this forum about how boring it is for all Audi/BMW's to look alike, but now M-B has gone further with it then even they have, with the C/S and perhaps the next E if it follows suit.

Tjdehya

1 car 3 different sizes just like BMW/AUDI/etc. No more unique cars... its sad.
While I love the design of the S class... for some reason seeing the C class wearing the same clothes has already made the S less desirable.
Now knowing that the E will look the same, I am no longer eagerly awaiting the W213.

I will more than likely buy the E anyway because the Mercedes (Small/Medium/Large) cars look 100x better than the boring designs the other Germans Small/Medium/Large offerings.

E Classy

yep - you will have a hard time telling them apart except for size. e class will follow suit, as mentioned in there (the interiors will most likely be very different, though).

those pics are already hard to distinguish between them and the current facelift e class sport model. the rear is different (for now) but the front is an exact copy. looks like the rear is an exact copy of the s-class. i think it cheapens the current and future e-class model, for sure.

not sure if these german car company design plans are good or bad. seemed they all did it in the past at some point. i just think it's funny because i do remember people having a problem with it from bmw and audi. and let's face it, a lot of e-class owners (and mb owners in general) are a pretentious, "look at how much i spent on my car or what i do for a living" kinda crowd.

eNNCity

I am so glad I picked up a 2013 Sport, rather than 2014. It's the last model with split headlights and class differentiation

Dema

You are very lucky. All 13 cars already gone when I needed a replacement. I hate 14 design, looks really Asian, no elegant European forms.

BenzV12

E Classy , thanks for your topic
It really looks like mini S ,it's however you can't confuse it with S Class in any way . I reckon , MB S Class Owners are distinctive ones , I mean they're discerning clients and they will eventually buy nothing but S Class in MB model line up
In this case , I believe W205 targets the population who longs for S Class but can't afford it . Would it hurt the W222's reputation ,status ? At first glance, we can say yes but I still don't think because S Class dwells in a different level under any circumstances
I must admit it was a surprising and bold move from MB to make two cars alike namely one of them is the flag ship model
When I compare W204 vs W221 , I see no similarities . W205 Owners will be lucky to benefit from hi-tech stuffs as well

ImInPA

I think MB is doing the right thing, First of all, while I see similarity, I would never confuse the C for an S. Anyone who actually would, is not familiar with the brand, and is only impressed with the Star on the hood or grill. Those folks think all Mercedes cost a gazillion dollars. The only reason this could possibly be an issue to anyone, is if they are buying the car to impress someone else. In that case just by a C-Class and put your S65 badges all over it. Yea. That's the ticket. If you are buying the car truly for yourself, I promise you that you will notice the difference between a C and an S clas every time you close the door.

GregTR

Apparently I'm the minority here but I actually like the new uniform face of MBZ. I think it looks sharp and nobody in their right mind would confuse a C with an S. The ones who confuse it are the people who couldn't care less what car it was as long as it had the three pointed star on it.

I'm probably also the minority in that I never bought a car for "prestige" or for "look at me". I actually hated that my BMW E90 came with the "*****" image. I bought the car because I loved the way it handled and looked and felt. I bought the E-350 wagon because it's the only large wagon available, it has a refined interior and an awesome abundance of technology and features. I sacrificed drive characteristics the tight feel of the BMW and gave up on the manual transmission but I never once considered that I'm buying this car for the badge. Apparently most people badge shop. I car shop and buy once based on quality of craftsmanship, features, performance and price. Given my "dash stroker" nature I naturally gravitate towards German brands but it has nothing to do with the "image", I could actually do without it.

E Classy

i would implement more differences between the models. it's OK to have the same basic design strategy/theme but there should be more subtle distinctions between the classes besides wheelbase and interior trimmings. a copy/paste job is definitely taking it up a notch. i wonder if it impacts cost savings or something?

one thing i've noticed in the industry is the growing trend of distinguishing between the sedans and the coupes (ala BMW 4-series). it seems they are more concerned now with breaking up the body styles even within a class to separate perceptions. that definitely is about cost $$$

D&G

IMO it looks very much like the CLA lol.

K-A

Indeed. The pre-facelift W212 will be the last distinctive M-B for a while I think, in regards to having bespoke aesthetic features. And with that unapologetically square-jaw Luxury-grille and standup Star, it looks more classically "Mercedes" still.

I think it definitely has to save on costs.... lots of costs. M-B didn't have to come up with a design for the C on its own, or the S for that matter either. Chances are these cars were being penned and developed at the same time and the design was created for both at the same time, ensured that it could look right on both sizes, etc. I have no doubts about that. It's a complete copy/paste on all measures, exterior wise. The differences will come from interior going forward it seems.

Long3494Qut

.....and I knew that was going to happen :/

W210

Nice, love it.