Munich77

One look at the rear of that car and you can tell it is not an E.

K-A

Doubtful they'll address it, if anything, expect in 4 years from now, all the more "unique" aspects to be phased out and more homogeny across the board. The new C being such a copy/paste of the S really shocks me, as the S design will basically be rendered a "blown up C Class" after we see billions of the C's flooding the roads, and "owning" that design language, especially to the masses. I just don't get it as I expected M-B to make the S MORE distinguishable as time went on, considering the M-B brand is expanding so largely and quickly in the more downmarket areas, they'd be best served to let the S look special in more ways than just "size".

After about a few years of C's all over the road, the S design will carry no "weight" other than its extra "weight".

At least the S will look completely bespoke by its radiator grille and standup Star, which is anther unfortunate trend put forth by M-B's marketing dept. Once upon a time, the Star grille was a rarity, now, it's become the "generic", corporate look. The E is easily mistaken for a C or CLA up front, which will become even more effected by the W213, who's front will adopt a full "unity" (copy) of the W205 and CLA, GLA, and whatever other models (dilution) M-B is launching as quickly as they can.

I guess they have to react to market sentiment, but I find that their own fault. They let their competitors take enough share to where they stopped being that staunchly confident brand who "set" the trend, instead they try to make themselves look more and more like an alternative to BMW and Audi. The classic Benz grille and standup Star was always something that ONLY Mercedes could pull off, and separated them from the relative "commoners" easily.

The W212 V1 front, with the quad lights and grille/star setup is immensely more "exclusive" and of presence than the W212 V2 grille, which can be any of the growing M-B's when viewed from the front.