First look: New features and a 380kW V8 for E-class

MERCEDES-BENZ used this month's New York motor show to give its facelifted E-class a world debut before it goes on sale in Europe and the US in June – and in Australia around October.

Representing the first cosmetic update of the seventh-generation model since it went on sale here in 2002, a revised grille and updated interior join the 200kW/350Nm 3.5-litre V6 that joined the range last year.

However, while the flagship S-class limousine’s Pre-Safe collision preparation system has filtered down to the German maker’s large car, Mercedes has deleted the E-class’s controversial Sensotronic Brake Control electronic braking system.

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Helping to make E-class what Benz describes as the "safest, cleanest, most powerful and most reliable E-class of all time" are new engines and new lighting systems.

Fitted to both sedan and wagon models is a new four-spoke steering wheel, a new climate-control unit, new interior colour combinations and the world-first option of the company’s new adaptive Intelligent Light System, which features five lighting functions including improved foglights, cornering lights and a cone-shaped beam that is claimed to extend night vision by about 50m at speeds above 90km/h.

According to Mercedes, six of the 10 engines available in the revised E-class in the US are either new or enhanced. Both the E200 CDI and E220 CDI four-cylinder diesel engines are claimed to be smoother and more powerful, while the E320 Bluetec – claimed to be the world’s cleanest diesel engine – goes on sale in the US later this year.

Meantime, the E500 gains the S-class’s new 285kW 5.5-litre V8 and the E55 AMG will be replaced by the E63, powered by AMG’s new 380kW/630Nm 6.2-litre V8 – making it the most powerful E-class ever built.