Luxury car market leader Mercedes-Benz India today launched the E-Class long-wheelbase facelift with prices starting from Rs 63.6 lakh. The sedan is available in five variants with three engine options to choose from.

What’s new on the exterior?
On the outside, the E-Class long-wheelbase facelift gets new headlamps and front bumper, along with a wider three-slat chrome grille and chrome trim for the fog lamp inserts. Changes to the rear include a new bumper design and slim, horizontal tail-lamps, similar to those of the new S-Class. The E-Class facelift also gets new alloy wheel designs. 

The new E-Class E 350d AMG-line variant gets a unique diamond-studded front grille, sportier 18-inch alloy wheels, AMG design front and rear bumpers, and a special beige-tropez blue interior upholstery. The paint colours available on the E-Class LWB facelift are Polar White, Obsidian Black, High-Tech Silver and Mojave Silver. Additionally, Selenite Grey and Designo Hyacinth Red are also available, but only for a limited time.

The inside story
Inside the cabin, the E-Class facelift, in top-spec form, now gets two 12.3-inch screens, one for the instrument cluster and the other for the infotainment system. The sedan also gets a new steering wheel with capacitive touch controls. Furthermore, Mercedes has added a new touchscreen in the rear-centre armrest and two USB ports at the back.

In terms of features, the top-spec E 350d AMG Line is equipped with Mercedes’ latest MBUX software for the infotainment system, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity, Mercedes’ Meconnect with Alexa and Google home, voice commands, a 590W Burmester sound system, reclining rear seats, three-zone automatic climate control, two wireless phone chargers, a panoramic sunroof, full leather upholstery, air suspension, soft-close doors and LED headlamps and tail-lamps. 

Safety-wise, the E-Class long wheelbase facelift E 350d gets seven airbags, ABS with EBD and brake assist, traction control, ESP, ISOFIX child-seat mounts, tyre pressure monitoring system, front and rear parking sensors, and a 360-degree parking camera.  

Engine and gearbox options
The 2021 E-Class long-wheelbase facelift carries forward the same set of engine options as the outgoing car. These include a 197hp, 2.0-litre, four-cylinder turbo-petrol in the E 200; a 194hp, 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel in the E 200d; and a 3.0-litre, straight-six diesel in the top-spec E 350d that’s been tuned up to deliver 286hp. All engines are paired to a 9-speed torque converter automatic gearbox as standard.    

Martin Schwenk, Managing Director and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India and Santosh Iyer, Vice-President, Sales & Marketing, Mercedes-Benz India, launched the new E-Class at T&T Motors in New Delhi, today.

Martin Schwenk said, “Listening to our customers’ wishes and introducing the latest products and continuously honing them has been key to our customer strategy. We have to advance the launch of the new E-Class owing to the successful run out of the outgoing model much ahead of our planning and for an overwhelming interest for the new model. We have completely re-imagined the new E-Class by making it more dynamic, more fun to drive and more tech enriched than ever before. We are confident that with our balanced variant strategy, the new E-Class will strongly appeal to not only the chauffeur-driven luxury dweller, but also to the driving enthusiast who wants a sporty and fun car to drive around, without compromising on any of the luxury features.”

“We will launch 15 new products this year and the new E-Class with its new attitude is just the beginning of an intense product intervention planned. Our sedan segment remains one of our key focus areas this year and we are confident the E-Class will continue to remain the most successful luxury sedan of India,” added Schwenk.

In 2021, Mercedes-Benz will also launch the A-Class limousine in India. Additionally, the all-new S-Class, the high-performance Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series, and the next-gen Mercedes-Benz GLA are also expected to come to our market sometime this year.

The 2021 Mercedes-Benz E-Class facelift rivals the BMW 5 Series, the Audi A6, the Jaguar XF and the Volvo S90.