Interior, features and cabin comfort
Just like the exterior, the interior of the new E-Class has received a liberal makeover. And we are delighted to declare that this Merc does manage to excite you with its fresh new flavor. To start with, we were absolutely dazzled by the immaculate workmanship and finesses with which the cabin has been put together. The quality of materials, the judicious appointment of them, the ergonomics and above all, the meticulous putting together of bits sets a new benchmark in its class. The silver finish A/C louvers, the wheels to control them, the buttons – everything has an old-worldly, plastic free solidity and sturdiness about them.
There’s a triple pod instruiment cluster with white and black dials. On the right you have the tacho, on the left you have your fuel guage and enegine temperature indicator with other tell tale lights and in the middle you have a digital cum analogue speedo with a multi information display. The high resolution MID delivers a sea of information and adds greatly to the upmarket feel of the car.
The four spoke design of the steering wheel with leather cover and dimpled area around the horizontal spoke makes it visually smart and very functional. The buttons on the wheel are quite intuitive too.
Most part of the center console has been laid out in traditional M-B fashion. A classy clock to add to the luxury feel makes an appearance between the central A/C louvers. Below that you have your audio controls with somewhat intimidating M-B layout of numbers and several other buttons. In out humble opinion, the buttons can be reduced and the setup can be unified with a screen based operation via COMAND system.
Below the audio controls you have the buttons for controlling rear blinds, head rest, harzard lights, Eco mode toggle and parking assist on/off. At the botton of the stack you have the control for the A/C.
The AUDIO 20 infortainment system in the car is controlled via the central controller between the front seats. The menus to control various functions are visible on the TFT Colour display with 14.7cm screen. The system incorporates a 6 DVD changer, USB and Bluetooth as standard.
Apart from the changes mentioned above, a major highlight of the cabin as regards aesthetics and comfort is the new seat design. The piping for the seat on the new E-class is different from the earlier model. The new design makes the seats look much classier than the earlier iteration. With this single change, M-B have managed to lend the interior of the new E-Class a sense of exclusivity.
Further eye-catching features include the ambient lighting and the new materials used for inserts on the dashboard and the door panels. The new aluminium finish material which replaces wood inserts as an option look and feeks extremely upmarket, and infuses a sense on novelty in the M-B cabin. Another highlight is the array of sophisticated technology at work behind the scenes such as the Direct-Steer system, ATTENTION ASSIST, PRE-SAFE, and a total of eight airbags.
In addition, the new E-Class also comews with Active Parking Assist. The technology, which has been seen on quite a few other models, finds a parking space and manoeuvres the vehicle into located spaces automatically. The driver is required only to operate the accelerator and brake pedals.
At the backseat, the space is liberal to say the least. On our way back from Karjat, I decided to take the back bench to understand the comfort at the second row better. Without even realizing it, I dozed off within minutes. Hanoz, who was occupying the front seat, had to collect his car on the way, and he couldn’t keep awake for long either. The seats on the new E-class are amazingly comfy, though we would have liked the recline angle at the back seat softer. Currently it’s a little steeper than ideal in our opinion.
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Now that’s how a Merc should look like! The previous gen all looked like old school dated creations.