First, the wheel: This new three-spoke model has expanded capacitive-touch-sensitive areas on the spokes to control various functions of the gauge cluster, cruise control and multimedia system. The biggest interior changes come in two areas: the steering wheel and its relation to some new features for the semi-autonomous driving systems. It’s running the latest MBUX multimedia system, featuring an expanded list of voice controls, gesture controls and an optional augmented reality feature for the standard navigation system that throws digital arrows up over a real-time video display of what’s in front of you. First off, the twin 12.3-inch digital screens are now standard on all E-Class models, providing a reconfigurable instrument cluster behind the wheel and a touch panel control display to the right of that. The changes to the inside are similarly subtle, and generally revolve around new equipment and technology instead of styling. That’s OK there’s nothing ostentatious or offensive in the design, and while it’s not exactly all that distinctive, it is clean, safe and respectable, which is generally what the buyers of the E-Class tend to be looking for in a luxury sedan. Out back, there are new taillights with new LED patterns, but overall the styling changes to the car aren’t huge. There are some new wheel patterns, including on my test E450 that wore the lovely black 19-inch optional rollers Mercedes slapped an AMG badge on so it can charge more money. This is the same look we can see on the GLA, GLC, GLE and GLS SUVs, and now it’s appearing on the company’s cars as well.

The front gets new headlights, a new grille, new bumper and new hood, all meant to link the E-Class with the company’s SUV styling. The differences are subtle, and mostly limited to the front and rear styling. Related: 2021 Mercedes-Benz E-Class: New Face, New Wagon Understated Good Looksįrom a styling standpoint, you’d be forgiven if you have trouble spotting the 2021 model over the 2020. We took a refreshed E450 4Matic sedan and high-performance E63 S for a spin to see what the updates for the ’21 model year have done to keep the E-Class fresh, and then followed up with an E450 4Matic coupe. For 2021, the E-Class gets a few updates to keep it in line with the rest of the brand’s showroom. Globally, it’s one of the company’s most popular models, available in a number of different body styles - from the sedans you see here to a wagon, a coupe, a convertible, a high-performance model and even a new lifted off-road wagon in the vein of a Audi Allroad, Subaru Outback or Volvo V90 Cross Country. Mercedes-Benz’s mid-size luxury car is the E-Class. Versus the competition: It’s a cutthroat segment, but the E-Class is the benchmark in it, with the most luxurious interior in the mid-size luxury class, highly competitive powertrains and better technology than most. The verdict: It will cost you a pretty penny, but the revised 2021 E-Class continues to be the standard by which other mid-size luxury cars are judged - few brands make a finer automobile than this. 4, 2021, to add our impressions of the 2021 Mercedes-Benz E450 coupe. Editor’s note: This review was updated Jan.

Mercedes models 2021