Updated Mercedes-Benz E-Class arrives from $96,900

MERCEDES-BENZ Cars Australia has detailed its updated new E-Class line-up ahead of its arrival here later this month with 10 individual variants set to be offered across five trim levels, including four AMGs.

For the 2020 mid-life update, Mercedes has treated its popular large car to a raft of styling and technological upgrades including new headlights, grille, bumpers, tail-lights and boot lid.

In an added visual bonus, the Australia-bound cars all come adorning an AMG Line exterior treatment as standard.

As for the tech upgrades, the vast majority of changes revolve around the MBUX multimedia system which has had a myriad of new features added to it designed to make life inside the cabin as easy and straightforward as possible with an emphasis on convenience.

Leading the charge is the new intelligent steering wheel with ‘hands-on detection’ and optional MBUX Interior Assistant which uses a roof-mounted camera to monitor the hand gestures of the driver or passenger and respond with the correlating function.

Kicking off from $96,900 plus on-road costs, the E-Class range is once again opened by the E200 sedan while the coupe commands an extra $5000, checking in from $101,900.

Under the bonnet of the entry-level variants resides a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine which has been given a power bump to now produce 145kW/320Nm, up from the 135kW/300Nm of the outgoing model.

As usual for an E-Class devoid of the 4Matic badge, drive is sent exclusively to the rear wheels via a nine-speed automatic transmission.

Under the skin, the E200 rides on ‘Agility Control’ suspension with a passive selective damping system with the whole package rolling on 19-inch AMG Line alloy wheels.

Standard equipment on the entry-level model includes Active Parking Assist Parktronic, a surround-view camera, Mercedes me Connect app, smartphone integration, wireless phone charging, 64-colour ambient interior lighting, heated power adjustable front seats with three memory settings wrapped in either Artico or leather upholstery, dark-tinted rear privacy glass, keyless go and keyless start, hands-free boot access, and LED high-performance headlights with adaptive high-beam assist.

Priced some $21,000 north of the E200 duo are the new E300 variants which not only up the ante in terms of firepower and standard kit, but body styles as well with the E300 serving as the entry point to the E-Class Cabriolet range.

With prices starting from $117,400 for the coupe, the E300 bucks the trend set by the E200 in that the coupe is actually the most affordable body style with Mercedes declining to comment on this particular pricing strategy.

For reference, the coupe is priced $500 cheaper than the sedan ($117,900) while the cabriolet sits a stark $13,500 upstream, priced from $130,900.

Under the bonnet of all E300s is a more potent version of the E200’s 2.0-litre turbo mill, tuned in this guise to 190kW/370Nm – 10kW up on the old model – again driving the rear wheels via the same nine-speed automatic transmission.

Coming with all the same bells and whistles as its less powerful stablemate, the E300 sheds the E200’s traditional suspension arrangement in favour of Mercedes’ Air Body Control set-up.

Leather upholstery comes as standard on all three body types, as do multibeam LED headlights and metallic paintwork.

The sole plug-in hybrid (PHEV) of the bunch, the E300e is priced from $121,400 and is available exclusively in sedan form.

Sharing all of the same standard kit as the other E300s, the E300e is differentiated by its PHEV drivetrain which generates a still-impressive 235kW/700Nm when all is said and done.

Carried over unchanged from the outgoing version, the powertrain is still based around a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine good for 155kW/350Nm by its lonesome with the extra shove coming courtesy of a 90kW/440Nm electric motor.

Drawing on a 13.5kWh battery, Mercedes says the E300e has an all-electric range of 50km on the ADR cycle and will sip as little as 2.2 litres per 100km.

Bringing a significant jump in both price and performance, the AMG E53 4Matic+ sits a fair way above the E300 squadron with prices starting from $159,900 for the sedan, $162,400 for the coupe and $170,900 for the cabriolet.

Powered by a twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre straight six petrol-engine boosted by a 48V mild hybrid system, the E53 boasts peak power and torque outputs of 320kW/530Nm – same as the outgoing model – all of which is put to the road by AMG’s 4Matic+ all-wheel-drive-system.

An AMG-specific nine-speed automatic transmission is responsible for changing gears.

Standard equipment on the E53 includes all of the gear included on the E300 as well as Nappa leather upholstery, front sports seats, flat bottom sports steering wheel, head-up display with virtual windscreen projection, AMG sports pedals, 13-speaker Burmester surround sound system, panoramic glass sunroof (sedan and coupe), beefier front brakes, speed-sensitive sports steering and a selectable AMG Performance exhaust system.

The E53 also ups the visual menace by quite some margin over the lesser models, brandishing the familiar 12-louvred radiator grille, more aggressive headlights, power-domes on the bonnet, bigger front intake, unique 20-inch alloy wheels, twin exhaust tips, more aerodynamic side-skirts, more aggressive rear apron and lip spoiler.

While the E53 may be potent, it is the flagship E63 S 4Matic+ that takes the crown as the ultimate E-Class with its twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 engine pumping out a supercar-scaring 450kW/850Nm.

Using the same nine-speed transmission and all-wheel-drive system as the E53, the E63 S can sprint from 0-100km/h in 3.4 seconds and brandishes all of the same AMG go-faster looks as its six-cylinder counterpart.

Standard equipment on the flagship includes heated and cooled front seats, heated outer rear seats, heated front armrest, tri-zone climate control, Energizing Comfort Control and air-balance air filtering package, AMG-specific steering wheel selector buttons, AMG Track Pace data logger, MBUX Interior Assistant and Augmented Reality systems and power-closing doors on top of all the E53’s standard kit.

The whole package then rolls on 20-inch, five-spoke AMG wheels.

Under the skin is a rear limited slip differential and active dynamic engine mounts designed to maximise the car’s dynamic capabilities.

The E-Class has had things largely its own way so far in 2020 with Mercedes selling 482 examples between January and August, accounting for 35.6 per cent of the $70,000-plus large car segment.

In terms of sheer sales, only the BMW 5 Series has been able to get close with 456 sales over the same period (33.7% of the segment).

2020 Mercedes E-Class pricing*

*Excludes on-road costs

2020 Mercedes E-Class pricing*

*Excludes on-road costs