Topic: First Drive: 2014 Mercedes-Benz E-Class

[Autos_Editor]

The 2014 E-Class gets styling revisions and even more safety equipment, but Mercedes also teased Peter Bleakney with a couple future powertrains.

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[sailor723]

The first question I would have is if all of these new safety nannies can be turned off and left that way?  When they fail (and they will) and the car is out of warranty (and it will be....... at least by the second or third time they fail) I'd rather have them turned off permanantly than pay thousands of dollars to repair them. (or put up with warning lights/chimes/messages in the dash on every startup)   

[safristi]

Do the Nannies send a warning (Warming?) letter to your BANKER in Zurich first..... ..before they go all Au PEAR shaped on you......... .It may prove cheaper to buy a stripper...........and NO I don't mean a BASE MODEL MERC..............

[Danno001]

The first question I would have is if all of these new safety nannies can be turned off and left that way? 

Shouldn't be any different than the current nannies on your current German rides.

Tell me you lease the Merc and bimmer - right?

[tpl]

Those adaptive headlights.   A good idea  but I wonder if they will, initially, be Canada only.  I believe that Audi have something similar for 2014 that the NTHSA have said would not be allowed un til they have "studied" them.

[hemusbull]

Almost 15% of all sold Es are wagons? Wow!
But why the rear of the sedan copies VW Jetta?

[OliverD]

It should be noted that the 2014 (not 2015 as the article says) diesel model will have AWD which should substantially increase its take rate in Canada .

[Noto]

It should be noted that the 2014 (not 2015 as the article says) diesel model will have AWD which should substantially increase its take rate in Canada .

I was about to naysay the diesel (being a long-time lover of it) because the power drop is not really welcome to many in this segment...but add AWD and get under 8L/100km in a car this size...ok, sign me up.  Still, I wonder if MB could have gone without the AdBlue system like VW did for an engine that small...


In any event, I think this article was great because it shows how ridiculous the reliance is on these active 'safety' measures.  Certain tech is great, but nobody likes being chimed at every few seconds if they're not driving like a Bavarian-perfected being.  I'm still hoping those bells/whistles will make people start using their signals, otherwise, the tech is overkill.


I love the drive of the E-class, I love the styling, I love the available and options of the mechanical bits, and seems solid enough.  Works for me.  Nice refresh.

[hemusbull]

Athough with historically robust mechanics, German high end cars are ...traditionally unreliable mainly because of electrical/electronics problems. The current 7-Series BMW and S-class Mercedes boast about 100 processors apiece according to Embedded.com, one respected online magazine of the electronics community. One hundred small computers makes the vehicle an  enormously complicated piece of equipment and potential source of troubles and unexpected expenses, especially when the car is out of warranty. 

[Fobroader]

Athough with historically robust mechanics, German high end cars are ...traditionally unreliable mainly because of electrical/electronics problems. The current 7-Series BMW and S-class Mercedes boast about 100 processors apiece according to Embedded.com, one respected online magazine of the electronics community. One hundred small computers makes the vehicle an  enormously complicated piece of equipment and potential source of troubles and unexpected expenses, especially when the car is out of warranty.

Because everyone on here knows, with any FGC built after 1998, you treat them like a disposable razor, use them till the warranty/lease is up and then toss them onto an unsuspecting sucker whose badge obsession is more powerful than his common sense 

[Northernridge]

Well not much impresses me with the refresh. I'm indifferent to the styling upgrades and actively dislike the new snout – it appears to have come from another car and doesn't look designed for the one it's bolted to. But the new steering wheel is a real aesthetic improvement.

In terms of the safety features...whatever. I have the generation 1 passive assist package and it's pretty much useless, The lane keep assist is ok but too conservative and the stay alert thing (coffee cup symbol) baffles me, I have no idea if it has ever gone off, what triggers it or how it notifies me that I'm falling asleep. The other option is ACTIVE assist which actually corrects the car if you're doing dangerous things – I'm told by the local MB folks that it's iffy at the best of times. It's also expensive so we'll have to see if the next gen. safety crap is any better. I've made it to this point in my life largely without these features so I'm not clamouring for them now.

I also feel a little disappointed that the AMG E63 will be AWD only.

Bottom line for me is that while I really like my car I'm not compelled in any way to upgrade as a result of this update. With the driveline still intact on the E350 (which is very good) there have been few enhancements that interest me. I'm predisposed to like the E Class but disappointed by this effort.

[sailor723]

Well not much impresses me with the refresh. I'm indifferent to the styling upgrades and actively dislike the new snout – it appears to have come from another car and doesn't look designed for the one it's bolted to. But the new steering wheel is a real aesthetic improvement.

In terms of the safety features...whatever. I have the generation 1 passive assist package and it's pretty much useless, The lane keep assist is ok but too conservative and the stay alert thing (coffee cup symbol) baffles me, I have no idea if it has ever gone off, what triggers it or how it notifies me that I'm falling asleep. The other option is ACTIVE assist which actually corrects the car if you're doing dangerous things – I'm told by the local MB folks that it's iffy at the best of times. It's also expensive so we'll have to see if the next gen. safety crap is any better. I've made it to this point in my life largely without these features so I'm not clamouring for them now.

I also feel a little disappointed that the AMG E63 will be AWD only.

Bottom line for me is that while I really like my car I'm not compelled in any way to upgrade as a result of this update. With the driveline still intact on the E350 (which is very good) there have been few enhancements that interest me. I'm predisposed to like the E Class but disappointed by this effort.

Is that what that coffee cup symbol is?  I saw it on the dash of the C class service loaner I had and couldn't figure out what it meant. 

[johngenx]

It actually blinks when within range of a Starbucks...

[sailor723]

It actually blinks when within range of a Starbucks...

 

$6 latte anyone?

[Fobroader]

It actually blinks when within range of a Starbucks...

 

$6 latte anyone?

I thought thats what the diesels took instead of DEF 

[mmret]

I'm predisposed to like the E Class but disappointed by this effort.

I hear you. The quad headlamps thing has been an E-Class mainstay for so long - for me it defines the car. The revised front end looks anonymous, and that's no good.

Its kind of terrible really. The new front end either looks like a runty S-Class:


or a Mazda with a Mercedes badge.


The E-Class is no longer its own "thing"

[Northernridge]

Actually I prefer the one before the current model aesthetically. Mercedes does curves better than it does angles.

[tpl]

I like the 2/3 bar grille on the B but if I had bought a C I'd want the 'proper' MB grille with the hood ornament .

[Vanstar]

The first question I would have is if all of these new safety nannies can be turned off and left that way?  When they fail (and they will) and the car is out of warranty (and it will be....... at least by the second or third time they fail) I'd rather have them turned off permanantly than pay thousands of dollars to repair them. (or put up with warning lights/chimes/messages in the dash on every startup)   

I have some advice for you: don't own one of these out of warranty.