New E-Class is the Einstein of cars

Published Mar 14, 2016

Share

By: Denis Droppa, Lisbon, Portugal

Johannesburg - Albert Einstein, the man who brought us the theory of relativity, may or may not have forseen the invention of autonomous cars, but he would probably have been impressed by the ability of the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class to basically drive itself.

As we head ever closer to a future of vehicles that can run purely on autopilot, the clever new E-Class is the production car that comes closest to this science-fiction ideal by being able to keep a safe following distance, read road signs and automatically stick to the speed limit, and steer itself even when there are no clear road markings. The famous physicist may also have raised an astonished eyebrow at the car’s ability to bring itself to a safe halt, with the hazard lights flashing, when it detects there’s no input at the steering wheel such as when the driver’s fallen asleep or has had a medical emergency.

New E43 is a 295kW 'AMG Lite'

The new E-Class is also the world’s first car to offer an automatic lane-change function; simply activate the indicator and the car moves into the desired lane after checking its blind spot. All these clever self-driving features are part of the optional Drive Pilot offered in the new tenth-generation E-Class, which brings us ever closer to a future where we can simply sit in the car and tell it: “Drive me home”.

The man who taught us that energy equals mass times the speed of light squared might also have been pleasantly taken by this Mercedes’ ability to keep its occupants safe from unexpected sudden stops, by automatically braking when an imminent front or side collision is detected. Or its ability to use the seat bolster to push its passenger away from an impending side impact, reducing the severity of injury.

GENTEEL LUXURY

The new E-Class is Mercedes’ most intelligent car yet, and has even more sci-fi features than the celebrated S-Class, its luxurious bigger brother. A cellphone can be used to remote-park the car and also to start it, obviating the need for an ignition key.

But the E-Class isn’t just a car with next-level safety and a high IQ; it’s also still very good at the business of carting executive customers around in genteel luxury.

The ride quality in particular impressed at the car’s international media launch in Portugal last week. It offers air suspension as an option and this gives different degrees of glideability depending on which mode you choose: Eco, Comfort, Sport or Sport+.

On the air suspension the car wafts as if it’s cruising on cotton wool, metaphorically smoothing out road wrinkles as if it’s injecting them with Botox.

Steel suspension with selective damping comes standard in the new E-Class, while another extra-cost option is Dynamic Body Control with electronically-controlled adjustable damping.

It’s a super-refined car and very little unwanted sound makes it through the double-paned windows. Wind noise is minimised by a drag coefficient of just 0.23 to make it the most streamlined car in its class.

CAN IT STILL PLAY ON A TRACK?

But it’s also capable of adopting a harder attitude when the driver gets playful, as demonstrated by the E400’s ability around the Estoril race circuit.

On the same track where that other great exponent of energy and speed, Ayrton Senna, won his first Formula One victory back in 1985, this Benz carved the curves with more agility than a big business sedan has any right to. This isn’t a car for track days or boy racing, but should you find yourself on a twisty road, the E will get through it with a pleasant lack of understeer, and all the steering feel you need.

NEW-GENERATION ENGINES

The E400 is a burly performer in a straight line too and the 3-litre turbo engine’s 245kW and 480Nm offer decent brawn to go with the brain, although Merc’s spotlight on the launch was mainly focussed on the new-generation 2-litre turbodiesel engine in the E220d model.

With outputs of 143kW and a meaty 400Nm, this smooth four-cylinder oil burner whisked the big sedan along with easygoing grunt and quiet finesse.

And, in a combination of town and freeway driving, our test car averaged just 7.2 litres per 100km, very creditworthy economy for a big saloon.

There’s an even more powerful turbodiesel in the form of the E320d, its 3-litre V6 engine producing 190kW and 620Nm. The entry-level version is the 2-litre E200 four-cylinder turbo petrol with 135kW and 300Nm on tap, and like all E-Class derivatives it feeds the rear wheels through a nine-speed 9G-Tronic transmission.

SA PRICING

The E220d, along with the E350d and the petrol E200, will be the first three E-Class derivatives to go on sale in South Africa when they arrive here in June, with pricing starting at R707 100 for the E200 to R759100 for the E220d.

The new E-Class can also be optionally specced with large Imax-like digital screens for the instrument cluster and infotainment system, turning the dashboard into a flatscreen-look virtual cockpit. The instrument panel is customisable to classic, sport and progressive display styles.

Along with the Star Wars-style screens the new E lays on the luxury with interiors of fine leather, wood and steel, and 64 colours of mood lighting. Spec the car with the high-end Burmester audio system and tweeters twirl out of hiding when you start the car, one of the special touches of glamour.

The challenge with modern gadget-stuffed cars is how to make it all user-friendly and for the most part this Mercedes’ interfaces are quite intuitive.

TOUCH CONTROL SWITCHES

Mercedes is definitely onto something with the simplicity of the new Touch Control steering switches, which you lightly rub your finger over similar to the trackball of a BlackBerry phone. But there are some functions that are hidden very deep in the electronic labyrinth; for instance it took me five minutes to figure out how to adjust the bass in the audio system.

Also, while the car’s ability to drive itself is devastatingly clever, it should perhaps be made more obvious when the car’s in autonomous driving mode in order to avoid possible accidents.

A small steering wheel icon in the instrument cluster is the only subtle sign that the Drive Pilot autonomous system is active.

I found that with the car doing much of the thinking for me in terms of staying in its lane and at a safe following distance I definitely felt less attentive behind the wheel, and if the car’s not in autonomous mode when the driver thinks it actually is, it could lead to an expensive and painful demonstration of physics.

Star Motoring

Related Topics: