2024 Mercedes-Benz E-Class: Bordering on ultraluxe

The E-Class may be losing some of its sales stature in the Mercedes-Benz lineup as America's wealthy households migrate to light trucks, but it remains a formidable showcase for the German brand. With the redesigned 2024 Mercedes-Benz E-Class, the automaker is sticking to the car's famed trademarks: quiet comfort, elegant functionality, top-notch engineering and advanced technology.

The E 350 variant is equipped with a new 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine that produces 255 hp. The E 450 4Matic tops the latest two-car E-Class sedan lineup that hits showrooms in the first half of 2024. The M256 mild-hybrid powertrain is carried over, but the 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-six engine sees output rise 13 hp to 375 hp. The 48-volt integrated starter generator — slotted between the engine and the nine-speed automatic transmission — now generates an extra 22 hp when needed.

The wheelbase has been increased by 0.87 inch. Available rear-wheel steering (part of an optional technology pack that include air suspension and continuously adjustable damping) reduces the turning circle by up to 35.4 inches.

The retooled cabin transforms the E-Class into a mobile work and entertainment center.

A high-resolution display anchors the cockpit. When combined with an optional front passenger screen, the display extends from the instrument cluster unit to the A-pillar on the passenger side. Models without the passenger display feature a trim element that extends to the center.

The latest version of the MBUX infotainment system delivers greater personalization by learning a driver's frequently used comfort settings and enabling programmable routines.

Journalists got behind the wheel of the latest E-Class in Europe, and we've sampled some early reviews.

"Like the S-Class, the new E-Class requires minimal effort to operate. But if you enjoy driving, the vehicle displays the confident capability that has been the hallmark of the very best E-Class models over the past four decades. This is a car that will happily waft around the suburbs yet stop and steer with composed authority when you want to hustle it down a winding two-lane road.

"The mild-hybrid, six-cylinder power train is smooth but has punch, and though you can choose to digitally augment the sound to make it rumble like a V-8, it's best left alone to emit only a muted snarl under hard acceleration. That's because the rest of the car is so quiet. Even on the low profile 21-inch tires, this E-Class is as quiet in the cabin as an S-Class ... all the better to enjoy the standard 730 watt Burmester 4-D surround-sound system.

"The ride in the default Comfort mode is plush; selecting Sport mode gently reins in the secondary body motions without making the car feel harsh or edgy. But there is no Sport+ mode; the car doesn't need it, and it would add nothing to the overall experience. If you want thunder and drama from an E-Class sedan, wait for the AMG version."

— Angus MacKenzie, Robb Report

"Beyond its refinement, the E450 justifies its place in the lineup with effortless and smooth acceleration.

"The car is also blissfully quiet, although if you find it too hushed under acceleration, Mercedes has a techy answer for that. The automaker has tweaked its Progressive Sport Sound feature so you can make your car's inline-six sound like a (slightly louder) V-8 in any drive mode, complete with silly but still quiet cracks and pops in Sport. The 2021 E450 reached 60 in a Motor Trend-tested 4.6 seconds and we expect similar performance from the new one.

"One note on the car's 48-volt mild-hybrid system, the engine stop-start system on our test cars took a tad too long to start up again at quick stops. Drivers who take their time and come to complete stops will never notice anything, but those who drive more briskly may notice a minor delay as the car turns back on.

"Lately, we've had issues not with Motor Trend-tested braking performance of Mercedes cars but how they feel. Luckily, this wasn't a problem with the 2024 E450s we drove; the cars combined easy to modulate brakes with a suspension that isolated the cabin from most — but not all — road imperfections."

— Zach Gale, Motor Trend

"Mercedes has made a big fuss about the latest E-Class's ability to keep you and your offspring in a state of perpetual awe between A and B. The problem is that it doesn't so much bathe you in tech but try and drown you in it.

"Seriously, even the passenger gets a screen now, turning the entire dashboard into a scaled-down Piccadilly Circus (a la EQS). See that camera atop the dash? That's for taking selfies (really — TikTok is among the apps) and holding Zoom calls over 5G. While stationary, mind. The E-Class will even overtake for you, so advanced is the ADAS now. ...

"Look, it's all well and good being comfort focused, but Mercedes has made the same mistake as so many other carmakers by assuming more must mean better. How are you meant to relax into a drive when you've got this much info being thrown at you and so many fiddly haptic buttons to interact with it?

"All of this falls against a backdrop of what's going on in the car industry right now: supply issues and rising costs are pushing everyone upmarket in search of healthier margins. So the E-Class has less room [to maneuver] now and its shortcomings are more obvious than ever.

"Simply being a smaller, cheaper S-Class was enough for the Mk5 and it probably still will be for most buyers of the Mk6. But this is likely the last ever combustion-driven E-Class and we're a little sad it's not finishing with more of a flourish. Maybe the next AMG E63 S will make a better fist of it."

— Joe Holding, Top Gear

"Though turbocharged, the E450 doesn't suffer from much in the way of lag. If anything, it's a little too eager to get going. It took a few pulls away from stop lights before I got the hang of the throttle, which even in Comfort mode is surprisingly snatchy.

"Comfort mode is matched with the typical complement of Sport, Eco, and Individual modes, the latter of which allows you to choose your steering weight, how aggressive the nine-speed automatic transmission is, and how stiff the air suspension is — assuming you ticked that box, anyway.

"Go for the air suspension and Mercedes throws in rear-steering, available on the E-Class for the first time. This adds 4.5 degrees of steering to the rear, cutting a full 3 feet from the turning circle of what is an increasingly lengthy sedan. It also adds a fair bit of hustle through the corners, but even in E450 trim that's not really what the E-Class is about. (At least, not until the inevitable AMG flavor).

"More important is the ride quality, which is impressive. The car presented a pleasant poise through the hairpin bends leading up and out of Vienna during the global launch for the car. But, when the road turned to cobblestones for the last few miles of the climb, toggling from Sport over to Comfort delivered a remarkably compliant ride. On the highway at speed the car is smooth as can be."

— Tim Stevens, Motor1.com

"The speech recognition system is darn good, even recognizing your request to turn off that EU-mandated speed limit warning chime. There's a lot of thought gone into the touchscreen, too, with good graphics, easily accessible cabin temperature adjustment and access to music and mapping, although at one point the navigation drove us out of Austria and into Hungary, which gave the border police a bit of a work out.

"There's also an algorithm (isn't there always) which recognizes patterns of use, such as seat position, heating settings, favorite radio station and so on. It seems a poor substitute for doing it yourself and we weren't in the car long enough to test it properly.

"If you haven't got anything nice to say, don't say it, my nan used to say. And so it proves with the four-cylinder lumps in the test cars. Well damped and isolated to the point of not being there, even diesel is a largely silent device especially as the electric motor fills in the low-down torque gap.

"Acceleration is brisk for all the cars although the PHEV feels usefully more rapid. And the way the electric motors in these cars allow long gearing in the nine-speed auto is remarkable. At one point the diesel was doing an indicated 80 mph at 1,500 rpm with an indicated range of well over 850 miles which would have got us back to the U.K. on a single tank of fuel.

"It's the way these big and heavy cars ride on undulating roads that is a complete revelation, however. These three models are some of the best riding cars I've driven all year, and that includes the Rolls-Royce Spectre. Bumps are dealt with in two chassis moments — up and down, and that's it. There's such wheel articulation with the four-link wishbone front and five-link independent rear that even on roads with subsiding sides, there's no sign of side-to-side tilting and lateral head tossing. No chassis float either, just a simple, comfortable ride with wonderful damping control even when driven hard. You wonder why Mercedes bothers with its optional anti-car sickness program, which amounts to a set of breathing exercises on a screen."

— Andrew English, The Telegraph

"Though the new E-class's cabin veers toward tech-infused minimalism, traditional luxury trappings are present in abundance, and comfort levels are exceedingly high. The retention of a conventional three-box shape makes for welcome headroom in back, and rear legroom remains generous if not quite cross-your-legs friendly. Trunk capacity has swelled to an S-class-beating 19 cubic feet.

"The E ventures into the future by way of its expansive Superscreen digital interface, which neatly integrates a 12.3-inch instrument cluster with available 3-D graphics, a 14.4-inch touchscreen, and an optional 12.3-inch passenger display. It's similar to the pillar-to-pillar Hyperscreen system found in some EQ models, though here it lacks haptic feedback for touch inputs, and the gauge display stands separately rather than integrated under a single piece of glass. Secondary hard buttons and switches are limited. The car's environs can soothe like a day spa — or stimulate like a discotheque — via copious ambient lighting that throbs to the beats from the standard Burmester audio system's 21 speakers.

"AI programming learns a user's behavior and manages customizable "routines," while up to five interior cameras, including the selfie unit, enable an array of functions. Zoom videoconferencing and access to TikTok, for example, are possible from behind the wheel when the car is stationary, and passengers can stream video and play Angry Birds without distracting the driver. It's a lot of pixels and computer code to take in. But this is the first version of the MBUX operating system that Mercedes has produced entirely in house, and the more we interacted with it, the more intuitive it proved to be. Augmented-reality navigation and easy access to core features from the center home screen are a boon when you're plying stressful, unfamiliar roads. The roster of standard and optional active safety systems is more encompassing than ever, with the highlight being the addition of automatic lane changes during hands-free cruising on the highway."

— Mike Sutton, Car and Driver