Yahoo Autos 2024 Mercedes-Benz E450 4Matic Embraces Transition
Stare down the optional selfie camera atop the dash of the 2024 Mercedes-Benz E-class, and it's clear that the automobile has entered a new age, not that more evidence was needed. Even for iconic nameplates, the ever-greater inclusion of technology for work, play, safety, and convenience has become an essential part of the picture. Yet while Mercedes has shown a departure from the past with its EQ-branded EVs, fans of traditional luxury sedans will find solace in the restraint of the E-class's latest redesign. Evolved as it may be, this new car is pleasantly familiar.
When it goes on sale early next year, the mid-size E will be easy enough to mistake for an S-class, its envelope having grown marginally larger than before while adopting more of its grander sibling's flowing elegance. It's a quintessential and attractive Benz from all angles. Reinforcing that notion to less observant eyes, LED elements in the taillights illuminate in the shape of the three-pointed Mercedes star.
Technology as Luxury
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.
