For decades, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class has been a top choice among those looking for a true mid-size luxury sedan. With the latest redesign, the E-Class maintains its excellence with efficient performance, upscale styling, superfluous technology and supreme comfort, particularly the E 450 4Matic model (4Matic is the name of Benz’s all-wheel drive system).
The E 450’s smooth 3.0L turbocharged inline 6-cylinder engine is paired with a 9-speed automatic transmission, producing 375 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque that can propel it from 0 to 96 km/h in an easy 4.4 seconds. The drive is exceptionally quiet and smooth. Steering and handling are equally excellent even though driving fun isn’t the E 450’s core mission. If you want more performance, you can choose the 429-horsespower AMG E 53 or the 603-horsepower AMG E 63 S.
One welcome surprise was how fuel-efficient the E 450 was thanks to its mild-hybrid drivetrain, which features a generator paired to the gas engine that helps provide additional propulsion (up to 23 horsepower and 151 lb-ft of torque), and can recharge itself whenever you decelerate and brake so it can keep supplying power. We consumed only 8.5 L/100 km doing 60/40 highway/city driving, an impressive result considering gas-only drivetrains producing 350+ horsepower easily consume over 10 L/100 km when doing mixed driving.
Despite the E 450’s polished, quiet-luxury exterior styling and attractive multi-spoke wheels, it still flies under the radar as we received no compliments, questions or second glances from strangers over 5 days and 700+ km of driving.
At night, the LED headlights illuminate well, and the grille is also illuminated for a unique nighttime look. In the back, a wide trunk load space makes loading/unloading cargo easy, while the taillights stand out with unique 3D-shaped Benz stars.
An equally polished interior includes lots of soft-touch surfaces, stitching, an available touchscreen for the front passenger, and an available in-vehicle camera for selfies or conducting virtual calls when parked.
The front seats feature available massaging and cooling functions for enhanced comfort. There are even heated armrests on the front door panels and centre armrest, along with a built-in vehicle air freshener that you activate using the climate control system.
In the rear, legroom is aplenty with available side and rear window sunshades, but we were surprised that the outboard seats did not have a reclining function. There were also no rear climate controls; it is an option available only to the top-line E 63 S model.
The E 450 boasts an outstanding camera system with high-definition front and rear views. You can even swipe on the screen to see the vehicle and its surroundings from any angle. The head-up display is large, and the vehicle can even warn you about a bump on the road ahead, and automatically change lanes for you hands-free when the adaptive cruise control is active.
The crisp instrument cluster is highly customizable, and a wealth of driving information can be accessed such as seeing instantaneous horsepower and torque output as you accelerate.
However, too much tech or unnecessary tech could be dealbreakers for some buyers. In the E 450, there are no physical buttons or knobs for the climate control settings. You have to access virtual controls within the 14.4-inch centre touchscreen, which we found very onerous to use.
We recommend you use both the climate controls and touch-sensitive steering wheel buttons during a test drive to determine if you can tolerate or adapt to them.
Despite some difficult-to-use technology, we loved driving the new E 450, and think it’s the best-value E-Class model to buy at $103,000 as-tested, especially with the added value of impressive fuel efficiency that will help reduce long-term operating costs.
