Suspect Sportiness: 2010 E-Class Coupe
By Gunnar Heinrich
I’M of the mind that Mercedes-Benz is really fighting like hell to be all things to all people.
Which never works. Ever. There’s accommodating and then there’s pandering – and once you pander, you’ve lost your target audience because you’ve managed to lose the plot and their trust in the process.
Mercedes can certainly do athleticism – Stuttgart hath wrought some of the baddest machines on this old block. And, indeed, Mercedes has gotten away with lithe and svelte. Consider the early generations of “Sport Light” otherwise known as the SL-Class – the Pagoda comes to mind. Even the original SLK that debuted in the 90s had a certain sporty, cute charm about its little self.
But the new E-Class coupe, which tries to draw on so many aspects of the 60s, 80s, the CLs and CLKs, Audi, Lexus, and BMW that I’m not sure what to make of it. Is it a 3-Series fighter? Probably not, given its loftier price tag. Will it do the grand tour like a Jaguar XK? Lacks the visual presence. Will it go for broke like the Infiniti G Coupe? Not as stock, it won’t.
Will it put comfort, efficiency of design, stolid but proud character first as in the W124 generation coupes and cabrios? For all the marketing associations, I don’t see that sense of purpose here.
Given that every styling gimmick has been thrown in – googley eyed four headlamp unit housing with projector beams, LED accent lights in the lower air intakes, flared wheel well arches, charred sheetmetal a.k.a. “flame surface design”, multiple sill lines, and two panes of glass for both sets of rear windows – and that’s just the outside.
On the inside, we’ve got a C-Class interior, replete with three spoke sport wheel and low-rent instrumentation that’s meant to harken back to the original Baby Benz or 190E – a car that skimped on more than a few luxuries – and, perplexingly, fixed rear headrests à la Toyota and Honda circa 1985.
Really… what does this car want to be when it grows up?
About the Author: Gunnar Heinrich is publisher of Automobiles De Luxe online and is executive producer of the Automobiles De Luxe Television series on PBS member station CPTV.
Chris | Jul 11, 2009 | Reply
Wow, a tad harsh. However I do understand what you mean.
The E-class coupé has just arrived north of the border and I am quite impressed. I was a passenger in the E550 the other day and I was impressed with the fit and finish, the ride and even the sound. But when I think about it, it’s a nice car. But it’s not really a Mercedes.
Mercedes has changed a lot over the past few years. Maybe it’s just you and I that are a bit behind. Despite the recession up here Mercedes sales are actually up 7% over last year when our local economy seemed unstoppable. More and more people, many who never would have considered Mercedes a decade ago are finding themselves behind the wheel of one.
The price is part of the reason. The E350 coupé will be starting around $58,000 CDN. I can’t even imagine a w124 E320 coupé cost so little and that was now about 15 years ago.
There is another reason. When I heard the driver of a vulgar Infiniti G coupe describe the new E as being hot, it once again showed how Mercedes are trying to appeal to younger drivers. Salesmen talk about those new fog lights and how it looks so aggressive in comparison to the previous CLK.
This new coupé truly lacks elegance and any sense of timeless design. The CLK, despite it’s quality issues will be just as elegant ten years from now. The new E will appear to be so 2009 with aggressive headlamps, high tech appearing fog lamps and bulging rear fenders. The design is way too in the moment and lacks the ability to last ten years as the W124 did.
on that subject…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM5A2djJnAM
As these two German dudes show, previous w124 drivers wore ties, drank from small coffee cups and spoke politely amongst each other.
Gunnar | Jul 12, 2009 | Reply
Chris,
I’m pretty sure that I’ve got a good handle on the marque’s present and past. And I, too, appreciate the look of the new E-Class. And the C-Class, for that matter.
The last CLK was, with exception of its powerplants, an awful car. This new E-Class coupe shows promise, except that its styling has been painted with the same contrived brush that endeavors to make most cars look sporty but renders them anonymously banal instead.
I’m saying that MB should consider adopting a less is more aesthetic.
Chris | Jul 12, 2009 | Reply
I think I get what you mean about the styling attempting to look sporty but ends up banal instead. I think the problem really comes from their marketing and targeted buyers.
As for the CLK, it was pretty awful, you’re right, especially the interior, but the exterior, at least of the cabriolet still had something going for it.
Gunnar | Jul 12, 2009 | Reply
From the rear three quarter profile, the last gen. CLK cabrio was pleasing to the eye.