SPECIFICATIONS |
| 1. A 3.5L direct injection V6 makes 302 hp and 273 lb-ft.
2. The only transmission available is a seven-speed automatic unit.
3. Fuel economy is rated at 20 mpg city and 28 mpg highway, while our testing returned 21 mpg.
4. Pricing starts at $53,125. Our test vehicle rang in at $64,770.
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PREVIEW
Mercedes-Benz full-size coupes have long been lustrous status symbols; a way to declare wealth to the world. For 2010, Mercedes-Benz wanted to cash in on the panache created by these large two-door luxury barges with the mid-size E-Class Coupe. As good as the car was, it didn’t quite have the visual flair that commands respect like its pricier brothers.
EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR
For 2014, Mercedes-Benz hopes to have addressed this issue with a mid-cycle refresh that sees the E-Class coupe wearing reworked styling. For the first time since 1995, there no longer are four individual headlight housings. Each side of the E-Class now has a single pane covering the headlight cluster, but inside the "four-eye" look is retained thanks to creative use of LED strips sub-dividing the stock static LED headlights or, as found on our test vehicle, the fully adaptable LED units.
Between these lights is a pointier V-shape nose dominated by a massive three-prong logo on the grille to ensure all passersby know that this is, indeed, a Mercedes-Benz. More LEDs can be found in the tail lamps that wrap around from large flared out rear haunches. The E-Class Coupe retains a sleek, classic low-slung profile that looks great, but has a major drawback: headroom.
Front seat headroom is only 36.8 inches high, which is tight. For reference, that’s less headroom than a Corvette, Scion FR-S and even the Mazda Miata. At just over six feet tall, I found my cranium brushing against the headliner even with the seat reclined past personal comfort. In the rear, head space shrinks by another inch, but does offer decent-for-a-coupe 32.6 inches of rear legroom. So long legged, short-torso-having passengers should have no issues fitting back there.
Other than the skull crushing roofline, the front seat is very comfortable and highly customizable thanks to adjustable side bolsters and cushion length. The interior is the typical Mercedes-Benz setup with all functions controlled through the COMAND user interface. Our test vehicle was finished with “Dark Ash Wood” trim that looked great and fit the cars elegant nature.
UNDER THE HOOD
Power still comes from a 3.5-liter direct injection V6 that produces 302 hp and 273 lb-ft. Not terrible numbers, but the engine can feel overwhelmed by our all-wheel drive test vehicle’s 4,001-lb curb weight. It is strange to think a V6 that only makes 300 hp is getting to be perceived as under-powered, but that’s the case these days.
Paired to Mercedes 7G-Tronic seven-speed automatic transmission, the E 350 4MATIC coupe does make the most of its modest power for driving around town while emitting a nice subdued V6 rumble. But, at higher speeds the unfavorable power to weight ratio begins to rear its ugly head and the E 350 feels tepid. Making things worse, the transmission frequently paused between gear changes and delivered jerky, unsophisticated-for-a-Mercedes-Benz shifts. In ECO mode, where efficiency is the name of the game, these issues were even more obvious.
Speaking of fuel savings, the E 350 4MATIC is officially rated at 20 mpg city and 28 mpg highway. That is one mpg better than the 2013 model and during our week with the car we achieved an average of 21 mpg. Not a horrible result for a 4,000-lb vehicle, but with such an emphasis on fuel economy we hoped for better with the 3.5-liter V6.
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