[rosh_aveo1.4]

Besides that chrome line mismatch, they really also need to proof read their brochures.

[pratika]

Originally Posted by VRJ

The maintenance package details are as below. Surprisingly, the E450 is cheaper to maintain than the E220d.

Attachment 2669318

Extended warranty prices for E200 and E220d are:

4th Year: ₹67,800.
4th & 5th Year: ₹1,33,000.
4th, 5th & 6th Year: ₹2,02,900.

Thanks for sharing these quotes.

These numbers look so damn reasonable. Pay an additional ~11L and one is sorted for wrt ext warranty for 6 yrs+maintenance+wear/tear for 10 yrs.

OTOH, I paid ~3.5L only for 3,4,5 yr extended warranty for my M340i (BRI in BMW lingo). IIRC, they're asking for 30L for 10 yrs BRI if you buy it after few months of purchasing the car.

[tbppjpr]

If there is one manufacturer who still knows how to make beautiful cars, then its Mercedes.

Look at the beauty with perfect curves. They know how to modernize the heritage with perfect blend of practicality. BMW and Audi have completely lost it, their new generation cars are just ordinary with no aspirational value left in them.

Long time back I used to think why Mercedes is not adapting the drool worthy design language of the CLA (compact sedan version of A class hatchback) in their upper segment sedans which have started looking dated. But now I see more cars inheriting the design cues from that little CLA which are looking even more beautiful.

I am not in the market for cars in these premium segments so I don't care about all the technical different in them. But I am the one who drives on the roads where few such cars pass through me and these new generation Mercedes are few of those cars which I would like to have around me when I am on the roads.

Cars have to be beautiful.

[hrk997]

Originally Posted by L8ButV8

Merc has a winner that will sell very well. But I'd like to note a few issues:

(1) Very minimal improvements.

(2) V213 launched in 2017 at 56L ex showroom. Price is now 22L & 40% higher despite the car being in production for 7 years & a lot of the tech being old. I don't see new & significantly improved mechanicals (e.g Air suspension, next gen gearbox/engine etc) that would have driven up the price. While inflation does drive up cost, a lot of the existing tech gets cheaper with time/scale. When the V213 launched in 2017, a lot of the the capabilities were new.

As a V213 owner, I find 0 incentive to upgrade to the newer car. Mercedes should have done more to step up the game. They're probably funneling R&D money into electrics, resulting in ICE cars stagnating a bit. All of this said, this car will probably do well and will probably be the segment leader (albeit by a much, much smaller margin than before). Mercedes is giving up some of their lead in this segment with this launch.

I absolutely agree. I reckon fitting an iPad in front of the left passenger seat will give me 70 percent of the updates in the new E class. The pricing strategy from both BMW and Merc is ridiculous given that car prices have increased by as much as 10 L in just 3 years. I doubt inflation is to blame. On the flip side, I'm happy to see the Germans being shown the door in China for failing to innovate and keep up with Chinese car manufacturers.

India unfortunately is always ten steps behind China. We are protecting sub standard vehicles from Maruti from getting cannibalized by advanced Chinese vehicles. Is it patriotic or economically self serving to promote mediocrity ?

Back to the topic, the new e class has little to offer as an upgrade from the old E class. The Indian car scene with its absurd taxation has grown to become disappointing as are the roads in cities. Everyone is better off with a Toyota or Lexus that can be put to use without breaking the bank in service of parts manufacturerd to fail. At the price point of the new E Class, veilfire looks enticing.

[Neelavi]

Originally Posted by L8ButV8

(1) Very minimal improvements vs the V213 launched in 2017. Primary change seems to be the large touchscreen, which is a nice touch. The touch screen in the back is a loss-- it elevated the back seat experience to feel premium, despite being quite useless.

Agree. As a fellow V213 owner, that's dissapointing and I actually find the tablet quite useful since we can access the multimedia settings without distracting the driver especially on highways. Irrespecive of the use, its one of those things which make the car feel special. A friend who owns a much more expensive GLE would crib about the tablet missing in it!

Originally Posted by L8ButV8

(2) V213 launched in 2017 at 56L ex showroom. Price is now 22L & 40% higher despite the car being in production for 7 years & a lot of the tech being old.

IMO, it's fairly reasonable given that 7 years is a fair amout of time. Euro is now 22% costlier and adjusted for it assuming atleast half the components are imported, the actual increase from Mercedes is only 25-30% which is just 3-4% increase per year in line with inflation. Think the other lower volume models have seen much steeper increases.

Originally Posted by L8ButV8

As a V213 owner, I find 0 incentive to upgrade to the newer car.

My only reasons to upgrade would be if the E450 version is actually good to drive for ocassional self driving and the Brown interior which I dig . Otherwise agree that it's just a bit incremental to the current model though that's not a bad thing given how good the current one is for its intended pupose.

[GTO]

Great review, Omkar!

Not every car has to be a driving machine. The E-Class has one objective - comfort - and it clearly does that better than all direct competitors. Although, we do have the 5-Series pricing to thank for a realistic MRP on this one.

Originally Posted by VRJ

The maintenance package details are as below. Surprisingly, the E450 is cheaper to maintain than the E220d.

That is seriously well-priced maintenance for those with heavy annual running. 78,000 bucks a year is cheap for a 1-crore car with average running of 20,000 km a year (referring to the 10-year 200,000 km package which includes wear & tear items).

I wish manufacturers would come out with a 10-year / 120,000 km package which is more realistic for owners (most private owners would do 10,000 - 12,000 a year in their Mercedes).

4th Year: ₹67,800.
4th & 5th Year: ₹1,33,000.
4th, 5th & 6th Year: ₹2,02,900.

Again, a superb package! BMW's extended warranties are priced much higher. In fact, a decade ago, I had paid 1.9 lakhs for extended warranty upto the 6th year for my 530d, and Mercedes is charging the same money in 2024.

[abhinavsureka]

Mercedes have a played a masterstroke with this one. Especially with the 450 which will cater to the entire family in cases where the parents want a big luxury car and the younger generation wants something quick and exciting.

The maintenance packs and extended warranty are very well priced too.

Time to start saving up hope they don't jack up the price of the 450

[L8ButV8]

Originally Posted by hrk997

Everyone is better off with a Toyota or Lexus that can be put to use without breaking the bank in service of parts manufacturerd to fail. At the price point of the new E Class, veilfire looks enticing.

Couldn't agree more. I love the Camry, and the Vellfire is the only upgrade that makes sense after the E class.

[hajaar]

Mod Note : Please do NOT post messages that add little or no informational value to the thread. We need your co-operation to maintain the quality of this forum.

We advise you to read the Forum Rules before proceeding any further. Request to post ONLY when you have something substantial to add to a discussion.

[mura]

NEXEN tires? Surely Mercedes can do better on a car costing close to a crore?

[sunikkat]

Great review. I guess, considering almost same performance for engines, petrol makes more sense here. Comparatively better future proof too.

Originally Posted by mura

NEXEN tires? Surely Mercedes can do better on a car costing close to a crore?

Right, even I was wondering how a Korean tyre made it to German car. Even 3 Series comes with Michelin. Don’t have direct experience of using Nexen tyres though, so might be jumping the gun too.

[Aurum]

Super short test drive of the E Class a couple of days back. Also sat in the 5 series the same day but couldn’t get a test drive vehicle.

The rear seat focus in the E Class is at a different level compared to the 5.
- The space is comparable in both and way more than adequate. However, the E seemed to have slightly more leg room than the 5 series despite the shorter wheelbase. The under thigh support in the E is nice but for my height, 6"1' its not really useful
- I like the seat materials of the 5 more (more breathable?) compared to the leathery E. Cushioning feels different in both and it’s a matter of preference.
- The sheer number of controls in the E available in the rear seat blows the 5 out of the water - side blinds, rear blinds, recline, boss seat. The 5 has just a window up down button if I remember.

The front seat experiences also feel very different.
- As someone mentioned on another thread, the 5 series drivers seat experience is just a different vibe. The displays, controls all feel a bit more futuristic, modern, and driver oriented. I felt everything was within reach and felt good.
- Mercedes MBUX seems "fancy" and the screens look really impressive at first look, but using them was fiddly. For my height, 6"1', and seat position, reaching some parts of the central screen in the E was a reach. The number of times I got kicked out of a setting because I accidently touched the bottom row was frustrating.

Audio is important to us, and both were better than my Q5, which is surprisingly good. My daughter felt that the Burmester in the E was slightly better, but I felt different. My wife will probably give the verdict on this.

I only drove the E class, and only for a short high traffic stretch. I was pretty sure that it would feel underpowered compared to the Q5. Somehow, it felt more responsive than I thought it would (because of the mild hybrid?). I couldn’t stretch its legs though.

The ride was pillowy and floaty (as expected), but also rolled a bit more than I expected. We were moving side to side even at low speeds, I felt. I'll probably need to drive it again + 5 series to get a better sense.

Somehow, no 5 series cars are available for test drive in Mumbai this week. Will come back with more impressions once I have driven that.

[Aurum]

Did a long drive of the 5 Series today, half in the drivers seat and half in the back. Since I'm also taking the E Class again for a proper drive later this week, will share combined notes by end of the week. Not sure if I should do that on this thread or somewhere else.

A common gripe I have is that all these test drive cars come with 40+ psi in their tyres, so you always have to re-calibrate the ride quality in your head.

[Sensible_Speed]

The maintenance package is a killer in my opinion. 10y/200000km is very reasonable and the price is an absolute steal as the big car owners in this forum will tell you. A 7th year service for these complex machines can cost dearly, with the part replacement cycle starting to kick in then. The E450 is a very interesting prospect, with BMW discontinuing 6-cylinder 5s years ago in India. That 98 lakhs ex-showroom price is digestible too. I'm guessing this is the engine to pick for driving enthusiasts. Given the pricing, I feel it might sell well to the buyers who felt the S class was out of reach to them.

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by VRJ

Attachment 2669318

There is a significant difference between the Compact and Compact Plus packages. For five years, the Compact for E200 is priced at ₹2,05,000, whereas the Compact Plus comes to ₹3,90,000. When I checked, the additional features of the Compact Plus include wheel balancing and alignment, wiper blades, brake pads or discs, and a brake sensor. Given these differences, does the Compact Plus justify the additional cost, and is worth the investment?