An A6 owner drives the Mercedes E450: What he liked & what he didn't

The real triumph card of the car has to be the fact that the car will keep you mesmerised for long and will continue to feel modern even for another 5-7 years.

BHPian sawnilrules recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Driving the Mercedes Benz E450

Luxury is a state of mind

When we think of luxury, our minds often drift to fine craftsmanship, iconic brands, or exclusive experiences. Yet, true luxury transcends tangible elements—it is a state of mind, an emotion evoked by the smallest gestures and finest details.

Last Sunday, I randomly decided to check out the new Mercedes E450, considering Auto hangar Mercedes had the 450 for test drive. The E Class is offered in 3 variants in the country, E200, E220d & E450. All the three engines come with a 48v mild hybrid battery pack with an ISG that churn out additional 200 nm of torque as and when needed. The E200 generates a modest 204 HP/320 NM of torque, which is the lowest in the segment. The E220d, continues to generate 197 HP/440 NM of torque, again the only car in the segment to get a diesel powertrain option as of now, and then comes the E450, with inline 6-cylinder motor, that generates 381 HP/500 NM of torque sending all that power to all 4 wheels.

The test drive car was in high tech silver color, with all black interiors. I took the car for a good 2-hour spin to experience the car better.

For starters, on the exterior, the E450 comes with the AMG line body kit, which means it gets sportier bumper on the front and at the rear. It comes with digital lights with sharper DRL patterns, as opposed to boring reflector pattern in the regular E, and the 4 Matic badging on the rear apart from the 450 nomenclature.

On the interiors, the car is absolutely similar to the regular E200 or E220d, apart from two additional feature which is co-driver memory seats and gesture control for the hyper screen.

What’s Impressive

• Luxury-Luxury-Luxury, touch anywhere, feel anything, this car feels from 2 segments above
• The MBUX Superscreen with co-passenger display, looks impressive, whether it is the crispness of the screen, or the response/refresh rate of the screen is iPhone pro levels. BMW’s latest OS system feels cluttered and all over the place, in comparison to the one in E Class.
• 17 speakers Burmeister with Dolby Atmos & sound personalization option, It genuinely made my 17 speakers B&O Setup in Audi A6 outdated.
• Digital vent control looks sci-fi, and operates like one too, but just be careful of not having kids in the front row fiddling with the vents.
• Digital Lights, have better performance and throw as compared to even my matrix lights in Audi.
• Everything electric makes this car ooze luxury. (electric blinds, electric headrests, electric boss package, etc.)

What could be Tad Better

• The C300 comes with AMG Line steering wheel, which is a surprising omission in the E450, Mercedes should have given the E450, the AMG Line steering wheel as well
• Ionizer, perfume package & cooled seats, at a 92 lac ex-showroom price, should have been offered.
• The 5 spoke AMG design alloys are very common, there is nothing unique here
• The earlier generation E350d, came with a tablet at the rear, this generation of the E Class, misses that tablet to give extra convenience to the Sethji behind.

How is it to Drive

Depress the brake pedal, hit the start stop button and you expect the car to rumble a bit. That’s how traditionally cars have started. But not this Mercedes. Depress the brake pedal, hit the start stop button and only the odometer on the digital cluster moves. That is how literally you know, the car has started. There is pin drop silence everywhere inside the car, and one doesn’t even realize that the car has started moving, if you are sitting behind and not paying attention to what’s happening outside.

There is a peculiar difference in the way a 3-litre motor of a BMW responds vs the one in Mercedes. While there is excess of 350 HP on the tap, there is no sense of urgency, unlike in a BMW motor, which hounds you to move ahead faster. This Mercedes believes in wafting you in comfort and luxury, and the agility control suspension with selective damping system complementing the ride. The ride is extremely comfortable and there is minimum intrusion of thuds inside the cabin. I felt the handling to be neutral and the car in general had better grip owing to it being a 4-wheel drive.

The real triumph card of the car has to be the fact that the car will keep you mesmerised for long and will continue to feel modern even for another 5-7 years.

Overall, then how would I sum up this car? The evening that I drove the car, I had summed up my experience about the E450 via an Instagram post, and here is what I wrote-

“Once in a lifetime, a car comes along—one that flirts with perfection. A car that doesn’t just transport but captivates. One that engages all your senses, effortlessly gliding forward as if the world itself bends to its presence. A car that knows its power, that carries an unshakable confidence—leaving nothing but admiration in its wake.

That is the all-new Mercedes-Benz E450, ladies and gentlemen.

Its silky-smooth inline-six isn’t just powerful; it’s persuasive. It urges you forward, yet makes you wish the journey would never end. The rear seats recline in a way that would make a business-class lounge feel inadequate, while the ambient lighting wraps around you like a tailored suit—elegant, precise, and unmistakably luxurious. And for the Mrs.? Her personal screen ensures she’s as engrossed in the experience as you are.

When a car this close to perfection arrives, you don’t hesitate. You buy it.”

Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.