Expensive, extravagant, excellent E-Class

If you want bragging rights, a good name, reliable, good value for money, fair resale, pavement prestige and conservative dignity, most of the sedans will suit you.

Some of the stuff you might already have experienced or read about. Some of it might also already be on the E-Class you own but you better do an audit if you plan to buy one of the updated models because depending on which model you opt for, you might have to get to grips with issues such as a direct steer system with speed-dependent servo assistance and variable steering ratios, steer control, active parking assist (including Parktronic), collision prevention assist, electronic gear selection,7G-TRONIC PLUS transmission or, in the case of the AMG, the AMG Speedshift MCT-7 speed sports transmission with four driving modes and race start function, Direct Select gearshift paddles, a tyre monitoring system, AMG Ride Control suspension.....and all of this is just the first spoonful of a large bowl of fancy goodies.

You'll need deep pockets - or a very understanding bank manager

But not only will you have to brush up your technical know-how, you better also take good stock of your finances because the new E-Class is eye-wateringly expensive. Let me illustrate: Just for starters there is a whole team of sedans on offer varying in price from the least expensive E200 at R541,000 all the way up to the monstrous E63 AMG S (due to arrive here in a few months) at a red-hot R1.4-million.

It’s difficult to pick a favourite or choose between the cars.

Three coupes kick-off at R582,554 for the E250 and then it curves north to the E500 at R774,632 and further skywards to the most expensive E500 which will set you back R938,465.

Fancy a cabriolet? The three other two-doors start at R657,211 for the E250 followed by the E400 at R858,032 or go really big and grab the showpiece E500 which is only just short of R1-million.

So are they worth it?

All of this poses one simple question - are these snooty German cars really worth these prices? And the answer is "Yes", "Maybe", "Not sure" or "No" depending on what you want from a car.

If you want bragging rights, a good name, reliable, good value for money, fair resale, pavement prestige and conservative dignity, most of the sedans will suit you.

If you appreciate neat modern lines or enjoy wind in your hair driving fun go for a coupe or a cabriolet. Want stonking, goose-flesh, hair-on-fire performance? That's what the AMG- badged machines deliver better than most other executive cars.

Want to please the polar bears? Well Mercedes now also has a hybrid surprise - its new addition to the range, an E300 BlueTEC diesel hybrid, the first in this market segment. Its 150Kw 2.1-litre turbo-diesel engine is linked to a 20kW electric motor.

The new E-Class is eye-wateringly expensive, but check out what you're getting for your cash.

Merc claims it will keep emissions down to 110g/km while sipping only 4.1 litres/100km. However, these figures were recorded in perfect stationary lab conditions and probably not easy to achieve in real driving conditions. Without trying too hard to match their consumption figure the closest we got to the claimed figure was 7.2 litres/100km.

But no matter which E-Class you decide on, if you are comfortable with the very latest in connectivity and high-tech, and appreciate electronic and mechanical driving aids, you will LOVE the E-Class. A bit baffled by it all and of the "don't need it, don't want it" ilk? Then better look at something else, A Jaguar XF maybe, or an Infiniti M, BMW 5 Series or an Audi 6.

It's an Aarde job, but someone has to do it

If you want stand-out, knock-down sexy looks, the low-key executive dignity of the latest E is not for you either. Its conservative styling is the one strong Picasso factor of the E-Class - you either love it or you hate it. The same goes for the red-hot ride you get from the hot performance models which also draws a "don't need it, don't want" it response from some more conservative quarters.

I drove a number of the new models at the local media introduction....cruising gently in the E300 BlueTEC on the N2, drag-stripping the muscular E63 AMG to about 250km/h down the Stellenbosch Aero Club's main runway and winding through the Hemel and Aarde Valley between Hermanus and Caledon in an elegant E500 Cabriolet was a real smorgasbord of fun and variety.

The living quarters are what you'd expect from the brand.

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It's difficult to pick a favourite or choose between the cars. If I had the freedom of choice and the ching to back it up I would be quite happy to park the cabriolet in my driveway.

I loved its AMG body styling, its dynamic handling package and the 7G-TRONIC transmission, particularly on the winding sections where the fairly large car handled beautifully. We pushed on a bit but never took it to the edge of the envelope (which very few owners would do in any case) and it behaved with all the dignity of a thoroughbred.

Sharp 'n slick

The steering was the sharpest I have encountered in a Merc. The transmissions ultra-slick and the suspension firm without being thumpy, even on roads which were not exactly silky smooth. The car is beautifully balanced and very difficult to unsettle, even when pushing on a bit through the corners, and the brakes are outstanding.

Under the bonnet lies a bulging 4.6-litre V8 that bangs out 300kW and 600Nm to blast it from zero to 100km/h in just 4.9 seconds. I is very much an enthusiast's car, yet it's a perfectly mannered showpiece in slow city traffic, easy to handle and quite happy to idle along sedately.

There's enough under the hood to blast it from zero to 100km/h in just 4.9 seconds. "Ah, good day, officer... was I going that fast?"

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I love the cab in standard kit mode but there are some fancy add-ons to be had for those who would like to personalize their cabriolets. Forced to choose between the extra bells and whistles on offer I would probably splash out on a Harman Kardon sound system, the black piano lacquer trim, the AMG sports pack and the 18-inch AMG alloys (extra toys that will add a cool R53,550 to its showroom floor price).

Quick... very quick

But, in the words of the Motoring Journalist Lament, "If I was a rich man"...., I could probably spend the rest of my days on Mother Earth at the wheel of an E63AMG, thrilling to the sound of its almighty 8-cylinder, 16-valve blasting out 410kW and 720Nm as it scorches from zero to 100km/h in just 4.2 seconds.

But that will probably lead to one of the two scenarios, neither of which is particularly appealing: The back of a police van or an appearance in front of a divorce court judge.

I'm not sure what the white coats at Mercedes intended to convey with the E in E-Class but excellent springs to mind. So does exciting, entertaining, exclusive, ebullient, expensive, extravagant and electrifying, all of which this latest E-Class embraces with equal enthusiasm!

E63AMG specifications
E Class Sedan Estate specification
E Class Cabrio Coupe
E 300 BlueTEC HYBRID specifications.

Mercedes-Benz USA

Mercedes E-Class 2013 Cabriolet review - Auto Express

Mercedes-Benz E Class 2013 In depth review interior Exterior