German Car Zone

http://www.autospies.com/news/REVIEW...etition-43669/

Here are some of the negative remarks which seem to be in line with some of my opinion of it thus far:

"The most controversial line of the sedan is seen from the front of the rear wheel and into the rear fender. Rising up and over the rear wheel a la Bentley Continental GT, it is said to have been inspired by the 1950s W120 Ponton. This accentuation could have been more elegantly integrated without the paralleling, dramatic line that extends through the door handles from just behind the front wheel.


Although the lines parallel for only a short period of time, it bears resemblance of a wrinkled suit or the rear haunches of the E65 7-series, which featured an ensemble of too many parallel lines.

Mercedes’ new coupe carries the new design language a bit more eloquently. For instance, the same Ponton-inspired line is executed perfectly with the line sweeping into the rear taillight. There are no “wrinkles,” or a mass confusion of parallel lines."

"Remaining exterior details of the car are not over the top but many noticed the particularly interesting design of the wraparound taillights. Several journalists noted that they appeared as though they were from the Far East.

Whether they bear resemblance to a Lexus ES350 or Hyundai Azera is still up for discussion."

"Window switches and some buttons, however, feel a bit chintzy. The most noticeable piece is the emergency brake release; it feels as though it is going to break off mid release."

"Interior door handles are “L” shaped, decked out in chrome and surrounded with a chrome strip that contains the handle and appropriate seat controls with memory functions. I do not know if it is the design or feel, it just screams tacky to my eyes."

"Any piece of the interior you imagine could have used a touch of chrome has it in the new E. A bit over the top, to say the least."

"After spending sometime behind the wheel, the COMAND system becomes easier to use but at first can be slightly daunting. One aspect of the controller, which eventually became annoying, was its placement."

"For long arms it is located too far behind the shifter, so, you will find yourself cocking your wrist at ridiculous angles to work the controller. Shorter individuals, who have their seat adjusted further forward, may find the placement too far behind them to use comfortably."

Autospies are WANKERS...nuff said.

Well it's good to hear the negatives also but I must say that I have drive and also reviewd the new E class and I don't agree with half written here.

Some things they don't like I actually do - it is a matter of taste.

All Autospies is good for usually is great pics............I'll actually read the article later.


M

Yep...what certain so called "journalist" forget is that Hyundai and the like have copied Mercedes so much to the point that when Mercedes tries to evolve what they started, it looks like some junk-arse Korean car.

M

One of the best pictures of the E-class Iv'e seen yet

Yeah they do a great job at photos......












M

Yeah I dunno, it does suck that they've been copied so much they get called on as "copying" their copiers now.

But I do see the Japanese elements, I personally think this might has been a conscious move by M-B as in the last decade Japanese cars have been aligned with value, reliability, durability by the mass public, and M-B's by many, both by who can and can't afford them are seen as these gorgeously sleek, yet expensive to maintain and trouble-prone cars. I think it may be an effort to make the car comfortably accessible to people, and helping people to even subconsciously align M-B with quality too (take away the sleek and swoop-y look and box it up/make it look more imposing) while obviously having the M-B "wow" factor due to its historic nature and obvious higher-than-your-average-car price tag.

The greenhouse and doors, and the rear end, the upright and straight/smooshed roof line, even the rear bumper to me has a Japanese hue to it, the front, although called on for "copying a Lexus GS" by some (which I agree the headlights look very similar), looks pretty German to me, thanks to the huge M-B grille mostly. The clamshell hood looks straight up BMW inspired to me though, like an oppositely positioned bangle butt.

I've showed the W212 to quite a few of my non car enthusiast friends in my quest to see if I can convince myself to like this car, and literally all of them have said it looks like a "regular Japanese car", it's usually the rear view that gets the worst "***?" reaction, and the side also gets a bad reaction. The front usually gets a good one from the people I've showed and gets the "that part looks like a Benz" reaction.

MB doesn't take its inspiration from Japanese cars to inspire trust... it does take its inspiration from the W124 and co, from its own glorious past. They are trying to recapture the spirit of the old Mercedes-Benz.

Both W204 and W212 are really good at that imo, they're maybe less elegant and refined then 203 and 211 but way more solid, reassuring, sturdy.