2021 Mercedes-Benz E-Class facelift revealed

With the mid-life update, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class now looks bolder, is more luxurious and packs more tech. Mercedes’ new range of electrified engines also makes the E more environment friendly

Four years after the global launch of the fifth-generation E-Class, Mercedes-Benz has now given it a mid-life update. Mercedes-Benz was forced to showcase the car digitally after the Swiss government cancelled the Geneva Motor Show sighting concerns regarding Coronavirus.  

For the model year 2021, the E-Class gets a few noticeable design tweaks. Upfront, the twin-slat grille gives way to a more striking diamond grille with a single slat running across the width. The headlight and the front bumper have been reprofiled too. The changes to the 2021 E-Class make the front-end looks squarer and bolder than before. Around the back, the taillights are now smaller and wider, and the rear-end looks a wee bit sharper as well.

On the inside, the layout of the dashboard remains somewhat identical to the pre-facelift model, but the 2021 E now gets a new steering wheel with capacitive controls. The refreshed E-Class gets two 10.25-inch screens for the instrument cluster and the MBUX infotainment system with 12.3-inch screens as optional equipment. The 2021 E-Class also gets enhances safety tech as standards like automatic emergency braking and options like active blind spot detection, adaptive cruise control and more.

The biggest change to the updated E-Class will be under the hood though. Mercedes-Benz will now offer a variety of engines – from 154-362bhp petrol engines and 118-243bhp diesel motors. The Stuttgart-based carmaker has still not released exact details as yet. Other engine options also include four-cylinder petrol hybrid, and six-cylinder petrol and diesel motors – all three units come paired with a 48V electric motor. Mercedes also took the wraps off the range-topping AMG E53 that sports a 3.0-litre twin-turbo heart producing 435bhp and 520Nm. This motor also gets help from a 48V starter-alternator electric motor that gives it a boost of 22 horses and 250Nm.

Mercedes-Benz will launch the 2021 E-Class globally towards the end of this year and is likely to bring it to our shores early next year. The E-Class will continue to compete against the likes of the Audi A6, BMW 5 Series, Jaguar XF and the Volvo S90.

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