Looks like the new ‘E’ class is going to look a bit like the new ‘C’ class…

Look familiar?  I did a double-take when I saw this and thought for a moment that the image had been mislabeled an ‘E’ when it should have been labeled a ‘C’.  Then I looked closer.  From the back it looks different enough though…

The trunk curves in a nicer way then my ‘C’, although I think the rear end look of my ‘C’ is pretty nice too.  But it looks to my eye like the rear passenger doors on this new ‘E’ slope down a bit too much at the back.  But if it’s got a longer wheelbase then the ‘C’ then that slope probably isn’t as bad as it looks.  The tailpipes could have come right off my ‘C’.  And for that matter, so could the front grille.  Here’s what the new interior looks like…

The door panels are almost identical to my ‘C’.  They have the seat adjustment buttons on them and mine has them on the side of the seat, but that’s a fluke of the U.S. ‘C’ version only.  Note the trapdoor for the nav system video display above the center air vents…just like in my ‘C’ class, only a tad wider.  The controls on the console below it are almost identical to my ‘C’, except for their color scheme.  It looks like there is an extra button next to the seat warmer buttons and that’s all. The instrument cluster is arranged a bit differently, and it looks like they’re all digital displays, whereas mine are real gauges, with a digital display in the center of the speedometer gauge.  The steering wheel is identical to mine, again except for the color scheme.  There’s more wood on the dash, but less on the center console.  I’ll assume some center console wood can be added optionally.  Otherwise, this new ‘E’ is only about as sumptuous on the inside as my ‘C’ and that can’t be right.

By the way…I really Like the fact that my video display can be tucked away while I’m driving.  It’s distracting otherwise.  When I need to see a detailed map or something it’s nice to bring it out.  But once I have what I need off of it I like being able to tuck it back away.