The new Mercedes E-Class comes with TikTok integration | GRR
Mercedes has lifted the covers on the new E-Class – the latest version of the brand’s evergreen BMW 5 Series rival. It will go on sale this summer, and for this generation of E-Class, Mercedes has resisted the temptation to turn its executive saloon icon fully-electric. However, electrification is still a heavy theme running throughout the new vehicle, codenamed 214, while it goes heavy on new tech as well.
That’s said, all this clever new tech is wrapped up in a design that’s quite conservative. Mercedes seems to be saving its most radical new design ideas for its EQ-badged electric models, so the E-Class slots neatly into the gap between the smaller C-Class and larger S-Class with a number of shared design cues.
The gentle evolution results in a saloon that’s just under five metres long, featuring the newly shaped, gloss-black and chrome trimmed grille defining the brand’s latest saloon models. The headlights take on a slightly more unique shape but still feature the ‘eyebrow’ daytime running light as their defining feature, while the taillight arrangement at the rear is a familiar shape but with a neat looking dual three-pointed star lighting signature.
The interior features more noticeable differences and debuts a new user interface called MBUX Superscreen. It’s essentially a spin-off of the ‘Hyperscreen’ system offered in the brand’s large electric models, turning the surface area of the dashboard facing driver and passenger into a series of large, linked touchscreen displays.
A central touchscreen is present for vehicle and interior settings, while the front passenger gets a separate display for entertainment – special shielding technology means that the driver cannot see what is being broadcast on this screen, to eliminate potential distractions. But, the central screen is still home to a plethora of new interactive features.
In fact, the new E-Class is the very first car to come with…TikTok integration. How this works in practice is still unbeknown to us, but presumably the driver will only be able to flick through the app’s endless library of silly dances and cooking tutorials when the vehicle is parked. Not into TikTok? Angry Birds will be available from launch. Or if you just want to crack on with work, productivity apps like Zoom and Webex are supported by a built-in webcam, and the Vivaldi web browser will be available. Though why wouldn’t you use your laptop instead?
And the newcomer taps into the current AI zeitgeist too, with a function that aims to learn driver and passenger habits. These routines will be memorised, the idea being that the car will automatically set the heating or ambient lighting settings, among other things.
Powering the E-Class from launch will be six different powertrains. Mercedes has kept AMG variants out of the mix for now – we’ll likely see those towards the end of 2023. For now, three mild-hybrid petrol and diesel options line up alongside three petrol-packed plug-in hybrids.
Opening the line-up is the E200 petrol, with 204PS (150kW), while the popular E220d diesel continues to play an instrumental role in the range, delivering 197PS (145kW). This version is also available with 4MATIC four-wheel-drive.
The plug-in hybrid models all use a 25.4kWh battery pack and 129PS (95kW) electric motor linked to a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine. The large battery means every version achieves over 62 miles of running on electric power only. The E300e serves up a combined 313PS (230kW) and is available with optional 4MATIC four-wheel-drive. At the top of the line-up is the E400e 4MATIC, with a total system power of 381PS (280kW), capable of reeling off 0-62mph in 5.3 seconds.