Since 1995, way before BMW, Audi, Jaguar and
Lucky Ali, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class has been moving the who's and who of India.
The people of India like the Prime minister, the President, businessmen,
doctors and also Devi Prasad from the movie, "Hera Pheri",
also the likes of Jhanvi Kapoor and Vidya Balan as well.
Ladies and gentlemen, India's favorite Mercedes
is back, this is the E-Class facelift in fact it's top-of-the-line E350d
and today on Powerdrift, Ayan sits in the driver's seat and figures out
if it's still fun to drive while I sit at the back and figure out
if it's still relevant for the who's who of India.
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before we go out on a drive, something feels different, right?
Starting with the front end, the new Mercedes E-Class brings in a lot of
significant updates; take this new grill for example,
it brings the E-Class in line with Mercedes-Benz's family look
and in this case it's full of blacked-out elements because
this baby right here is an AMG line variant.
Then, there are these sexy LED headlamps, which look like a million bucks.
It's obvious that the status of how rich you are, would be visible from miles away.
I was supposed to sit inside, but since we are here and Ayan's already spoken about the AMG line
the treatment's carried on to these 18-inch wheels as well, I think they look very very sexy.
And when you move to the back,
there is a new tail lamp in place, new LED graphics
I think they look very very attractive, very very modern too.
However, the saga of fake exhausts continues in the year 2021 as well
this car gets it too, but to finish things off on a positive note
the E-Class still is a segment leader
when it comes to boot space.
A Mercedes-Benz is all about its interiors, isn't it?
And straight away sitting inside the 2021 E-Class
I instantly get that sinking feeling that this is way above my pay grade.
New for 2021 includes this sexy new open pore wood,
blue leather on the dash...
this car is so luxurious it has a cream colored steering wheel!
This cockpit is place where even a jacket from Zara would seem inferior.
Anyways...
New, in terms of tech are these two 12.3-inch MBUX screens.
They are incredibly high resolution, offer a multitude of ways that you can
interact with them including touch and a new haptic feedback thing here.
Also, it has voice commands.
Hey Mercedes...
How can I help?
Play Brown Munde.
I'm sorry, can you say that again please?
The driving experience of this car is pretty much
like the interiors; comfortable, smooth, serene, quiet.
Take the engine for example, six-cylinder, 3.0 litres of goodness and smoothness.
In fact, I heard the engine noise only once, when I did a cold start early in the
morning, all I could hear was a little bit of diesel rattle.
Otherwise, I could not have figured out whether it's a diesel or petrol.
But, that doesn't mean that it's a slouch, put it into sport plus
and...
This has a badass pickup! 0-100kmph in 6.1 seconds.
This engine produces 600Nm of torque and compared to the Toyota Fortuner, which is one of my favourites
it makes 100nm more!
This is where magic happens, this is where the E-Class comes into its own.
I feel like I'm sitting in the lap of luxury, I feel so comfortable.
Let's talk about what's happening here, well to begin with I'm a tall guy
and the first two problems that I face are headroom and legroom,
well not with the E-Class you can see, I have lots of headroom here
leg room is also not a problem and credit that to the long wheelbase of the car.
The seat that I'm sitting on feels extremely comfortable, it can be adjusted
through a multitude of options,
electronically adjustable as you can see right here.
I'm gonna quickly put that to recline... suddenly the comfort level increases 10x.
The head pillow as well feels like it's made out of goose feather it's so so soft.
Let's bear it down a bit, put it into comfort
and enjoy it like a Mercedes-Benz.
By that, I mean the air suspension of this car,
the way it gobbles bumps and speed breakers, it's commendable!
The cabin insulation as far as road noise is concerned,
that could have been a little better for a car of this segment, I guess,
because the Indian models don't come with a double-glazed windscreen.
There's also a host of buttons through which you
can control the opening and closing of the shade on your side as well as the passenger side,
you can also control the closing and opening of
the rear shade and the opening and closing of the sunroof as well.
I think the only problem that
I have here is the fact that though it has the ability or the
capability to charge your phone it, only gets USB-C charging.
So two ports here, two ports in the center and all of them
are just USB-C charging ports.
So if your question is, hey, I do not have a USB-C charging cable but I've got wireless charging
what do I do then? Well, Mercedes has taken care of that because you have a
Since I'm already here let's talk about
this pad, one touch of the button and it pops up
and it can be used to control a lot of things.
For starters I don't like Ayan listening to Brown Munde
I'm going to change that to Chaiyya Chaiyya.
You also have the option of controlling or changing the ambient lighting in the car,
this also doubles up as a remote control
through which you can access the center screen on the front
and there's a red button somewhere in there that can be used to start world war 3.
In sport plus mode the whole car changes quite a bit
the explosive engine, it stays,
but it makes its presence felt with a more growly, angry soundtrack.
The steering, there's a little bit of weight that gets added on
but, nothing too heavy like a BMW, just manageable. I know this is not a car
that you're going to throw it around the
corner, but, when you do so, you're not going to be
disappointed, it has something for the keener driver, there's that
distinct rear-wheel drive balance that you feel.
The way this car handles is not a BMW or a performance car, but, there are
electronics that ensure that this car doesn't go off the road.
I know, I'm sitting in the E-Class, but, with what I
am seeing around me with what I am being treated to around me,
it suddenly feels like I'm maybe sitting in the S-Class,
it feels like I am the who's who of India. What should I do next? Well, wear
my sunglasses back and relax.
India's favorite Mercedes-Benz, is now back
stronger than ever, in fact, I wasn't really a fan of this generation of the
E-Class, but, with this facelift, they have hit the
nail right on the head, especially with the
way it looks, these subtle yet free changes go a long-long
way in improving the road presence of this vehicle
and then there's the way it drives, especially the E350d right here,
that 3.0-litre six-cylinder engine is honeydew smooth
and with 600Nm of torque, overtaking is never really a problem, but, an E-Class
is hardly about the way it drives, isn't it?
Well you said it right, things are interesting and luxurious at
the back as well and I've always felt the E-Class is sort
of the middle ground between the C-Class and the super-expensive, uber-luxurious,
S-Class, this sits right in the middle. So all in all I think it's a really luxurious
place to be in when you talk about the
rear seat of the E-Class, but, the real question is
this is the top-of-the-line, which means Rs 80.9 lakh ex-showroom,
it starts at about Rs 60 lakh for the base variant.
Do you think it is an expensive proposition, Ayan?
Of course!
Rs 80 lakh is a large sum of money for
any car, but, in case of the E350d it suddenly makes a lot of sense because
you see, this car offers that rare mix, that rare blend of speed,
performance and ultimate rear-seat comfort,
so in that way, I think it's a pretty sweet deal.
So, if you are one of the who's who, for example, Devi Prasad,
Shubhabrata Marmar, or even Rohan Albal,
then, you should definitely consider the new Mercedes E-Class
And with this, we come to an end of this video.
That was our first ride report of the newly launched E-Class.
If you like it, then please hit the like button, share it with your friends,
and drop in a comment, we'll really appreciate that.
And, if Rohan Albal was here, he would have said...you know what he would have said?
Ciao!