2014 Mercedes-Benz E-Class previewed at BIC; to be launched tomorrow

Mercedes-Benz India has previewed the 2014 E-Class sedan during a private event for its customers at the Buddh International Circuit. The sedan was unveiled at the 2013 Detroit Motor Show in January and was followed by four other body styles a month later. This refreshed version of the Audi A6 and BMW 5 Series competitor will be launched for the Indian market at a function in Delhi tomorrow.

The 2014 E-Class (across all body styles) features a new design for the DRL integrated headlights, revised grille as well as bumper design that will now be common across the German automaker’s range. At the back, the 2014 E-Class gets revised tail lamp cluster as well new exhaust tips.  Since the 2014 E-Class is an interim model before an all-new car comes out in 2015, Mercedes-Benz has carried over most of the interiors from the current vehicle but has now revised some of the materials as well added aluminium accents to most of the components.

The India spec E-Class is expected to be offered with the same set of mills as the outgoing car; four petrol and three diesel engines. Power is transmitted to the rear wheels via a five-speed automatic in the diesels and a seven-speed automatic for the petrol variants.

The track day also saw the introduction of The 2014 E63 AMG. This version is powered by a turbocharged 5.4-litre V8 mill that produces 560PS and 720Nm of torque. Power is transmitted to the rear wheels via an AMG Speedshift MCT 7-Speed automatic gearbox.

It gets a sportier design on the outside as compared to the standard car but the interiors are pretty much similar to the standard car save for the AMG badges and a flat bottom steering wheel. Where the E63 is expected to comes alive is in the handling department. This is the result of tweaking by the boffins at AMG who have a reputation for turning what is already a good car into something that is incredibly fun to drive.

The E-Class is currently Mercedes-Benz’s best vehicle in its line up and has retailed over 800 units in the first quarter of this year alone; however, its position is now likely to be replaced by the A-Class hatchback that has already got over 400 bookings within just two weeks of its launch. We expect that Mercedes-Benz will price the new E-Class marginally higher that the current model. Stay tuned to CarWale for all the details from the launch.

Images: BIC Facebook page   

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