Dark wood and silver metal shine purple, red, pink, then blue.
Let me direct your attention to the Mercedes E-Class. You should know it as a stalwart of the Mercedes range. For generations, the E-Class was the quintessential luxury sedan, the best in its segment if you wanted impeccable quality and comfort conveyance for four adults. The current W213-generation E-Class builds on that storied history.
Purple, red, pink and blue.
I’m happy to report that the W213 aces the fundamentals. It is conservatively handsome and brick-house solid. Inside, you’ll see some of the W213’s trendsetting innovations. When it was released in 2016, the E-Class was the first to use superwide dash screens, exuberant interior lighting, and open-pore wood trim.
Purple, red, pink and blue.
Six years later, the material quality is still top-notch, but the tech is starting to feel clunky and slow. Such is the pace of progress!
Purple, red, pink and blue.
But, geez, this ambient lighting! What is this, a car or a jukebox? I can’t decide if the pulsing cabin lights are glamorous or gaudy…
Okay: Breathe in, breathe out, back to the fundamentals.
Today, I have a 2019 Mercedes E300. Lightly optioned with an MSRP near $60k, my E-Class represents the bottom of the model range. (The defunct bottom, because the E300 has been superseded by the E350.) The 300 nomenclature means that a 2.0L engine sends 241 hp/273 lb-ft into a 9-speed automatic and onto the rear wheels.
(Law-abiding luxury shoppers will be satisfied with the E300’s four-cylinder scoot, but gasoline-addled scofflaws will lust after the range-topping E63 S. The E63 S costs nearly $120k, but has twice as many cylinders, liters, turbos and drive wheels. As a result, it’s the top pick for those who need 603 hp and 627 lb-ft!)
Mercedes’ 2.0L four-cylinder engine is one of the nicest I’ve experienced. (The BMW 2.0L four is similarly good.) It’s as smooth as silk, eagerly torquey, and hums a pleasant tune as it works. While the E300 tips the scales at a portly 3,800 lbs, it doesn’t hold back the little-engine-that-could; the car moves with a lively step in traffic. The fuel economy is reasonable at 25 mpg (combined).
The 9-speed automatic is exceptionally well-tuned to the E-Class’s luxury mission. Once warmed, the transmission shifts seamlessly and never hunts for a ratio. (How the automatic Ford Mustang GT wishes it could say the same!) Thanks to the nine gears, the E300 excels at low-rpm cruising. Hold a steady speed, and the engine quietly saunters along at 1,800 rpm.
Sadly for me, steering feedback isn’t a priority in a midsize luxury sedan. No matter: the E300’s moderately-paced steering is precise and vibration-free and seems intent on making life easy. It is as light as a feather in parking lots and firms on the highway for lane-keeping stability.
My test E300 was equipped with the base suspension. In this trim, the car feels autobahn-ready. Lateral roll is kept in check, and bumps are absorbed with aplomb. Over large bumps and undulations, the shocks do a fantastic job of flexing with the road. The car’s weakness is minor surface imperfections, like washboard ridging; choppy pavement chatters a bit too strongly in the cabin. So while the base suspension is sublime on fresh pavement, buyers who live in areas with low-quality roads will appreciate the optional air suspension.
Mercedes competes against BMW, Audi, Lexus and Cadillac in the midsize luxury sedan segment. BMW and Cadillac project sporting images that are betrayed by the sloppy handling of the base 530i and CTS.
Mercedes, on the other hand, has no sporting aura. (That belongs to AMG.) Instead, Mercedes means luxury and comfort, and the E300 delivers. By meeting expectations, the E300 becomes my favorite base-trim midsize luxury sedan. It’s as surefooted as a goat, as comfortable as a sofa and as quiet as an EV. (The last trait is noteworthy considering the unseemly suck-bang-blow happening in the engine bay!)
(I did whip the E300 down a challenging canyon road. The car occasionally clobbered its bump stops and floated over large undulations. Though my E300 was RWD, it drove more like an AWD because the ESP was tight-fisted. Suffice to say, the E300 is not tuned for driving tomfoolery.)
And is it practical?
Yes. The E300 accommodates four large adults or two adults and two children in car seats. (My daughter’s rear-facing Chicco NextFit did force the front seat forward, making it a little tight for 6’ 2” me.) The trunk is deep and wide—though not especially tall—and should swallow a road trip’s worth of luggage. Families with active lifestyles—bikes, kayaks, etc.—can purchase an E-Class wagon for double the carrying capacity.
I made short highway excursions and ran errands in E300. It drove stable and true on the freeway and hushed and easygoing in town. Thanks to the E-Class’s relatively narrow body and tight turning radius, it was easy to shimmy the car’s trim hips through parking lots and down tight streets.
Shimmying hips? Let’s get back to that jukebox interior.
Purple, red, pink and blue.
The E-Class’s plain exterior makes the car’s astounding interior lighting even more of a surprise. Think gray sports coat with a flaming pink liner. After 100 miles in the E300, I find the light show quite fun, and my kindergartener eats it up, too. It shows that Mercedes caters to entertainers as much as executives and lawyers.
My E300 has black MBTex synthetic leather and dark ash wood. These no-cost options make for a gloomy interior, but there’s no arguing with the abundant soft-touch materials and high-quality brightwork. I especially like the metal HVAC controls and intricate laser-cut speaker grates. The Burmeister system captivates the eyes, even if its sound quality is middling.
Perhaps my favorite feature is the driver’s seat. It is well-sprung, highly adjustable, and makes long trips a pleasure.
No matter that my car lacks the optional LED instrument panel, the standard analog speedometer and tachometer are handsome in their own rights. A small screen between the dials shows pertinent driving information.
The W213 uses the now-outdated Mercedes COMAND for navigation and vehicle controls. Unfortunately, while COMAND’s graphics are bright and detailed, you interact with it through a rotary controller or touchpad, and it takes too many twirls and swipes to navigate its menus. (The voice command system is equally slow and clunky.) COMAND’s only saving grace is physical shortcut buttons for frequently-used commands.
So the W213 E-Class is starting to show its age. It’s no surprise; the next-gen E-Class is just around the corner.
But don’t let that turn you away from the W213 E-Class. Even in its cheapest trim—the E300—the W213 is a finely polished machine that offers comfort, respite, and practicality. It shows the best of Mercedes, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to shoppers.
And if you don’t like jukebox purple, red, pink and blue, dig into the menus and find a lighting scheme that you do.
Mike's Steering Column 