“After getting home, our Chinese customers spend, on average, 30 minutes inside the car before going into the house,” Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius shares ahead of my E450 test drive in Austria. That fascinating data point, per Källenius, piqued the interest of Mercedes’s engineers and designers — who, after delving into the data, discovered that the interior comforts and amenities were so appealing, those Chinese customers simply didn’t want to leave the vehicle.
That got the Three-Pointed Star team thinking about ways to further increase the allure of the cockpit and cabin of luxury vehicles. “And you’ll see some of our ideas in what you’re about to drive,” Källenius says, gesturing to a glimmering row of 2024 Mercedes-Benz E-Class models.
Lo, the new suite of technological offerings of the latest E-Class do indeed represent the future of comfort melded with connected entertainment. From the pillar-to-pillar MBUX Superscreen and its trove of apps, to the dash-mounted selfie camera, to the active ambient lighting synced to the Burmester 4D surround sound system, to the AI-enhanced routines for daily convenience — the 2024 E450 emerges as a class leader in delivering a sybaritic experience. Which, let’s face it, is what you want in a luxury car, right?
2024 Mercedes-Benz E450: What We Think
Concisely: I love it. On the basic physical level, it’s more satisfying; the 2024 E450 boasts increased headroom and legroom, delivering ample room for this 6’2” journalist to enjoy the backseat; it also boosts the overall cargo space to 19 cubic feet.
The 3.0-liter turbocharged inline six-cylinder melds with a 48-volt mild hybrid system to generate 375 horsepower, a 13-pony increase over prior generations, bestowing it with beyond adequate hustle on more dynamic roads. Yet while it’s happy to have the hammer down, the 2024 E450 shines as a sedate cruiser, its Airmatic suspension system sopping up road imperfections … all while affording the driver and passengers a chance to enjoy that slew of interactive entertainment we mentioned.
The MBUX Superscreen Package is thoroughly immersive
The MBUX Superscreen package is an option many buyers will feel compelled to tick. An enormous glass screen spans between the A-pillars, housing a 12.3” passenger display alongside the standard 14.4” central display. Upgrades to the proprietary MBUX software bring fun little touches like digital manipulation of the air vents, but also make the overall system more intuitive and customizable from a UI perspective. (For example, the car will now recognize the color of the apps on your mobile device and match those, enabling faster recognition.)
The passenger screen, however, is the hero of the Superscreen package. Cleverly designed to dim when the car is in motion — mitigating driver distraction — the array of entertainment offerings are robust. MBUX’s system now allows third-party apps to run. Initial app integrations include TikTok, Zoom video conferencing, Vivaldi web browsing and Zync for streaming and on-demand content. Expect a slew of additions in the coming months, too.
This screen, which only active when the passenger seat detects an occupant — otherwise it’s effectively used as a decorative digital photo display — is a heap of fun. I bopped around the Zync app, sampling movies, live TV news and more, all without bothering the driver. While Mercedes claims copilots can enjoy the entertainment without the need for headphones, an included wireless over-the-ear set completely blocked out the car’s radio, leaving me to enjoy The Dark Knight in private aural bliss.
It’s not all play and no work inside the E-Class, however. An included selfie camera, mounted in the center of the dash, works for the driver when parked — meaning Zoom or other virtual video conferences are feasible from the side of any road. A test run between two E450s highlighted the hyper-clarity of the screen’s resolution, and an included whiteboard section of the app means you can send notes, scribbles, or sillier missives with a casual finger drag on the central screen.
For passengers, that camera can also be used in motion. While barreling down an Austrian highway, we messed around with snapping goofy TikTok videos, regular selfies, even filtering the images captured. Is the ability to recreate Carpool Karaoke necessary? Nope. Will you do just that at some point anyway? Yep.
Couple this mega screen with the Active Ambient Lighting with Sound Visualization) and a continuous lightstrip from the doors through the dash will augment your content experience in real-time. Gentle music or audio is represented by calm, tranquil lighting rhythms; pop on Warren G’s “Regulate,” and be treated to a high-pulse, beat-backed light show that feels ripped from a concert venue.
I do have the most minor of quibbles about the passenger screen, however. The rearward angling of the screen can sometimes lead to a bit of glare and wash out your content under heavy sun. Then again, that’s common to many such glass panels.
The E-Class uses A.I. to anticipate your wants and needs
The aim here, as per Mercedes, was to create a car that learns your personal habits and can facilitate your desires — sometimes without being prompted. Three routine options are offered with the 2024 E450: templates are basic, easily customizable routines; you could hop in and say “Kids mode,” and the car switches to fun and dynamic lighting while also firing up a playlist of your offspring’s favorite hits.
Self-created routines are also available. Here, for example, you could create a program entitled “Bad Day,” wherein after you utter those words to the infotainment system, the car’s Energizing Comfort mode would deliver a soothing aromatic scent and a hot, relaxing seat massage while blasting your favorite Fuel song — and when that’s finished, it calls your partner so you can vent.
Lastly, Mercedes’s foray into in-car A.I. sees the E450 trying to detect and fully automate repeated patterns. Maybe you always drive past the same water treatment plant on your way to work, and have to roll the windows up. By tapping into the GPS and learning your behavior, your windows can automatically go up when you pass a certain waypoint. Or, if you stop at a particular coffee shop daily, the car can recognize this and lower your windows and quiet the music as you pull into the drive-thru.
Automatic lane changes are a neat, efficient addition
Active Lane Change Assist is a new deployment for Mercedes, and it’s pretty great. Set your cruise control to your preferred speed, and whenever you come up on a slower car — provided the lane next to you is clear and you’re beside a dashed line — the E450 will signal, then change lanes without your input. Once it’s safely passed the slower vehicle, it’ll change back to its original lane, too.
During about 40 minutes of Austrian highways, our E450 tester casually navigated a host of lane changes in a bid to keep to the set speed. The sensor settings are cautious — a vehicle rather far back was enough to dissuade our sedan from pulling in front of it — but who doesn’t prefer prudence when allowing a car to make its own decisions?
The system is smarter than you might expect, too. When approaching Vienna, one lane of the highway had been temporarily shuttered. The E450 picked up on this variance — and automatically put us into the proper lane ahead of our upcoming turn.
Mercedes-Benz
As always, the E-Class prioritizes comfort above all
The E-Class has been Mercedes-Benz’s best-selling line for decades, with more than 16 million vehicles produced under that class’s umbrella. Buyers of its predecessors decades past revered the vehicles as comfortable transportation; they would no longer have to turn up after lengthy road trips as shattered shells of human beings. (Mercedes’s independent suspension, an important milestone, first appeared on a vehicle in the 1930s.)
Mercedes-Benz Classic division kindly plucked a handful of vintage E-Classes for us to sample during our test drive and the lineage progression is clear. The Mercedes 170 V, for example, was the first post-war passenger car, and by the time the 170 DS left assembly in 1953, the popularity of the refined ride quality and craftsmanship was proven—hallmarks you can see imbued in today’s E450.
While the other classic models, including the 1965 Mercedes-Benz 200 Tailfin and the 1958 180 “Ponton” edition, were astounding, the most impressive link in the E-Class lineage is the 1994 E500 Limited. This 5.0-liter naturally-aspirated V8 was a special trim, limited to 500 models and boasting a slight lowering of the ride height. Around pinched Viennese mountain switchback roads, the E500 felt powerful and poised, though that’s not surprising. The comfort afforded the driver while zipping through an apex at a solid clip, however — that’s the lingering takeaway.
And that very mix of performance and comfort is evident in the 2024 E450. The Airmatic suspension eats up jostling brick-hewn roads, while an optional rear steer of 4.5 degrees helps the E-Class slip around tighter corners. There’s no drama; it’s a calm cabin regardless of what you’re humming over. And the smooth 375-hp inline six makes passing a breeze.
2023 Mercedes-Benz E-Class: Alternatives
Mercedes-Benz
The E-Class’s key foe is the BMW 5 Series, against which it’s been competing for decades. The Audi A6, likewise, battles in the same German midsize luxury sedan space. Look to Japan, and while the options aren’t as rich as they once were, the Lexus ES and Acura TLX come closest to battling this Benz. From South Korea, the Genesis G80 presents a compelling case for its blend of style and luxury. And here in America, the Cadillac CT5 aims to win hearts and minds away from would-be Germanic sedan buyers.
The 2023 Mercedes-Benz E450
Mercedes-Benz
Base Price: $TBA
Powertrain: Turbocharged inline-six with mild hybrid assist; nine-speed automatic; all-wheel-drive
Horsepower: 375
Torque: 369 lb-ft
EPA Fuel Economy: TBA
Seats: 5
