| | All-round safety, outstanding comfort and fuel savings |
May 19, 2009 – Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Limited today marked the launch of the new E-Class family, comprising both the Saloon and Coupe, at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.
“The new E-Class from Mercedes-Benz represents the innovative leader and trendsetter when it comes to safety and comfort in this market segment. With its unique combination of driver assistance systems, the new E-Class further consolidates the leading position of Mercedes-Benz in the luxury class,” said Dr. Claus Weidner, Chief Operating Officer of Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Limited. Its new key features include a drowsiness detection system ATTENTION ASSIST, Adaptive Highbeam Assist, Night View Assist Plus, day time LED driving lights, further improved suspension with adaptive shock absorbers and luxury individual rear seats.
Mercedes-Benz has improved the already exemplary comfort and safety of the E-Class even further, principally through the use of intelligent bodyshell technology with up to 30 percent greater rigidity, further improved seats and a newly developed suspension whose shock absorbers automatically adjust to the current driving situation. The optional air suspension now works in combination with an electronic damping system.
The outstanding safety and comfort of the E-Class are matched by its environmental compatibility and economy. The four-cylinder engine is direct-injection unit, and consumes up to 23 percent less fuel than before. All the engines for the new E-Class meet the EU5 emission standard.
Along with the engines, the BlueEFFICIENCY for the E-Class is also responsible for fuel savings. Engineers from every development department have worked together to optimise assemblies and components, to save fuel by means of reduced weight, a new form, improved functioning or efficient energy management.
The work done in the wind tunnel was particularly successful, as the resulting drag coefficient of only 0.25 makes the new E-Class the world’s most aerodynamically efficient luxury saloon. It betters the already good Cd figure of the preceding model by another four percent, which represents a fuel saving of around 0.25 litres per 100 kilometres when driving at a motorway speed of 130 km/h.
The range of petrol engines available for the new E-Class comprises four, six and eight-cylinder units with outputs from 150 kW/204 hp to 386 kW/525 hp. The four-cylinder engines are newly developed direct-injection units, which develop a higher output and torque than the comparable V6-engines of the preceding series despite a smaller displacement. The strategy is to replace large, naturally aspirated engines with turbocharged units which excel with advantages such as lower weight, reduced internal friction and more economical operating characteristics. |
| Petrol engines: 20 percent fuel saving thanks to direct injection |
Mercedes-Benz equips the E 250 CGI BlueEFFICIENCY model with the newly developed four-cylinder direct petrol injection engine with a displacement of 1.8 litres, turbocharging and variable intake and exhaust camshafts. In the E 250 CGI BlueEFFICIENCY (204 hp), maximum torque is now 310 newtonmetres, which represents an increase of more than 26 percent over the previous V6-engine. At the same time the NEDC fuel consumption is reduced by over 20 percent to 7.3 litres per 100 kilometres, equating to 174 grams of CO2 per kilometre (provisional figures).
The E 300 (231 hp), E 350 (272 hp) and the top-of-the-line E 500 (388 hp) are also included in the range of engine variant in the new E-Class in Hong Kong. For the ultimate in performance, the E 63 AMG from Mercedes-AMG develops 525 hp. |
| Safety: unique combination of assistance and protection systems |
The new E-Class is the first car in the world to be equipped with headlamps which adapt to the traffic situation and respond automatically to avoid dazzling other drivers. The optional Adaptive Highbeam Assist uses a camera on the windscreen to recognise oncoming traffic and vehicles moving ahead and to control the headlamps so that their beams do not reach the other vehicle. This achieves the best possible road illumination in a given situation. The range of the dipped headlamp beams can be extended from 65 to as much as 300 metres. If the road ahead is clear, the system performs a gentle transition to high beam.
Mercedes-Benz offers this new system in a lighting package that includes bi-xenon headlamps, the Intelligent Light System and LED daytime driving lights.
Night View Assist from the S-Class is now also available as an optional extra for the new E-Class. Mercedes-Benz has improved this system with a special pedestrian detection function: as soon as Night View Assist Plus recognizes pedestrians ahead of the car, they are highlighted in the onboard display to provide a greatly enhanced warning effect. |
| Detection of drowsiness based on 70 parameters as standard |
| Thanks to an innovative technology, the new E-Class is very sensitive to its driver’s attention level, and warns him or her of drowsiness in good time. This new ATTENTION ASSIST drowsiness detection system, which is standard equipment, is equipped with highly sensitive sensors that continuously monitor more than 70 different parameters. |
| Comfort: Adaptive shock absorbers with improved air suspension |
As well as being a trendsetter in the safety field, the E-Class has been setting the standards for comfort in this vehicle class for several decades.
Standard equipment includes a further improved suspension with adaptive shock absorbers. These automatically adapt to the current driving situation by reducing the damping forces when driving normally, thereby noticeably improving ride comfort. When taking bends at speed or during rapid evasive action, the system switches to the maximum damping effect so that the saloon is stabilised to best effect.
The air suspension system optionally available for the V6 models (standard in the E 500) has for the first time been combined with an electronically controlled damping system which processes various sensor signals and controls each wheel independently. In this way Mercedes specialists have achieved significantly better ride comfort while improving handling safety and agility at the same time. The driver is able to select either Comfort or Sport mode at the touch of a button. |
| Active multicontour seats with massage function from the S-Class |
The active multicontour seat package (optional) includes newly developed multicontour seats with luxury head restraints and a two-stage massage function in the backrest that has proven highly successful in the S-Class. Depending on the steering angle, lateral acceleration and vehicle speed, fast-acting piezo-electric valves on the air chambers in the backrests vary their pressure and volume to give the driver and front passenger even better lateral support.
On request the E-Class is also available with a rear seat unit consisting of two comfortable, single seats. This rear-seat comfort package includes seat heating, leather upholstery, a centre console and NECK-PRO luxury head restraints. |
| Design: Distinctive lines as an expression of superiority |
In 1995 the E-Class was the first Mercedes model to appear with the widely acclaimed twin-headlamp face – a highly symbolic design feature that still characterises the identity of the E-Class. The designers have now reinterpreted these four "eyes" as rectangles, with a direct reference to the interesting geometrical shapes found in cubism. They resemble precious gems that have been precisely set into the wings. In the same way, the radiator grille with its three-dimensional chromed surround, dynamic arrow-shape and more upright position underlines the status of the car as the epitome of a business saloon.
The new ambient lighting feature creates a pleasant interior lighting ambience at night. The ambient lighting comes on as soon as the vehicle’s exterior lights are switched on, or a door is opened. |
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