What's the news?
The new Mercedes-Benz E-Class - the fifth generation so badged - is due out in 2016 and we've already been told it will be an all-round technofest. Now Stuttgart is showing us the cabin and it's chock full of gadgety goodies.
Perhaps the key update is the new twin-display double-width cockpit, which sits the instrument clusters in one 12.3-inch screen and the satnav/infotainment displays in another of equal size, conveniently doing away with that 'perched' satnav screen that identifies current Mercedes cabins. It's a much neater way of integrating things, although bear in mind this will only be an option with Comand Online. 'Lesser' Es will have two tube-type round dials, a 17.8cm colour display cluster and a 21.3cm screen, but at least these are all also installed in a single frame.
The steering wheel features touch control buttons that are activated by horizontal and vertical finger swipes. This enables, according to Mercedes, 'the driver to control every function of the infotainment system in the same simple, logical and intuitive manner as with a smartphone without having to take their hands off the steering wheel'. Which is nice. There's still a main touchpad and a controller for Comand, as well as Linguatronic voice control.
It's not just a technologically advanced cabin but one sculpted around the grandiose design philosophy of 'sensual purity'. There are plenty of sweeps and swoops within, as well as four circular air vents in a direct act of S-Class mimicry. Select an automatic gearbox and the centre console is a 'straight-through' affair, with a column-mounted transmission selector.
Even the interior lighting is of a luxuriant level, as its LED technology allows for 64 different colours to be displayed - with bits of trim, the central display, front storage compartment on the console, door handle recesses and pockets, all footwells, the overhead console, mirror triangle and the tweeters (of the optional 1,450-watt Burmester high-end 3D surround sound system) all illuminated.
There is a little bit of exterior news, as the front lights have a 'double eyebrow' motif and can be upgraded to Multibeam LEDs, while at the rear we've got stardust. No, we've not gone stark raving bonkers; the one-piece rear lights can be optioned up with Lambert reflectors to include diffuse light, that is apparently reminiscent of stardust, the Milky Way galaxy or the glow of a jet engine.
Anything else?
"With the interior of the new E-Class, we are giving a new interpretation to the concept of contemporary luxury," said Hartmut Sinkwitz, Mercedes' head of interior design. "We have designed a spacious and intelligent interior. True to Mercedes-Benz's design philosophy of sensual purity, it employs technological innovation and high-grade equipment to create an exceptionally emotive experience for driver and front passenger. The E-Class thus not only sets a new standard in the business class, but alongside a workplace and private environment, it also becomes a 'third place' - a living area in which passengers are able to enjoy contemporary luxury."