| Mercedes-Benz E-Class | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer |
|
| Production | 1953–present (E-Class nomenclature adopted since 1993) |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Executive car (E) |
| Layout | Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | Mercedes-Benz W124 (pre-facelift models, 1984–1993) |
The Mercedes-Benz E-Class is a range of executive cars manufactured by German automaker Mercedes-Benz in various engine and body configurations. Produced since September 1953, the E-Class falls as a midrange in the Mercedes line-up, and has been marketed worldwide across five generations.
Before 1993, the E in Mercedes-Benz nomenclature was a suffix following a vehicle's model number which stood for Einspritzmotor (German for fuel injection engine). It began to appear in the early 1960s, when that feature began to be utilized broadly in the maker's product line, and not just in its upper-tier luxury and sporting models. By the launch of the facelifted W124 in 1993 fuel injection was ubiquitous in Mercedes engines, and the E was adopted as a prefix (i.e., E 220). The model line is referred to officially as the E-Class (or E-Klasse). All generations of the E-Class have offered either rear-wheel drive or Mercedes' 4Matic four-wheel drive system.
The E-Class is Mercedes-Benz' best-selling model, with more than 13 million sold by 2015.[1] The first E-Class series was originally available as four-door sedan, five-door station wagon, two-door coupe and two-door convertible. From 1997 to 2009, the equivalent coupe and convertible were sold under the Mercedes-Benz CLK-Class nameplate; which was based on the mechanical underpinnings of the smaller C-Class while borrowing the styling and some powertrains from the E-Class, a trend continued with the C207 E-Class coupe/convertible which was sold parallel to the W212 E-Class sedan/wagon. With the latest incarnation of the E-Class released for the 2017 model year, all body styles share the same W213 platform.[2]
Due to the E-Class's size and durability, it has filled many market segments, from personal cars to frequently serving as taxis in European countries, as well special-purpose vehicles (e.g., police or ambulance modifications) from the factory.[3] In November 2020, the W213 E-Class was awarded the 2021 Motor Trend Car of the Year award, a first for Mercedes-Benz.[4]
- ^ "First new E-Class rolls off the production line in Sindelfingen". 4 March 2016. Archived from the original on 16 January 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
- ^ "The 2018 Mercedes E400 Coupe Is a Modern Take On an Old Formula". 15 March 2017. Archived from the original on 17 March 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
- ^ "Mercedes-Benz Deutschland – Sonderfahrzeuge – Taxi – E-Klasse" (in German). Daimler AG. Archived from the original on 2008-09-17. Retrieved 2008-08-05.
- ^ "The Mercedes-Benz E-Class Is the 2021 MotorTrend Car of the Year". MotorTrend. 2020-11-16. Archived from the original on 2021-06-19. Retrieved 2020-11-20.