E-Class noses in

The snow may be patchy, but the information we have on Mercedes' facelifted E-Class certainly isn't. Spied winter testing months before it's due on sale, the mag's exclusive images show how the new car will look inside and out.

Auto Express Car Reviews

By Ross Pinnock

14th February 2006

And the big news is that Merc has shunned giving it the controversial look of its bulbous big brother, the S-Class.

The model is likely to debut at April's New York Motor Show, and hit dealers in the summer, and the mag's shots reveal that while visual changes are minimal, the saloon does get an S-Class-style grille.

Inside, the current cabin's curved waistline remains, so instead of the hi-tech layout in Merc's flagship, there's a wooden inlay running across the dash. The latest COMAND control system won't feature until the all-new car arrives in 2009.

An improved engine line-up sees the recently revised SL500's 388bhp 5.5-litre V8 replace the 5.0-litre unit in the E500, while the E350 should also get an 11 per cent power hike, taking it to 272bhp. Engineers have been hard at work under the skin, and the driving experience will be very different. Prices are set to rise, but not dramatically.