Mercedes E400 Coupe

The E400 is the priciest E-Class Coupe you can buy. However, it’s great value if you had been considering the old E500, as Mercedes has knocked about £7,000 off the price without losing too much performance. It’s still not the most exciting car to drive, but it has many other impressive talents that’ll keep it competitive in the premium coupé class.

Along with the E-Class Cabriolet, Mercedes has also facelifted the Coupe. Among the changes is the addition of this new E400, which has a 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 and is designed to replace the thirsty V8-powered E500.

While it doesn’t boast the same bassy rumble as the V8 car, the E400 still sounds good. And 0-62mph takes just 5.2 seconds, so the 328bhp E400 is only a tenth slower than the more powerful 402bhp E500.

It’s also a lot more efficient, with economy of 37.2mpg and CO2 emissions of 177g/km, compared to 31.7mpg and 209g/km for the old car.

The best news of all, though, is that while the E500 cost £53,770, the E400 will set you back just £46,265. It also comes with all the standard equipment you could want, including 19-inch alloys, AMG leather sports seats, a leather dash and a Harman Kardon surround-sound stereo.

But while the Coupe should be the sportiest version of the E-Class, and this engine is the most powerful you can get, it still doesn’t feel that exciting.

There’s no doubt overtaking ability is impressive, yet when it comes to taking corners, the E400 simply doesn’t feel as taut as an Audi A5 Coupe.

It’s seriously impressive on motorways, though, with even better refinement than the Cabriolet. The ride is more composed, too, thanks to a stiffer bodyshell that doesn’t tend to shake and shimmy.

All the styling and technology updates applied to the Cabriolet have also been fitted to the Coupe. As a result you get the same smoother design, along with safety kit such as active lane-keeping assist and a rear collision detection system.