Mercedes-Benz E400 4Matic AMG Line Coupé
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
The German firm sacrifices more than doors with its cut-down E-class
Coupés are curious things. Smaller and more cramped than the saloons on which they are based, they are rarely any quicker or better to drive and usually cost more. By any objective measure, they are just plain worse. This coupé version of the otherwise class-leading Mercedes-Benz E-class is a classic example. Tested here in top-of-the-range AMG Line specification (which in no way means it’s a proper AMG model), it feels derivative and superfluous.
To be fair, there is no direct equivalent E-class saloon, the nearest being the E43 with the same turbocharged 3-litre motor but producing 395bhp instead of the rather less punchy 328bhp of this coupé. As a result the saloon is not only much quicker, but also £6655 more expensive. But I still hoped the coupé might have the full complement of E-class strengths that have made it such a fearsomely able presence in the marketplace.
But it doesn’t quite get there. To me a Mercedes coupé costing the wrong side of 50 grand should be a languid, effortless device, but its V6 motor isn’t particularly characterful and needs to be pushed hard to do its best work. One reason for this is that despite its abbreviated dimensions, halved door count and smaller boot, the coupé is actually a few kilos heavier than the more powerful E43 saloon.
And it doesn’t ride like an E-class saloon either, despite air suspension as standard. Something in the suspension tune and the shorter wheelbase robs it
of that ability to appear to resurface the road you find in even the cheapest, coil-sprung E-class saloon. It doesn’t ride badly, but it is no longer exceptional.
Which would have been fine if there was a commensurate improvement in the car’s handling, but again something is missing. Make no mistake, the E400 coupé offers a fast, accurate and exceptionally stable route from one place to the next, but will it leave you with a grin splitting your face? A hint
of a smile playing on your lips perhaps, but not much more.
Its strength lies in its static appeal. I think it looks terrific, particularly from the back. There’s room for four adults on board and the cabin design – from the excellent seats to a dashboard of wide screens – is better than anything else this kind of money can buy.
But when I first drove an E-class saloon I was aware of new standards being set not just in the showroom but also on the road. I never got that, nor even close to it, with the coupé.
The E-class coupé is a well-engineered, capable car and more reasonably priced than you might expect given the equipment it has as standard. But there’s no magic here and it squanders the raw material upon which it is based. It is, in other words, a coupé. And it can add its name to the long list of other coupés that have failed to set the same standards as their less glamorous but more effective four-door brethren.