First Drive: 2010 Mercedes-Benz E Class Coupe

Story and photos by John LeBlanc

SIENNA, Italy–Back in simpler times before the mass customization of consumer goods Mercedes-Benz had a simpler lineup: a large sedan, a smaller one and a sports car.

Yet just as you can now order your personal computer any way you want by choosing such options as processing power, memory size and casing colour, today you can order almost every conceivable automobile body style and option for every inconceivable lifestyle.

By offering 15 distinct classes – ranging from the compact B to the SLR MacLaren supercar – Mercedes is no different.

So it's a bit of a trend bender that Mercedes is simplifying its lineup (well, to 14 classes) by ditching its CLK Class, to be replaced by – are you ready for it? – the new 2010 E Class Coupés."We wanted customers to associate the new E Coupé with the qualities and values of the new E Sedan," said Wolfgang Bremm, E Class Coupé manager.

Despite Mercedes's desire to piggyback on the E Class's upmarket cachet, the new rear-wheel-drive 2+2 E Coupé is similar to the CLK in theory: a lengthened compact C Class chassis styled like a mid-size E.

Mercedes says about 60 per cent of the new E Coupé's structure and parts comes from the new 2010 E Sedan.

But one look at the E Coupé's dimensions, and it's easy to see where its remaining bits and bolts come from. It also means that rivals remain the smaller BMW 3-series Coupé, Audi A5/S5 and forthcoming Lexus IS Coupé-Convertible.

What the new Merc two-door doesn't do when it goes on sale in Canada in June before the new E Class sedan arrives later on, is replace the existing Benz CLS – a seductive looking four-door, four-passenger version of the more stoically styled last generation E Class sedan that Mercedes dubs a "four-door coupé."

As with the old CLK, there will be two E Coupé hardtop models (a traditional clothtop convertible version is rumoured for spring next year), both with familiar mills. The 2010 E 350 Coupé gets a 268 hp 3.5-litre V6, while the E 550 gets a 382 hp 5.5-litre V8. A mandatory seven-speed automatic will be the only transmission choice.

Canadian pricing for 2010 E Class sedans and coupés hasn't been released. The CLK was priced between $69,500 and $82,400. In the U.S., though, the 2010 E 350 Coupé will start at $48,925, the E 550 at $55,525.

In Europe, customers get engines that include Mercedes's new stratospheric direct-injection, which boosts the V6 by 24 hp and the V8 by 6 hp, plus gains in fuel economy. Unfortunately, Mercedes says North American pump gas isn't clean enough for this technology.

As a devil-may-care coupé owner, you're letting the world know you're unbridled by the need of a sedan's extra rear seat and the doors to get back there without making a call to the chiropractor.

At least, though, the E Coupé is roomy among its peers – like the old CLK. In fact, bigger inside in every dimension over the CLK, the E Coupé has plenty of air for four full-size humans, along with 450 litres of trunk space.

Although the car looks like its front, side and rear were assigned to three separate exterior designers, the long sweeping arc of the E Coupé's roofline further betrays you as not being the sedan type.

(Too bad Mercedes couldn't finish the job with the E Coupé's side glass profile. Apparently the location of the passenger side fuel filler neck prevented a single pane of rear side glass, leaving a fixed, non-structural triangular bit instead.)

All Canadian market E Coupés will have one advantage over the European models we drove here at the launch event in Italy: the Dynamic Handling Package will be standard.

With a variable and quicker steering ratio, two-way adaptive shocks and steering wheel mounted paddle shifters, the package changes the driving personality of the car dramatically – for the better.

Among the twisty roads just outside of Sienna here in Tuscany, the DHP-equipped E 550 Coupé I drove was composed and stable, with not nearly as much body lean and roll as the E 350 Coupés on hand without DHP.

The move up to the more prestigious E badging is somewhat justified. Compared to its Teutonic competition, the Mercedes always felt quieter, more refined – more expensive.

Mercedes is keeping a straight face when it says a full-bore AMG model to replace the previous CLK 62 AMG is not in the cards. Yet.

If you want the sportiest driving E Coupé extant, though, go for the E 550. It adds the new and excellent multicontour front seats, one-inch larger 18-inch wheels and tires and AMG body styling over the more conservative E 350 version.

Plus, you get the much torquier V8 (258 lb.-ft. versus 391 lb.-ft.), which means 0-to-100 km/h comes up in 5.6 instead of 6.4 seconds.

Based on Mercedes's own findings, however, only 10 per cent of existing CLK customers are looking for a factory hot rod. So it's no surprise the new E Coupé is more of a conveyance of comfort than an all-out sports car.

When pushed hard, the E 550 Coupé's steering still lacks life, the ESP kicks in too eagerly and the V8 and gearbox aren't well mated – one always being out of step with the other.

In other words, the E Coupé won't move the hearts of driving enthusiasts much more than the CLK, something a similarly equipped $57,200 BMW 335i does easily.

What the Bimmer can't deliver, though, is the new E Coupé's higher levels of room, comfort, and refinement.

And now with an E badge, newfound prestige.

2010 Mercedes- Benz E Coupe

PRICE: est. $69,500/$82,400

ENGINE: 3.5 L V6; 5.5 L V8

POWER/TORQUE: (V6) 268 hp/258 lb.-ft.; (V8) 382 hp/391 lb.-ft.;

FUEL CONSUMPTION: NA

COMPETITION: Audi A5, BMW 3-series Coupés, Lexus IS Coupé-Convertible

WHAT'S BEST: Refined and expensive feeling, roomy interior

WHAT'S WORST: Not the sportiest drive in its class, exterior styling could be more harmonious

WHAT'S INTERESTING: Rear fender scallop inspired by the 1950s Mercedes Ponton

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