cawimmer430

It certainly does look better in life - much better than in the press photos - but that grille just doesn't come across nicely IMO. The old style mirrors were much nicer, the new ones look kinda weird. I think it's a question of time before the overall design grows on me, but I guess I can live with the car if I had to - except for the grille.

Then again, this was a BASE MODEL version. Elegance and Avantgarde models may look nicer. The E63 AMG is a beauty for example. Perhaps what this car needs is a more premium trim level and nicer wheels.

Curb Zone

 

Mr. Mercedes

From all the photos so far, the FL looks like a move in the right direction for what already was a very elegant, if somewhat conservative vehicle. I hope I'm not dissapointed in the metal.

Osnabrueck

Now that I've soaked-in the facelift a bit I'm impressed with that Benz has achieved with very slight changes to the car's details. This is the level of detail and near extravagance I wish we'd see on the new S-Klasse.

I still dislike the E's rear, which is a rather ho-hum affair when compared to the car's front - especially now.

Overall, very savy and effective, far as facelifts go.

Andaluz

I love everything, except the grille. It doesn't flow with the sleek lines of the W211. The pre-facelif W211 model indeed looks better.

Oh and Cawimmer...who cares about that ugly red C160?! I'm more interested on that black CLS 55 parked next to it!

klier

Nice write up Wimmer. I guess I am one of the few who likes the car better now, in Estate form in particular.

Snake Vargas

The only thing I like better are the mirrors. I hate the old mirrors that look like ears sticking out.

The grille shouldn't be pointy at the bottom. There's no other 'pointy' motif on the otherwise sleek E-class. Oh wait, except for the newfangled bumper. So why did they add that to it? Surely there are ways of making it look different other than whacking a pointy front on it.

The new rear lights only make the rear look more bland. I reckon the 'striped' lights should be made a Mercedes feature, and they should make the most of it. IMO, one of the new areas that makers are developing are that of light graphics - e.g. Audi's LED strips on the S6, and BMW's angel eyes. If you work on making your cars more distinctive, then why limit that to half the time? Surely night is as important as day, so IMO they should have kept the old lights, or just updated them slightly.

The Emperor

I've just noticed this thing; the badge on the grille:



Was there really a need for that? I mean, you already have the 3 pointed star on the top that can be seen from an airplane! Why this too? It looks out of place, imo of course.

Alwing

I think it looks alright!
Did you knew that all the old Mercedes' models before had that smiliair badge on the grill as well?





The new S-class has it too.

The Emperor

I know, but the one in Christian's pic looks somehow weird... Anyway....

Just_me

Its easy to break those stars on the hood. Its also easy to create a Ninja weapon and use it as a throwing star.

Curb Zone