MERCEDES-BENZ E 450

The luxury limousine with AMGs in its crosshairs!

- ABHAY VERMA

The Mercedes-Benz E-Class has been the default choice for luxury car buyers for long, and its long wheelbase version has only made the sedan more desirable. And while the new generation E-Class has set fresh benchmarks already, the option of the more powerful E 450, with a 3.0-litre, straight-six, turbocharged petrol engine under its hood is yet another gamechanger potentially. Mercedes-Benz made a smart move by announcing prices for the E 450 last year itself, and admittedly, it’s the version I was looking forward to drive, given the engine’s outputs of 381PS and 500Nm — that’s AMG territory. And with a claimed 0-100kmph acceleration time of just 4.5 seconds, the E 450 is certainly capable of smoking performance cars too!

The E 200, the base petrol version, impressed with its ride comfort, features and luxury, but did leave me wanting for more firepower. And it’s the want for more power that the E 450 addresses (it’s also equipped with 4MATIC all-wheel drive system), besides carrying forward all the traits and features of the new generation E-Class that make it so desirable. That said, the E 450 comes with the AMG Line package that should help you distinguish it, but despite the additional dose of sportiness the car still looks more luxury sedan than a performance one. The AMG Line package comes with different bits like a more aggressively styled front bumper, AMG wheels - shod with higher profile rubber in the interest of a good ride quality - and dual, trapezoidal exhaust tips finished in chrome.