First look at the 2017 Mercedes-Benz E-Class interior

The new Mercedes-Benz E-Class is coming our way and to anticipate its arrival, the company has dropped the first official interior photos ahead of the car’s world premiere at the 2016 Detroit Motor Show.

It seems like Mercedes is raising the bar in the hotly contested mid-size luxury segment with an elegant looking and the most high-tech cabin that heavily resembles the luxurious S-Class with some hints from the sportier C-Class when your eyes move down from the massive twin digital screens.

The wide-screen instrument cluster featured on the picture above is optionally available with Comand Online and sports two displays, each with a 31.2 cm screen diagonal and a resolution of 1920 x 720 pixels. The driver can choose between three different styles to select their preferred screen design for the instrument cluster which include “Classic”, “Sport” and “Progressive”.

Instead, the entry-level model of the new E-Class combines two tube-type round dials and a 17.8 cm colour display cluster (1000 x 600-pixel resolution) with a central display with a 21.3 cm screen diagonal (960 x 540-pixel resolution). The round dials, instrument cluster and central display are installed in a single frame with a high-gloss piano-lacquer look.

The display can be backlit at night with multicolour ambience lighting – which then makes the wide-screen cockpit appear to float in space.

The new E-Class is the first ever car to integrate touch control buttons in the multifunction steering wheel. This enables the driver to control every function of the infotainment system in the same simple, logical and intuitive manner as with a smartphone without having to take their hands off the steering wheel.

A further input option, familiar from the C-Class, is offered by the touchpad on the centre console. This, too, allows all functions to be controlled by single or multi-finger gestures (multitouch). The touchpad also permits letters, numbers and special characters to be entered in handwriting

In addition to the touch control buttons and the touchpad, the driver can use the Comand controller and Lingutronic voice control to control the infotainment system.

Other tech features include the exclusive use of energy-saving LEDs throughout the cabin. The same applies to the optionally available enhanced ambience lighting. With 64 colours, it offers a host of possibilities for personalisation. It adds touches of light, for example, to the trim parts, central display, front stowage facility on the centre console, handle recesses, door pockets, front and rear footwells, overhead console, mirror triangle and tweeters.

Beyond that, there’s an optional high-end Burmester 3D surround sound system that employs 23 high-end speakers with diaphragms of glass-fibre fabric for high level stability, low weight and higher power. The sound can be optimally adjusted for every seat position using the so-called VIP setting, just like the one found in the S-Class.

“With the interior of the new E-Class, we are giving a new interpretation to the concept of contemporary luxury,” says Hartmut Sinkwitz, Head of Interior Design. “We have designed a spacious and intelligent interior. True to Mercedes-Benz’s design philosophy of sensual purity, it employs technological innovation and high-grade equipment to create an exceptionally emotive experience for driver and front passenger. The E-Class thus not only sets a new standard in the business class. Alongside a workplace and private environment, it also becomes a “third place” – a living area in which passengers are able to enjoy contemporary luxury.”

We’ll keep you updated with more info of the new E-Class leading to its full unveiling at the Detroit motor show in January, so stay tuned!