We're excited to see if the ownership experience of our long-term 2026 Mercedes-Benz E450 will be as positive as our initial impressions. Since its arrival, this luxury sedan has been a daily reminder of what luxury feels like, and we look forward to spending the next 40,000 miles with it.
The E450's ride refinement and all-around sophistication have received continuous accolades since day one. Everyone in the office is already raving about the E-class's ride quality, refinement, and seat comfort. The around-town ride feels almost floaty, but it remains tied down and settled no matter how hard you push it.
The E450's inline-six, which pairs exclusively with all-wheel drive and is a $5,900 upgrade over the four-cylinder-powered E350, is not only smooth and sonorous but also extraordinarily fuel efficient. We measured a whopping 39 mpg in our 75-mph highway fuel-economy test, which is 6 mpg better than its EPA highway figure.
But the steering wheel's touch-sensitive controls are despised as much as the car's overall driving demeanor is loved. Everything from the volume control to the cruise set speed requires a swipe on the steering-wheel spokes, which sometimes does nothing, sometimes provides more adjustment than you're looking for, and rarely does exactly what you want.
Our long-term E450 is packed full of options, taking the price up to $95,375 from its $73,650 starting point. There are a few things that the majority of us could do without, including the front passenger screen and selfie camera and the $990 3-D gauge cluster display. But the $3,400 Pinnacle trim, which includes a thumping 21-speaker Burmester stereo, and the $3,200 air springs that bolster ride quality are outlays that we'd spend our own money on.
The E-class is not at all ostentatious, but it still gets noticed, with many a parking-lot bystander lobbing praise in the E-class's direction. We agree, it's a fantastic luxury sedan, and we look forward to spending a lot more time driving it to see if we're as smitten with the ownership experience.
Source: caranddriver.com
