When the first sets of photos of the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class surfaced earlier, it is pretty obvious that the premium brand did not just do a facelift of the mid-size vehicle. The designers of the brand went thru the trouble of give the E-Class a new front end.

The front fascia drops the separate headlamps and instead gives the E-Class one-piece units for each side. The inner elements retain the same design and incorporates day time driving lights and LED lights for the dipped beam.

The 2014 E-Class will have two designs for its front-end just like the C-Class. There will be the Avantgarde trim that feature more sporty elements with the three-pointed star on the grille. The Elegance and Base variants gets the classic grille and the brand’s emblem on the hood.

From the side, one will notice that the new E-Class now has a feature line that stretches from its rear door to the taillights. This shifts the eyes to the side trim and somehow gives the car a more elongated look.

Inside, the E-Class gets a new center console, instrument cluster, an analogue clock, and a new aluminum or wood trim running across the dashboard.

All vehicles of the range will come with Direct-Steer electromechanical steering that blends speed-sensitive steering assistance with the steering gear variable ratio.

The E-Class will also get four different suspension setups. The Elegance and the Base will have a suspension that is designed for comfort while that of the Avantgarde’s will make the car lower by around 15mm. Here will be options for AMG and Exterior Sports while the V8 units will come with AIRMATIC suspension.

For the European market, the E-Class will get either a 7-speed 7G-Tronic gearbox or the six-speed manual transmission. It will also have 18 engine options all fitted with a stop-start system. Ten of the engines will be gasoline units, six of them will be diesel dependent, while the other two options will be hybrids combining diesel and electric configurations.