The new Mercedes Benz E-Class is here. And even a short test drive in the new offering from the Sultan of Stuttgart tells you what a superbly engineered car sporting the famous three-pointed star is all about.

The overall look of the new E-Class proclaims class and status. The upright design is nicely complimented by the squared off lighting instruments and the sculptured details on the sides of the car.

Bridging the two worlds between the C-Class and the S-Class, the new E-Class offers some of the agility of the smaller car along with some of the comfort and convenience features of the flagship.

Indeed, for the new 2010 model, several new technical features have been introduced to the Mercedes line-up with the E-Class platform, effectively making it the most technologically advanced car in the Mercedes Benz line-up.

The new E-Class has all the advanced safety tech of the S-Class clubbed into a more manageable package. The full list of advanced safety features is staggering: Attention Assist, Lane Keeping Assist, Adaptive Highbeam Assist, Parktronic Plus, Blind Spot Assist, Night View Assist Plus, Distronic Plus with Pre-Safe Brake, Brake Assist Plus, Sand Assist floor mats and Agility Assist. These increase your control of the vehicle.

For example, instead of just fitting the new E-Class with an infrared camera, the night vision system paints the area in front of the vehicle with infrared beams, like invisible headlights. The camera, as a
result, picks up a much sharper image.

The Pre-Safe Brake is also cool. For the first time, it’s capable of automatically applying 100 per cent of brake force if the forward-looking radar detects an imminent crash. It won’t avoid the impact, but instead acts like an electronic crumple zone, reducing the force of the impact. Since it activates only when you’re 0.6 of a second from collision, it won’t affect your ability to take evasive measures, but could save your life.

And the Attention Assist system uses the sensors that govern the stability control system to monitor driver behavior and evaluate it against pre-set parameters to make a determination about the
driver’s alertness. If the driver is deemed to be drowsy, the car displays a coffee cup icon to suggest the driver chill for a bit and take a break before continuing. The beauty of all these systems is the transparency of their operation.