Mercedes E-Class Coupe - not an E-Class at all

The new Mercedes Benz E-Class Coupe - not an E-Class at all

There has been a fair bit of press on the new Mercedes E Class of late, and deservedly so. It seems to be a fine car, although we are yet to get hold of one to cement those opinions. But perhaps even more press coverage has been given to the new Mercedes E Class Coupe.

There was much conjecture about whether or not the E Class Coupe would in fact carry that name or stick with the old Mercedes CLK badge. In the end, Mercedes decided that it was time to retire the CLK from its range, so the new mid-sized coupe became the E Class Coupe. Sounds logical.

But the first doubts about the E Class Coupe’s heritage started to seed themselves when we learnt that the Coupe was actually going to be less expensive than the saloon. How could that be? After all, illogical though it often seems (after all, coupes are usually smaller than their saloon siblings), the Coupe of the range almost always costs more than the saloon. ‘Prestige Pricing’ is the term. So what were Mercedes up to? Were they simply trying to throw their competitors a curved ball? Had someone transposed the pricing by accident?

Well it now seems that the reason the E Class Coupe is cheaper is because it isn’t an E Class at all. It’s actually based on the smaller, cheaper C Class chassis. So why change the name to E Class Coupe, instead of sticking with CLK we wonder? Frankly, we don’t have an answer to that, but according to an interview in Automotive News, US Mercedes boss Ernst Lieb says it’s because the C Class Chassis gives ‘a stiffer car with better performance’

Fair enough, but why all the confusion by renaming the car?