UPDATE: 2021 Mercedes-Benz E 450
Service Life 4 mo/4,639 miles
Average Fuel Econ 20.8 mpg
“How well do 24.6 inches of screen space work? It didn’t take us long to find out.”
Zach Gale
Unresolved problems None
Maintenance cost $0 Normal wear $0
Base price $63,050 As tested $72,770
EPA City/Hwy/Comb fuel econ 23/30/26 mpg
Although the futuristic Hyperscreen in the EQS sedan is Mercedes’ infotainment headliner right now, the E-Class appears to hold its own—at least upon first glance. As increasingly large screen sizes proliferate across the market, the two 12.3-inch screens of our Mercedes E 450 aren’t as noteworthy as they once were.
Use the digital instrument cluster and infotainment display as much as we have, and you’ll see the technology is very much a mixed bag. There’s more to this picture than simply 24.6 inches of screen behind a smooth glass panel.
When the E-Class earned its title as the 2021 MotorTrend Car of the Year, nearly every one of our judges criticized MBUX. A couple months behind the wheel has helped me explore the layers of usefulness baked into the brand’s infotainment tech, but it remains a point of frustration.
Take the track-forward command as one example. Moving past a song you’re not in a mood to hear should be easy, but it’s too complex in the Mercedes. There are plenty of ways to get the job done, but none works as well as a direct button on the steering wheel (which the Mercedes lacks) or a one-touch button somewhere on the dash (nope).
Mercedes also goes its own way when it comes to Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Once your phone is connected, you’ll immediately notice the nearly 2 inches of mostly blank space on either side. We wish Mercedes would either offer a full-screen CarPlay display option or do what Toyota, Acura, and others do with their large screens: have the phone mirroring feature take up two-thirds of the screen with a selection of other info displays on the rest. This has been a recurring complaint
