Tag Archives: Mercedes-Benz

NEW CARS

Mercedes Preps the Next E-Class: A 500-Mile EV With Old-School Style and New-Age Tech

Mercedes-Benz is deep into development of the seventh-generation E-Class, an all-electric sedan slated to land in the UK in 2027—and positioned as the spiritual and literal successor to today’s EQE. Only this one promises real E-Class practicality, a 500-mile range, and a return to the classic three-box silhouette that Benz buyers have trusted for decades.

But here’s the twist:
Mercedes isn’t replacing the current E-Class. It’s doubling down.

Two E-Classes, One Strategy

The brand’s new split lineup—previewed with the GLC EQ—means the electric E-Class will be sold alongside a heavily refreshed version of the existing sixth-gen model. Same badge. Similar styling. Completely different bones.

Why blur the lines? Simple: the EQE was too weird. Launched in 2022, it never resonated with traditional E-Class customers, who found it a little too moon-lander, not enough Stuttgart sedan. So Mercedes is scrapping the EQE nameplate and rebuilding the electric executive car to look, feel, and function like the E-Class people actually want.

Bigger Platform, Bigger Space

Underneath the crisp, conventional proportions is Mercedes’ new MB.EA platform, shared with the upcoming electric C-Class and GLC EQ. The architecture allows not just a longer wheelbase—internally described as “very status-oriented”—but better interior packaging than today’s car. Expect more legroom, more headroom, and fewer compromises in trunk space, courtesy of a skateboard-style battery layout.

Prototypes caught by spy photographers show a sedan that’s unmistakably E-Class, just sharpened: stretched stance, broad shoulders, and a grille that takes cues from both the GLC EQ and the Vision Iconic concept. It’s bold by Mercedes standards—designed to make sure future EVs stand apart from a sea of wind-tunnel clones.

Electric Comfort, Benchmark Quiet

Mercedes is already boasting that the electric E will deliver benchmark refinement, with noise isolation and ride comfort aimed squarely at beating the Audi A6 E-tron and BMW i5. If the current S-Class is anything to go by, don’t bet against Stuttgart here.

Tech Leap: 800 Volts and Level 3 Autonomy

Compared with the EQE’s 400V electrical system, the new car steps up to an 800-volt architecture, unlocking:

  • 350 kW fast charging
  • Improved efficiency
  • Lower cooling demands
  • Compatibility with Mercedes’ latest driver assistance suite
  • Optional Level 3 hands-free driving (in markets that allow it)

CEO Ola Källenius calls the jump a “significant technological step”—and given the EQE’s relatively modest charging speeds, this one was overdue.

Powertrains and Range

Expect both single-motor RWD and dual-motor AWD configurations, mirroring the GLC EQ and next-gen C-Class EV. The battery lineup should also be shared, meaning the top-range variant will likely use the C-Class’s 94-kWh unit to deliver around 500 miles on the lenient European WLTP cycle.

Aerodynamics remain a priority. While early test mules wear open-spoke wheels, production models will switch to slicker, aero-optimized designs to push the drag coefficient toward the EQE’s slippery 0.22—even with the more traditional sedan shape.

One Body Style Only

Unlike the combustion E-Class, which will continue offering saloon and estate forms, the new electric model will launch as a sedan only. No wagon—at least not yet. (Yes, we’re disappointed too.)

2027: The Year of Two E-Classes

When it arrives, the electric E-Class won’t just replace the EQE—Mercedes plans to facelift the current E-Class heavily enough to visually align the pair. One platform for tradition. One for electrification. One badge to rule them both.

The strategy is bold, but logical: buyers still trust the E-Class name. And now, whether they want petrol or electrons, they won’t have to choose between familiarity and the future.

Source: Mercedes-Benz

News

Milan Crash Tears Mercedes G-Class Apart, Leaves One Dead

Early Sunday morning in Milan, tragedy unfolded on a quiet stretch of roadway where a rented Mercedes-Benz G-Class and an Opel Corsa collided with such violence that even veteran first responders struggled to process the aftermath. One person is dead, three others are injured, and investigators are still trying to piece together how a night out in Italy’s fashion capital ended with an SUV torn nearly in half.

A Scene That Didn’t Look Real

Video circulating from the crash site shows devastation rarely seen outside controlled crash-test labs. The boxy, iconic G-Class—a vehicle known for surviving everything from off-road torture to celebrity abuse—was effectively peeled apart. Its ladder-frame chassis sat isolated on one side of the road, while the body shell rested yards away, its front end missing entirely. Pieces that normally stay welded together for the life of the vehicle now lay scattered like debris from an explosion.

The Opel Corsa fared better structurally, but its crushed front end told its own story about the force of impact. Miraculously, its lone occupant—a 32-year-old driver who later tested positive for drugs—survived.

Inside the G-Class: Four People, No Margin for Error

Italian outlets report that the G-Class carried four young occupants:

  • A 30-year-old woman
  • A 23-year-old man
  • A 20-year-old unlicensed driver
  • A 19-year-old man who later died from his injuries

What happened after the crash only deepened the tragedy. Initial confusion led responders to believe the 19-year-old victim had been driving. But investigators quickly became suspicious when one of the survivors—a 20-year-old—claimed to have merely rushed to help.

Surveillance footage told a very different story.

According to Corriere della Sera, CCTV captured him behind the wheel moments before the crash. Police also noticed his blood-stained clothes and, crucially, a missing shoe that was found inside the crumpled SUV. The evidence exposed his attempt to mislead authorities—a ruse that lasted minutes, not hours.

An SUV Built Like a Fortress—But Still at the Mercy of Physics

The destruction raises an uncomfortable truth about modern luxury SUVs: even the most overbuilt machines can’t suspend the laws of physics.

A Mercedes-Benz G-Class in Italy starts at around $180,000 and can exceed $300,000 in high-spec AMG form. With such numbers come power figures that border on absurd for something shaped like a refrigerator and weighing well over 5,500 pounds.

And that’s the problem.

A tall, heavy, brutally powerful SUV might survive off-road punishment, but at high speeds on public roads—especially in inexperienced hands—it becomes a two-and-a-half-ton projectile. Once momentum takes over, even the G-Class’s vaunted strength becomes irrelevant. The ladder frame separating from the body is the kind of result that typically requires industrial machinery, not a street-level collision.

Investigators Still Searching for Answers

Police are now analyzing the wreckage, digital surveillance, and witness accounts to reconstruct the sequence of events. Speed appears to be a leading factor—but not the only one. The combination of an unlicensed driver, a rented six-figure performance SUV, and a roadway not designed for such stress proved catastrophic.

The tragedy serves as a stark reminder: even the most robust vehicles have limits, and even the most advanced safety systems can’t overcome reckless decisions. In Milan this weekend, those decisions cost one young man his life and changed several others forever.

A machine famous for its indestructible image met the immovable laws of motion—and lost.

Source: automoto_it via Instagram

NEW CARS

Deep Freeze Development: Mercedes-Benz GLB Conquers -40°C Testing Tunnel

The final miles of Mercedes-Benz’s winter test loop aren’t for the faint-hearted. Heavy snow lashes across the Sindelfingen proving grounds, wipers thudding at full speed, heater cranked to the limit. For most drivers, this would be a nightmare. For Mercedes engineers, it’s paradise—precisely the kind of extreme environment needed to validate every seal, vent, and defroster of the all-new 2026 Mercedes-Benz GLB before its official world premiere on December 8, 2025.

Built for Winter, Engineered for Everywhere

Mercedes-Benz pitches the GLB as the multi-tool of compact SUVs—offering five- or seven-seat configurations, confident all-weather traction, and the kind of thermal comfort usually reserved for luxury sedans. But what’s new this time isn’t just refinement—it’s intelligence.

At the brand’s Technology Center (MTC) in Sindelfingen, two massive climate tunnels recreate everything from Arctic blizzards to Death Valley scorchers. The “cold tunnel” plunges to -40°C, conjuring snowstorms with fan-driven winds blasting up to 200 km/h, while a second “heat chamber” pushes the mercury to +60°C under simulated desert sun. Mercedes says it’s the most advanced test setup in Europe—and the new GLB is the latest to face its frozen wrath.

Testing at the Limit

Inside these 70-by-60-meter chambers, the GLB sits atop rolling roads driven by 780 kW electric motors. Engineers can run the 4MATIC all-wheel-drive system at up to 265 km/h, all while snow cannons and heat lamps replicate real-world extremes with surgical precision. The goal: reproducibility. Every test—from windshield defrost time to cabin warm-up rate—can be repeated, measured, and refined without relying on the weather gods of Lapland.

At -15°C, the GLB’s heating system can completely defrost the windshield in 15 minutes, using only the defrost setting and no wiper intervention. That’s a benchmark even some combustion-powered SUVs struggle to meet. On the inside, the new **heat pump system—adapted from the VISION EQXX concept—**uses waste heat from the electric drivetrain and ambient air to warm the cabin with one-third the energy of a conventional electric heater. Mercedes claims it even heats up twice as fast as the previous GLB, despite consuming half the energy.

Tech That Thinks Ahead

The heating strategy prioritizes what matters most on a frigid morning: your hands and upper body. That means drivers feel comfortable faster, and because the process starts automatically when the door opens, you’re warm before the seatbelt clicks. For those charging or relaxing inside, the GLB’s climate control adjusts seamlessly—anticipating body temperature changes and sunlight exposure through predictive algorithms.

It’s all part of Mercedes’ latest digital ecosystem, MB.OS, paired here with the fourth generation of MBUX. The system debuts with redesigned graphics, new avatars powered by generative AI, Google Maps navigation, and 3D MBUX Surround Navigation. Drivers can interact with the MBUX Virtual Assistant, which now features “emotionally responsive” behavior—think less button-pushing, more natural conversation.

Interior: Welcome Home

Inside, the GLB trades its sculptural predecessor’s busy surfaces for a clean, purist design centered on an optional floating MBUX Superscreen that stretches across the dashboard. Circular air vents with “Silver Shadow” accents add a touch of sportiness, while the floating center console and large open storage areas emphasize functionality over flair.

Mercedes also listened to customer feedback. The new steering wheel brings back a physical rocker switch for DISTRONIC cruise control and a roller for volume, small but appreciated returns to tactile simplicity.

Space improves across the board: more headroom up front, more legroom in the second row, and easier access to an optional third row. A longitudinally adjustable second row lets you choose between comfort or cargo, while the Easy Entry function now slides farther forward, making the rearmost seats genuinely usable.

Sky’s the Limit: The Illuminated Panoramic Roof

Then there’s the showstopper: a segment-defining panoramic roof with electrochromic glass that switches from transparent to opal (milky) in as little as 20 milliseconds. Passengers can even adjust individual roof segments for privacy or sunlight, and when night falls, the optional illuminated star pattern turns the glass into a customizable galaxy linked to the ambient lighting system.

It’s not just a gimmick—the glass features infrared and LowE coatings, helping to reflect summer heat and retain winter warmth, improving both comfort and efficiency.

Hot Roads and Cold Hearts

The GLB’s versatility extends beyond snow. The heat tunnel includes a “Hot Road,” where engineers bake the SUV on simulated pavement heated to 70°C, mimicking the sweltering asphalt of Death Valley. The point is consistency: from -40°C to +60°C, the new GLB is tested to thrive where humans barely can.

Driving Toward December

Mercedes-Benz hasn’t released drivetrain details yet, but the focus on energy management and cabin efficiency hints strongly at an all-electric GLB alongside mild-hybrid options. Expect a range north of 400 km and improved DC fast-charging speeds, aligning with the brand’s electrification roadmap.

Cool Confidence

The outgoing GLB was always a niche favorite—a small SUV with real utility and understated charm. The 2026 model looks set to push that formula toward premium perfection. With smart thermal engineering, cutting-edge digital intelligence, and a design that blends practicality with sophistication, the new GLB might just redefine what a compact Mercedes can be.

Whether you’re heading for St. Moritz or St. Tropez, this new GLB is ready to face the elements—and look good doing it.

Source: Mercedes-Benz