Pros and Cons: W213 Mercedes-Benz E200 Avantgarde facelift - No more 520i? Try this

When it comes to executive, business sedans, the Mercedes E-Class has always been one of the most preferred and recognisable status symbols the world around. With the W213-generation E-Class having undergone a facelift, does it still retain all the ingredients that make it such a compelling executive sedan?

More importantly, does it have enough in its arsenal to do battle with its nemesis, the G30 BMW 5 Series (even though at the time of writing, there is no more 520i variant)?

Having come away quietly impressed with its more expensive sibling, the E300 AMG Line, we're expecting good things from the slightly less powerful, but also less expensive E200 Avantgarde (RM 326,943, with SST exemption, valid till 30 June 2022). Here are some things we liked and disliked about the W213 Mercedes-Benz E200 Avantgarde.

Pros - Strong, punchy drivetrain

We were quite surprised at how easy it is to build up speed in the E200. The 2.0-litre turbocharged unit pulls cleanly and quickly from low down, and all across the rev range. Is it punchy? Oh yes. You can feel a shove in your back. Exploiting gaps in traffic is easy with the E200. 

This was quite a pleasant discovery, because it does have less poke on paper compared to its E300 AMG Line big brother (197 PS, 320 Nm). Further adding to the punchy feeling is the snappiness of the 9-speed automatic transmission. It responds to your throttle inputs in a prompt and tidy manner, going through the gears seamlessly and with alarcrity. 

That said, BMW's 8-speeder is still just that little bit better, but for most part, there's litle to complain about how the E200 goes about its business. You don't usually describe a Mercedes-Benz E-Class as swift. But swift it is, making overtaking a cinch. 

Also read: Review: W213 2021 Mercedes-Benz E300 - A facelift shouldn't be this much better

Pros - Classy, cossetting cabin

If you didn't already know, modern Mercedeses have excellent interiors. And yes, the facelifted E200 continues this rich vein of form. The expansive dashboard, augmented by the wonderfully vivid dual LCD screens, looks and feels premium, operating with an expensive touch at major touchpoints. It puts the BMW 5 Series firmly in the shade in this respect.

Come night time, the ambient lighting brings the cabin to life and lifts the mood even further. The lighting array is really something else, and you won't tire of basking in it, and messing with the endless combinatons of colours. It is these kind of details that make you feel special, that your money was well spent. 

Besides just pleasing the aural senses, the E200 is a gloriously serene place to lounge in too. Our time with the car was spent on some highways down south to Melaka, and the E200 served up classic E-Class attributes. The seats were supple and comfortable and sound levels were impressively hushed. You'd be hard-pressed to find a better car to munch miles in. 

Pros - Surprisingly not a duffer to drive

Now this is something you won't hear very often, which is that the Mercedes E200 handles rather well. Majority of the time, it behaves in a predictable, progressive manner, and the way the suspension responds to your inputs are clean and responsive. 

Further adding to the surprisingly accessible chassis is the tuning of the steering feel. You'd expect a Mercedes-Benz E-Class to have inert and lazy steering feel. Not so. The E200's helm is quite responsive and linear to input.

All this adds up to a car that is very cohesive to drive, as if all the tuning was done by a team, not a bunch of individuals. The BMW 5 Series is still a livelier steer, but the E200 is by no means a vastly inferior machine in the driving stakes. 

Cons - Poor driving position

Much as modern Mercedeses are defined by superb interiors, they are also marred by frankly dodgy driving positions. This really baffles the mind as we are talking about a marque that has been building cars for close to a century.

This phenomena plagues the E200 as well. What are we talking about? Well, the moment you get into the driver's seat, you'd notice that the steering wheel is offset to the left, rather apparently. Then, your pedals offset to the right. That means you are contorted in an unnatural position when operating the car.

Also read: Why the Mercedes-Benz E-Class is the consummate business sedan for you

Making matters worse is the what Mercedes calls a foot rest. It's so small and undersized that only half your left foot gets to rest on it, while the other half is left dangling in an uncomfortable position. We get it, the transmission tunnel robs the footwell of some space, but the G30 BMW 5 Series employing a similar drivetrain layout can get this oh-so-right, Mercedes has no excuse. 

Cons - Iffy ergonomics

Again, while we sing glorious praises about the E200's interior architecture (and rightly so), the user interface and controls can get a touch frustrating. The layout of the buttons and major functions are strewn all over the place, the touchpad in the center stack being the cherry on top of a rather confusing cake. 

Wanna adjust the volume of your music? There's a dial at the center stack, or swipe the controls at the steering wheel. Yes.... swipe. To further confuse you, there are physical buttons that you can press too, making the whole interface experience a confounding one. These are simple things that a car maker of Mercedes' stature should be nailing.

While hooked to Android Auto, we also found that skipping songs was not possible through the steering wheel controls. One would have to use the touchscreen, which defeats having steering controls in the first place. This happened in the E300 AMG Line as well, so it isn't an anomaly. All in all, the user interface is quite frustrating to use. 

Cons - Slightly busy ride at highway speeds

Don't get us wrong, for most part the E200 is quite well-damped to deal with urban roads, soaking up imperfections with minimal fuss. However, things take a strange turn when we took the E200 to presumably its natural habitat, highways.

Yes, the E200 does feel planted and stable at higher speeds, but uncharateristically, the ride comfort then becomes a tad busy. It's not something that will nauseate you, but there is noticeable vertical movements as you plough along at three-figure speeds, in a Mercedes-Benz E-Class, supposedly a limousine honed in Germany's finest highways. 

This slightly disconcerting discovery does pierce the E200's aura of impregnability a little, and dents the overall package slightly, because the drivetrain combo is so slick and punchy. It's a shame because the drivetrain is so capable of delivering and maintaining high speeds, but the damping falls slightly short. 

Conclusion

In many ways, the facelifted Mercedes-Benz E200 Avantgarde is an improvement. It looks better, feels punchier on the move and comes off as a more well-rounded car now, even if some of the fundamental foibles remain, as detailed above. 

However, it is important to remember that this is a facelift exercise, and not an all-new model. Taken that way, the improvements made to the W213 E-Class deserves some praise, particularly as it builds on what it does so well to begin with. 

Our choice however, would be to shell RM 50k more for the E300 AMG Line (RM 375,432). Yes, the same flaws are there in the E300 too, but it is a more complete package. It has more sorted suspension, looks better and possesses an even punchier drivetrain. 

Put it simply, if you wanted a W213 Mercedes-Benz E-Class in your garage previously, the facelift will have just made your decision-making that much simpler. Just remember that the E300 AMG Line is now the sweet spot of the range.