Mercedes-Benz gave the world a sneak peek of their new E-Class series’ interior at CES 2016 and teased the public on what’s due this next year. Yesterday [Sunday, January 10 2016], Mercedes released all the details on the 2017 E-Class and what they entail is most definitely impressive.
The technology of this release is leaps and bounds ahead of anything Mercedes has ever put out. The company itself has been quoted to say that this new car is “the most advanced vehicle in the Mercedes-Benz product portfolio.”
The standout feature of this model is the Drive Pilot feature. This is a semi-autonomous system that can handle highway driving up to 130 mph and up to 81 mph when road markers “are unclear or non-existent.”
The new E-Class can also park and un-park itself with the help of an app on the driver’s phone. The model is also equipped with touch-sensitive controls on the steering wheel, allowing the driver to control the user interface using swipe motions. The user interface of the 2017 E-Class has been redesigned and now sports a 12.3 inch display, almost as large as the Tesla screen. The car will also come with V2V and V2I (vehicle to vehicle and vehicle to infrastructure) technology, which allows it to receive signals from nearby cars and streetlights.
The car will launch in the US with a turbocharged 4-cylinder engine that pumps out 241 horsepower. There is no definite word, but a new AMG and plug-in hybrid will most likely also surface in 2017. The new E-Class will be available in the US mid-2016.
