Mercedes E-class thirty years old, or older?

It must have been quite a question, in Daimler’s boardrooms in Stuttgart: what should we do with the naming of our mid-range model? You could easily define all other Mercedes, because they had clear type names. Traditionally there was the S-class, from 1979 also the G-class and much longer before that the SL. The 190 also had its own designation. It was succeeded in 1993 by the C-class. Wonderful, but that did pose a problem: what are we going to call the existing model between the C and the S?

E-class became understanding

In 1993 the bullet went through the church and the car that you previously somewhat clumsily described as 200-300 series was renamed E-class. Well, that letter was already on all models without a diesel engine. And it was alphabetical. It was an important decision, because the letter E was expected to last for many decades. That still works: E-class became a concept, with the same weight as ‘5-series’ at BMW. You can even call the step brave, because the W124 was by far the best-selling Mercedes of all time at the time; in 1993 the counter stood at more than two million units. You don’t just give a crowd favorite another name, right? Suppose U2 suddenly starts calling itself ‘You Two’, then no one can find that band anywhere anymore. The name change came along with a major update of the W124, which was in good shape after nine years. Although, technically the model series really kept up with the times.

E-class was accompanied by facelift

The facelift of the E-class mainly involved exterior changes, such as a different grille, while the star moved to the bonnet. The rear was also updated. Logically, the E was dropped from the boot lid as an indication for injection engine. No problem, because carburettors were long gone. Thus the 220E became the E220 and the 200D continued as the E200 Diesel. A propos: four-valve technology was used for the diesels, a world first. It was a nice prelude to the W210 and all E-classes that would follow. In fact, given the electric EQE, the E seems to stand for eternal value.