Mercedes-Benz E550 Coupe Review 2010

[Hewitt]

Mercedes-Benz coupes have delivered a unique blend of speed and style going back to the upright 280 SE from the mid-‘60s. They were always two-door versions of the company's staid sedans, sharing the same mechanical bits, but in generally sexier packaging. The debut of the CLK in 1996 led to some confusion over the car's positioning since it abandoned the E-Class badge. But for 2010, Mercedes-Benz reached back into the badge bin to relaunch a real, true E-Class Coupe, ditching the CLK moniker to the digital pages of Wikipedia.

The E-Class Coupe builds on the positive steps taken by the current C-Class, and even outshines the new E Sedan. While the design cues are similar, the Coupe does get its own curvaceous sheetmetal. It shares the larger CL-Class's pillarless design, with lots of glass on display. Sleeker quad headlights, a lower roofline, a more aggressive windshield angle and serious attention paid to the details mean the Coupe scores a super-low 0.24 coefficient of drag, which is remarkable for something that retains a certain amount of aggression. The E Coupe is also shorter than the sedan by about six inches, with five of those coming out of the wheelbase. That generates better manners in the corners – as does the weight loss, which averages about 100 lbs model-to-model..
Mercedes-Benz coupes have delivered a unique blend of speed and style going back to the upright 280 SE from the mid-‘60s. They were always two-door versions of the company's staid sedans, sharing the same mechanical bits, but in generally sexier packaging. The debut of the CLK in 1996 led to some confusion over the car's positioning since it abandoned the E-Class badge. But for 2010, Mercedes-Benz reached back into the badge bin to relaunch a real, true E-Class Coupe, ditching the CLK moniker to the digital pages of Wikipedia.

The E-Class Coupe builds on the positive steps taken by the current C-Class, and even outshines the new E Sedan. While the design cues are similar, the Coupe does get its own curvaceous sheetmetal. It shares the larger CL-Class's pillarless design, with lots of glass on display. Sleeker quad headlights, a lower roofline, a more aggressive windshield angle and serious attention paid to the details mean the Coupe scores a super-low 0.24 coefficient of drag, which is remarkable for something that retains a certain amount of aggression. The E Coupe is also shorter than the sedan by about six inches, with five of those coming out of the wheelbase. That generates better manners in the corners – as does the weight loss, which averages about 100 lbs model-to-model in favor of the more compact Coupe.