Mercedes-Benz E-Class

Mercedes-Benz E-Class
Mercedes-Benz E 200 Avantgarde (W 212, Facelift)
Overview
Manufacturer	Mercedes-Benz Magna Steyr (1996–2009, 4MATIC only)
Production	1993–present
Body and chassis
Class	Mid-size luxury / Executive car (E)
Layout	Front engine, rear-wheel drive/Four-wheel drive
Chronology
Predecessor	Mercedes-Benz W124 (pre-facelift models, 1984–1993)

W124
Overview
Production	1993–1995
Body and chassis
Body style	4-door sedan 5-door station wagon 2-door coupé 2-door convertible

W210
Overview
Production	1995–2003
Model years	1996–2002
Body and chassis
Body style	4-door sedan 5-door station wagon

W211
Overview
Production	2002–2009
Model years	2003–2009
Body and chassis
Body style	4-door sedan 5-door station wagon
Related	Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class (W219)

Mercedes-Benz W212
Overview
Production	2009–2016
Model years	2010–2016
Body and chassis
Body style	4-door sedan 5-door station wagon
Layout	Front engine, rear-wheel drive / four-wheel drive (4Matic)
Related	Mercedes-Benz W218

Mercedes-Benz C207
Mercedes-Benz E 350 CDI (C207)
Overview
Production	2009–present
Model years	2010–present
Body and chassis
Body style	2-door coupé 2-door convertible
Related	Mercedes-Benz C-Class (W204)

Mercedes-Benz W213
Mercedes-Benz E 200 (W213)
Overview
Production	2016–present
Model years	2017–present
Body and chassis
Body style	4-door sedan 5-door station wagon 2-door coupe

The Mercedes-Benz E-Class is a range of executive cars manufactured by German automaker Mercedes-Benz in various engine and body configurations produced since 1993, marketed worldwide across five generations.

Prior to 1993, Mercedes-Benz offered the same category of car under a non-unified naming structure. The E initially stood for Einspritzmotor (German for fuel injection engine); a new feature in volume production vehicles at the time that the E-Class first appeared, with the E as a suffix to the engine nomenclature (e.g. 230 E) in the 1960s. It was not until the launch of the facelifted W124 in 1993 that the E was used as a prefix (i.e., E 220) and the model referred to officially as the E-Class (or E-Klasse). At this time all Mercedes cars used fuel injection and the company felt it was no longer necessary to add this as a distinguishing feature. All generations of the E-Class have offered either rear-wheel drive or Mercedes' 4Matic four-wheel drive system.

Historically, the E-Class is Mercedes-Benz' best-selling model, with more than 13 million sold by 2015. The First E-Klasse series was originally available as four-door sedan, five-door station wagon, 2 door coupe and 2 door convertible. The W212 series in 2009 reintroduced the two-door coupé and two-door convertible. Before that, the Mercedes-Benz CLK-Class (1997 to 2009) design and styling was derived from the E-Class although technically it was based on the mechanical underpinnings of the smaller C-Class. Due to the E-Class's size and durability, it has filled many market segments, from personal cars to frequently serving as taxis in European and Asian countries, as well special-purpose vehicles (e.g. police or ambulance modifications) from the factory.

The first modern midsize Mercedes was the W120 'Ponton' 180 of 1953. Sharing its engineering with the R121 190 SL of 1955, the Ponton was a stylish sedan with a four-cylinder engine. A larger-engined W121 190 appeared in 1958.