The Mercedes-Benz E-Class has set the standard for midsize luxury sedans for more than 75 years now. But things are changing rapidly in the auto industry, and even Mercedes-Benzes can’t sit around and rest on their laurels. So, a new E-Class has to be something truly special. Well, let’s find out if this one is.

Few cars have as much history as the Mercedes-Benz E-Class. Yet it continues to play an essential role in moving the brand ever forward in terms of technology and new design elements. 2024 launches the sixth generation of this midsize luxury sedan.

It looks much like a scaled-down version of the flagship S-class, with stately proportions, fine details, and elegant lighting. But that also means it gets the same retractable door handles, which, to be honest, have outlived their novelty. We get it, aero efficiency, wow factor, but sometimes it’s a hassle waiting for them to deploy, not to mention wintertime when there’s a fresh coating of ice covering them.

No such reservations inside, where an open airy feel, supple leather, and natural grain wood trim are just the starting points of a very luxurious journey. Along the way, you’re immersed in active ambient lighting that will have you feeling like you just got transported to some alternate universe every time you get behind the wheel. Even with very high expectations going in, we were not disappointed in any way.

Rear seat room is plentiful, while fronts are more Euro firm than plush; the gauges look fantastic, and Benz’s augmented reality navigation in the gauge cluster is still one of the best setups in the business. Not to mention the available Superscreen, which not only gives the passenger their own screen but blends it all together into one amazing-looking dash-wide display.

It’s all run by a new third generation of the Mercedes-Benz User Experience, with virtually everything now software driven instead of hardware-based, meaning just about anything can be updated at any time. It includes way more features and gadgets than we had time to fully explore, and, yes, that includes an in-dash selfie cam.

An E 350 is the base model, equipped with a 255-horsepower 2.0-liter I4 turbo sending power to the rear wheels. This E 450 comes standard with 4MATIC all-wheel drive, along with a 3.0-liter inline-six turbo tuned to 375 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque. Both engines are aided by a 48-volt mild-hybrid system and work with a nine-speed automatic transmission.

Thanks to comprehensive drive modes, the E-Class’s ride can be as smooth or as sporty as any midsize luxury car out there, and it continued to impress when it came time to get some numbers at Mason Dixon Dragway.

Here, the ‘E’ put some serious power down in a hurry, as we were off to 60 in just 4.2 seconds. Great all-wheel-drive grip too, with almost immediate thrust throwing us back in the seat a little as the car pounced off the line with just a slight chirp of the tires, and it kept pulling strongly all the way down the track. Automatic shifts were very aggressive at first, but they seemed to smooth out in higher gears towards the end of the track, with our best quarter-mile run coming in at 12.8 seconds and 109 mph.

The 450 did great in our handling course too; turn-ins were quick and direct with all-wheel-drive delivering plenty of grip, feeling highly composed and classy throughout the whole exercise.

If stability systems or torque vectoring were happening, it was so far in the background that it was hardly noticeable. What we could really notice is the four-wheel steering. It leaps into action with urgency at times, pivoting you much quicker than you may be expecting. It’s part of an optional Airmatic package which also includes active dampers. Those dampers aided in delivering very calm and stable stops from 60 in our panic braking test, averaging just 99 feet with minimal nosedive.

Government Fuel Economy Ratings with the six-cylinder are 22 City, 31 Highway, and 25 Combined. We averaged a good 28.2 mpg of Premium. Rating an average Energy Impact Score, using 11.9-barrels of oil yearly, with 5.9-tons of CO2 emissions.

E-Class pricing starts with the 350 at $63,450, the 450 4MATIC begins at $69,250.

So, the new E-Class, and specifically our 2024 Mercedes-Benz E 450 4MATIC, does not exactly present a bargain scenario, but it is a perfect example of “you get what you pay for” situation. With 75 years of setting the standard in the midsize luxury sedan field behind them, Mercedes-Benz is not looking back, they’re pushing the brand forward with new levels of luxury and tech. All to make the premium Mercedes-Benz experience more desirable than ever.

The reborn GMC Hummer all-electric pickup delivered all the off-road chops we expect from a Hummer, plus the supercar-like acceleration of a high-performance EV that we didn’t expect. Well, now things have come full circle, as the Hummer is once again an SUV. So, let’s burn up some rubber, and some electrons, and learn what’s next for Hummer.

What a roller coaster the Hummer has been on. In seemingly no time at all it went from aspirational military-inspired ruggedness, to the poster boy for excess and environmental irresponsibility; and then just as quickly, it disappeared altogether as a casualty of GM’s 2009 bankruptcy.

Well, then under the GMC banner, the 2022 Hummer EV Pickup flipped the script by becoming the ultimate pollution-free EV at a time when EVs were just becoming mainstream. Since this 2024 GMC Hummer EV SUV more closely resembles the original, it looks like we’ve come full circle.

Most of the same stuff that made the pickup version so unique and so awesome are here: interactive LED lighting, Crab Walk, Super Cruise, Extract Mode, Watts to Freedom… just slightly less of it as the SUV version has four fewer modules in its double-stacked battery assemblies that make up this Ultium platform.
This 3X uses the same three-motor arrangement as the pickup, one up front and two in the rear, but “only” 830 horsepower here, due to the smaller battery; though 11,500 lbs. of torque is plenty enough for any land-based automotive task we can imagine. As to range, if you opt for the Extreme Off-Road package, which comes with mud-terrain tires, you’ll be limited to just 298 miles; but the standard setup here is rated for 314.
We saw as much as 305 available in the gauge display, so we planned a 302-mile road trip and still had an indicated 46 miles remaining at the end of it, putting us on pace for a range of 348 miles.

With a 9-inch-shorter wheelbase, the SUV’s tidier package makes for better off-roading agility; that is, if you’re comfortable hammering through trails in your six-figure EV showpiece. And the SUV has also brought a few new things to the Hummer portfolio such as satellite-based trail mapping as part of the myGMC app and a Power Station onboard generator that gives you 19.2-kW of power for charging things out on the trail, including other EVs.

Much like the Hummer EV Pickup, it can be a handful when you give it a foot-full, as Watts to Freedom launches are no joke. Then only 3.6 seconds to 60 for a borderline cinematic experience with unique displays and sounds along for the ride.

Nothing is held back here. Full power is unleashed whether there’s enough grip for it or not, so you tend to get pulled in different directions as you take off and, for the most part, the whole way down the track. We cleared the quarter in 12.3 seconds at 112 mph as power never really lets up.

It’s easy to say that an 8,500-lbs. vehicle probably shouldn’t be moving that fast, but a few trips through our handling course reveals it has more than enough stuff to handle that weight. If you’re not afraid of some body roll, you can push it quite hard, and it will turn in without issues; the four-wheel steering clearly helps. And it dealt with that weight just fine in panic braking runs too, stopping us from 60 in a respectable 130 feet with no drama.

With everything forward of the rear seats the same as the Hummer Pickup, the interior is very familiar. There’s plenty of comfort and space for three in the rear seats, plus lots of flexibility. Cargo area is accessed through a side-opening, power-operated door that reveals 35.9 cubic-feet of space, which expands to 81.8 cubic-feet with the seatbacks folded; and of course, there’s also 11.3 cubic-feet in the front under hood cargo area.

But even with the shift to battery power, this Hummer remains very thirsty, using 63 kWh of energy per 100 miles. Pricing for this 3X starts at $106,945, the two-motor 2X at $98,845. Both the same as the Pickup.

While it can seem more ridiculous than practical, it’s hard not to love the reborn Hummer. Not only is it a purely unique automotive experience, but it’s a rolling example of what’s possible with battery power, while at the same time being incredibly fun and surprisingly easy to drive. The 2024 GMC Hummer EV SUV delivers much the same macho bravado of the original Hummer H1, but does it for a new era.