With the economy still in question, car sales continue to suffer, no matter what the brand, or how well-heeled the customer. So as Mercedes-Benz prepared the launch of their all-new E-class, they made the decision to hold nothing back. They wanted to make their mid-size sedan and coupe as appealing as the flagship S-Class, but for a lot less money. Now it’s time to see if they’ve succeeded.

The E-Class is the proverbial backbone of Mercedes-Benz, and the all-new 2010 edition arrives with an edgier look and more techno-goodies than we can count. 

Joining the classic sedan is a new E-Class Coupe, replacing the CLK.

We tested both the sedan and coupe side by side. While our duo shared the same deep black finish, and crease styling theme, each body style has plenty of unique details.

Let’s dissect the sedan first. Both in Luxury and Sport forms, it is more aggressively-styled, borrowing elements from the ConceptFASCINATION show car. 

Oval front lamps have given way to wedgy housings, with hockey-stick LED driving lamps below. Still, our Sport model’s tri-bar grille is most familiar, as is the standup three-pointed star. 

Strong fender flares and brawny character lines lead back to a thick rear also decorated with LEDs, along with dual exhaust cutouts. 

The 5-passenger interior is less dramatic, defined by lots of wood and fine grained upholstery, but now filled with S-Class like luxury and technology.

Our sedan’s multicontoured seats look flat, but use active bolsters to help maintain body position during cornering.

Much of the new technology is for safety’s sake.  Standouts include Nightview Assist, Adaptive Highbeam Assist, and Lane Keep Assist.  There’s even standard Attention Assist that monitors your inputs and will alert you if it thinks you’re falling asleep at the wheel.

And in addition to the normal front and side impact airbags, there are now two front pelvic airbags and one for the driver’s knees.

In the center of it all is Mercedes’ latest, and now standard COMAND interface, it governs the sound system, Bluetooth interface, and available navigation.

The sedan’s rear seat is both comfortable and spacious, and the low lip trunk provides a sizeable 19.1 cubic feet of space. 

The E-Class coupe sheds both wheelbase and length, for an even more athletic shape. 

You instantly think it’s capable thanks to a more open, twin-bar grille that surrounds an oversized star logo.

From there, lines flow pass its clamshell hood and along frameless doors and a pillarless greenhouse for a true two-door hardtop design.

Taillights and rear deck treatments are also sharper, for a nicely dynamic rear-view. 

The Coupe’s interior is a more intimate, four-seat layout, but the standard panoramic sunroof keeps it from feeling confined. 

Other differences include less wood and chrome, a dark surround to the five-gauge cluster, sportier bucket seats, plus steering wheel and console mounted shifters compared to the sedan’s column mounted flip switch. 

The rear seat is expectedly tighter than that of the sedan, especially in legroom. The 15.9 cubic foot trunk is also smaller, but still accommodating. 

Power for the E-Class is carryover. The E350 is equipped with a 3.5-liter V6 with 268-horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque; with the E550’s 5.5-liter V8 doling out 382-horsepower and 391 pound-feet of torque. 

Both tied to a 7-speed automatic which feeds the rear wheels for now. 

A 4MATIC all-wheel drive sedan will be available later in the model year, along with the road-scorching E63 AMG, and a super thrifty E350 BlueTech clean diesel. 

At the track, the E350 sedan will trot from 0 to 60 in 7.0 seconds, with a quarter mile of 15.5 seconds at 92 miles per hour.  The 3.5 seven-speed combo isn’t a powerhouse, but it’s a decent performer with quick shifts.

The multi-link suspension with standard Agility Control yields a very nimble response without a harsh ride. Throughout our test the sedan remained firmly planted with plenty of grip.

Brakes were impressively solid too, with virtually no dive and minimal fade. Our 124 foot average from 60 to 0 rates great. 

The E550 Coupe conquered our 0 to 60 run in just 5.6 seconds, with a fast quarter mile of 14.1 seconds at 105 miles per hour. Power never stopped building, with the deep and throaty exhaust note just egging us on.

Through the cones, our E550 Coupe felt a good bit stiffer than the E350 Sedan thanks to the standard Dynamic Handling Suspension’s adjustable shocks and modified throttle response.  It was actually a little twitchy, especially at lower speeds.  But the faster we went, the more precise it became. 

Our only disappointment were the brakes. Stops were solid, but at 135 feet from 60 to 0, a tad long with noticeable fade.

Mercedes-Benz has honed E-Class aerodynamics to make them sip fuel like smaller rivals. Our slippery E350 Sedan has Government Fuel Economy Ratings of 17 city/24 highway on Premium gas, with a 23.6 miles per gallon test loop.

Ditto the E550 Coupe with 15 city/23 highway, and 21.5 miles per gallon on mixed roads.

Pricewise, the E-Class is also a better value than last year.  The Sedan starts are $49,475. That’s a drop of about $4,800.  The Coupe begins at $48,925, or about the same as the less well equipped CLK.

So competitors beware.  The new 2010 E-Class is even more formidable than before. With artistic styling, top drawer luxury and technology, and the addition of a new coupe, the “E-Class” remains the spear carrier of the Mercedes-Benz lineup.

This is easily the best handling Camry we’ve driven.