The 2023 Mercedes-Benz E-Class has been spotted out testing on public roads. Despite the vast SUV portfolio, Merc still believes the E-Class has its place in the family.

Picture credit:S. Baldauf/SB-Medien. We have paid for these photos and at the photographer’s request, have watermarked them.

What you see here is the 2023 Mercedes-Benz E-Class. It’s still fairly well camouflaged, but our spy photographers say the development of this model is quite far along and the real heavy-duty camouflage was only used internally at Mercedes. Are we looking at a groundbreaking design for the E-Class?

It’s too early to tell obviously, but naturally, you’d think the E-Class would look like a larger version of the all-new Mercedes-Benz C-Class, which in turn looks like a shrunken S-Class. We’d definitely bank on the all-new 2023 Mercedes-Benz E-Class not looking like any of the new EQ range, which is due to hit SA in early 2022.

From what we can see here, the design is long and very E-Class. The headlights and grille are just about visible, but we know that the devil is in the details. Inside, expect the full array of connectivity options as well as semi-autonomous driving tech. The new MBUX tablet-style infotainment screen is highly likely.

When it comes to engines, we suspect that the current crop of 4-cylinder and 6-cylinder engines will be carried over, although they would have been given hybrid electric tech to help keep emissions down and improve economy. For those who are looking forward to the thundering 4.0-litre biturbo V8 in the AMG model, we have some bad news. Autocar is reporting that a plug-in hybrid 2.0-litre turbo will be offered. This will be a very similar setup to the all-new Mercedes-AMG C63.

Expect to see the all-new 2023 Mercedes-Benz E-Class revealed in 2022.

Further Reading

Mercedes-AMG E63 S Review

Mercedes-Benz C-Class Price in South Africa