2021 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Trim Levels with Comparisons & Configurations.

The Mercedes E-Class is one of the top-rated luxury midsize cars on the market. Reviewers love the interior, performance, and other aspects. The luxury midsize class is a highly competitive one, so the fact that the E-Class rises to the top is quite significant.

The E-Class has a lot of great features, but it is important to know how to get the most bang for your buck when it comes to making the final purchase. Since it is a luxury model, you want to be sure that you are getting good value and that you are happy with the configuration. This applies to mass market vehicles too, of course, but the higher base price of luxury models makes it that much more important to get the right specification.

The E-Class last went through a total redesign in the 2017 and 2018 model years. In 2019 and 2020, some of the E-Class's trims were upgraded to contain more powerful engines. The 2021 model adds on a new exterior design, an updated infotainment system, and a trim that gets a mild hybrid drivetrain.

The E-Class has been a core part of the Mercedes lineup for several years now, and the 2021 version combines the previous years' engine upgrades with other design refreshes, making it the perfect model year to get on board. If you are interested in a new luxury car, the E-Class should definitely be on your list. However, the E-Class handles configurations and trims a little differently than you might be used to.

In this post, you can learn about the configuration and trim choices for the 2021 E-Class. That will provide you with enough information to decide about which E-Class configuration is best for you and your car needs.

A Note About Body Styles
The E-Class has four different body styles, and the choice of body style determines which of four trims are available. The most basic body style is the sedan. The sedan comes in all four trims. The coupe, wagon, and convertible trims each come in two of the four trims.
The convertible, coupe, and sedan have a fairly low amount of cargo room, with the wagon having the most of any style. Choosing the right E-Class for you therefore means deciding on an engine and a body style, since those two factors are the main differences between trim levels. Then you can add on options.

 

Compare the 2021 E-Class 350 vs 450. What is the difference?

The base trim of the E-Class is the 350. Only the sedan comes in the 350. The 350 packs a long list of standard features as well as the weakest engine in the lineup, a turbo V4 rated for 255 horsepower. That's still plenty of power to have a good time behind the wheel.

The performance on the 350 is excellent. It's comfortable and smooth, but still sporty, especially around corners. You can switch between Comfort, Eco, Sport, and Sport+ driving modes in order to adjust the ride feel and response to your liking.

The 350 gets good fuel efficiency for this level of power, managing 31 highway MPG and 22 in the city. That is strong for a luxury model where power is a priority, and it's more efficient than the non-hybrid upgrade engines.

The 350 has a long list of standard features. The touchscreen is over 12 inches across and it also has a large digital instrument cluster and a touchpad. It has USB ports, Bluetooth, Android Auto, Apple Car Play, onboard navigation, and plenty of more standard tech features.

In addition to its tech, the 350 has comfort and convenience features, such as synthentic leather upholstery, a sunroof, keyless entry, remote start, heating and power adjustments for the front row, and dual climate controls. The seating is roomy and comfortable in both rows. It also has a stellar sound system, the FrontBass stereo.

The included safety features on the 350 start with the Mercedes Pre-Safe and Pre-Safe Sound suite. It adds on driver attention monitoring, pedestrian detection, collision detection, and more. The 350 comes with a rear camera as well.

The 350 trim has a large array of options and packages. First of all, the base drivetrain comes with rear wheel drive, which you can upgrade to all-wheel drive as a standalone feature. This is a good choice if the local weather or road conditions require AWD, or if you just prefer to drive that way.

The first package you can add is called AMG Line Exterior, and it includes sport brakes and some AMG branding and styling changes to the outside. The Exterior Lighting package upgrades the headlights to be adaptive and to have more power.

Moving to the interior, the Warmth and Comfort package gives heating elements to the steering wheel and the front armrests. The Premium package adds satellite radio, upgrades the sound system, and gives you rear cross traffic alert, parallel park assist, and surround cameras for parking. The Driver Assistance package gives you adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, traffic sign recognition, and more automate safety tools.

There are plenty of stand-alone options as well. You can upgrade the synthetic leather to Nappa leather, or add massaging or ventilation to the front seats. You can get more USB ports, wireless charging pads, a heads up display, and gesture controls for tech, or a panoramic sunroof for more views. For performance, adaptive air suspension is available.

The E-Class 450 sedan version has the same feature set as the 350, including options. It has one new option, which is rear seat heating. It also gets the next engine level and included all wheel drive. The second engine is a twin-turbo V6 rated for 362 horsepower, a big step up that adds a lot of speed. It has a mild-hybrid feature called EQ Boost that helps to improve the fuel economy.

The 450 is the first trim for the wagon, coupe, and convertible models of the E-Class. The wagon has the same feature set and engine as the sedan version of the 450. The coupe and convertible come with rear-wheel drive with optional all wheel drive available, plus standard leather upholstery and with all of the elements of the Premium package included.

Compare the 2021 Mercedes E-Class 450 vs 53 Trims. What is the difference?

The 53 is the mild hybrid drivetrain for the E-Class, and it is new for 2021. The wagon is not available with the 53 trim. The 53 and the 450 share the same base set of features and available options for the sedan, coupe, and convertible.

The 53 has some new and unique options as well. You can add a flat-bottom steering wheel, another sound system upgrade, an air purifier, and a set of soft-closing doors.

The 53 trim has a few extra standard features as well, which are focused on performance. It has an AMG sports exhaust that produces an amazing engine sound. You also get a sport-tuned suspension to take advantage of the bigger and more powerful drivetrain, along with new performance brakes.

The big difference between the 450 and the 53 is that drivetrain. It's a twin-turbo V6 like the 450's engine, but it pushes the horsepower up to 429. That's another major improvement to the power. It also has the EQ Boost feature for more efficiency.

Compare the 2021 Mercedes E-Class 53 vs 63 S Trims. What is the difference?

The 63 S is the top trim for the E-Class. It is only available with the sedan and the wagon body styles. This trim is just like the 53 in terms of features and options. The only difference is the engine.

The drivetrain on the 63 S is on a whole new level. It's a twin-turbo V8 that is rated for a massive 603 horsepower. The 63 comes with all wheel drive, but no EQ Boost. This is the peak of the E-Class's performance, and with almost 200 more horsepower than the 53's engine, it sets a new standard for acceleration and power.

The 63 S's engine is approaching sports car performance, and you'll feel the difference right away. If you want to experience the best of the E-Class's performance, this is the trim for you.

Which Trim to Choose?

The big advantage of the E-Class's trim configuration is that almost all of the features and options are available for all trims. That list is very substantial. Other luxury vehicles limit a lot of the tech or comfort features so that they are not available on the base trim, raising the real cost of buying the car by a lot.

If you want the best value, the choice is very simple. Get the sedan in the 350 trim and choose the options and packages you want. The interior quality is amazing, the feature set is rich, and the base engine is still a ton of fun to drive.

If you want the most power, then you also have a simple choice: take the 63 S. Pick the sedan for a sleeker look or the wagon for more room.

For anything else, things get quite a bit more complicated. One good idea is to start out with the body style you want. For example, if you are committed to the convertible, that simplifies your choices to two trims. The convertible is a unique experience, the wagon has the most space, the sedan is the least expensive, and the coupe is stylish.

If you can't settle on a body style, the next best bet is to test drive the different engines and see which ones you think are worth the money. The difference in price can be very large, so it's important to have first-hand experience with each one. There's no better way to determine if they are good value for you.

The good news is that no matter which trim you choose, you are sure to get a great buy. The E-Class is the top-rated model in this category for a reason. None of these engines are anything less than amazing, and the feature set is outstanding on all of the trims. In addition, the way trims mostly affect engines means that it is easy to configure the feature set you want with just the base trim.

The bottom line is that there is no wrong way to build the 2021 Mercedes-Benz E-Class. You will wind up with an amazing and fun vehicle that is loaded up with all of the best and most recent features, a top-shelf interior, and a thoroughly enjoyable performance profile. It's just a matter of deciding which specification is the best for your budget and how you plan to drive the E-Class on a day to day basis, as well as how much horsepower matters to you as part of the driving experience.