The Mercedes-Benz E-Class, a staple vehicle for all those who have just arrived, had recently received upgrades in Malaysia. Although saying that the limousine got an upgrade is an understatement — nearly everything except the drivetrain and chassis.

To start with what remains, the engine powering the E-Class is a 2.0-litre turbocharged tuned two ways to split up the E 200 and E 300. So, the E 200 runs with 197hp and 320Nm while the E 300 has 258hp and 370Nm. Both tunes are piped down the 9G-Tronic automatic transmission for 0-100s of 7.4s for the E 200 and 6.2s for the E 300. As for top speed, only 10kph splits the variants, with the E 200 achieving 240kph and the E 300 hitting 250kph.

With the bones out of the way, here’s the crispy skin. The E 200 Avantgarde feature a sleek new grille flanked by newly-designed LED headlamps, and the bonnet has received a couple of attractive bumps, called power domes. New LED taillights are debuts at the rear. An 18-inch five-twin spoke light-alloy wheel complements the E 200’s new bits.

As for the E 300 AMG Line, the limousine wears a new bumper akin to the AMG Performance model and 19-inch AMG five-twin spoke light-allow wheels. The MULTIBEAM LED headlamps are upgraded with ULTRA RANGE high beam, too.

Both E-Class wears revised rears, which can be seen with a new bumper, new boot lid and split tail lamps. The tail lamps inner design has also been changed for all models.

As for the interior, expect it to be as luxurious as you think. The E-Class comes complete with the genuine leather steering wheel, high-gloss black finish, longitudinal-grain aluminium trim for the E 200 Avantgarde and open-pore black ash wood trim for the E 300 AMG Line. The material that wraps your seats is highly dependant on the variant you choose — ARTICO leather in the E 200 and genuine leather in the E 300.

Naturally, the latest generation MBUX multimedia system would find its way into the E-Class and be displayed on two 12.3-inch displays that make up the Widescreen Cockpit. Swiping along with the Touch Control capacitive buttons on the steering wheel engages the instrument cluster and the media display.

In fact, the entire steering wheel is capacitive to become part of the driving assistance system. By making it capacitive, the steering wheel now knows if the driver is holding the wheel or not in semi-automated mode. A pad with sensors on the rim determines if the driver is holding on to the wheel. If not, a warning cascade will start and then ends with the Emergency Brake Assist when the driver doesn’t respond after some time.

All E-Class limousines come standard with Active Brake Assist, which prevents hitting stationary vehicles and pedestrians at typical city speeds, depending on situations. The E 300 adds to the list with Active Parking Assist with PARKTRONIC and 360-degree camera, which automates parking. Driving Assistance package, which includes Active Distance Assist DISTRONIC, Active Steering Assist, Active Brake Assist, Active Lane Keeping Assist, Active Blind Spot Assist and PRE-SAFE PLUS, are also in the E 300.

The Urban Guard Vehicle Protection is available for the E-Class. The anti-theft comprises an alarm system plus tow-away protection with visual and audible warning, alarm siren, interior monitoring and pre-installation for theft and parking collision. Drivers are notified of parking damage or theft through the Mercedes me app.

The E 200 Avantgarde is priced at RM326,943.19 and RM375,432,19 for the E 300 AMG Line. Both prices are retail and with tax exemption. Step Up Agility Financing Plan is available for the E-Class, whereby you only pay RM2,388 per month for the E 200 and RM2,988 for the E 300 AMG Line.