2021 Mercedes-Benz E-Class facelift in Malaysia – live photos of the E200 Avantgarde and E300 AMG Line

Last week, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia launched the new W213 E-Class facelift, which is available in two variants, namely the E 200 Avantgarde and E 300 AMG Line. Pricing for the former is RM326,943 on-the-road without insurance, while the latter will set you back RM375,432.

These prices take into account the ongoing sales tax exemption, which is 100%, as the latest E-Class is locally assembled (CKD) like the pre-facelift model. You also get a four-year, unlimited-mileage warranty with each purchase.

While we would usually put out comprehensive galleries of the new variants within a few days of a launch, the SOPs currently in place during phase one of the NRP make it difficult to do so. However, thanks to Jason Lai, a sales advisor for Cycle & Carriage Bintang PJ Autohaus, we now have some live photos of the refreshed E-Class for you to check out.

Styling changes at the front include a new front grille that is now slimmer than before, and on the Avantgarde variant, the grille is hexagonal in shape with two slats running across a black lattice. Meanwhile, the AMG Line gets a trapezoidal-shaped nose with a single slat on top of a sea of chrome pins.

Another way to tell the two apart is by looking at the bumper design, with the Avantgarde sporting a wide homeycomb mesh in the lower apron compared to the AMG Line’s vertical bars and prominent faux corner inlets. The AMG Line car also gets bold 19-inch AMG five-twin-spoke wheels, while it’s just 18-inch, non-AMG units for the Avantgarde.

Both come with power domes on the bonnet and two-piece taillights, with the latter replacing the pre-facelift model’s vertical-oriented clusters. Dual exhaust “outlets” are also present, although the accompanying chrome garnish differs slightly between the two styling packages.

Inside, the E 200 and E 300 variants come with the Mercedes-Benz User Experience (MBUX) system as standard, which is part of the facelift, and consists two 12.3-inch displays for the digital instrument cluster and touchscreen infotainment.

The E 300 AMG Line’s cabin comes with black open-pored ash wood trim, an Artico leather dashboard, Nappa leather seats, a Burmester sound system and a sports steering wheel. Moving inside the E 200 Avantgarde, you get a normal steering wheel, light longitudinal-grain aluminium and black open-pored ash wood for the centre console and Artico upholstered seats.

Under the bonnet, it’s still the familiar M264 engine instead of the newer M254, with both cars powered by a 2.0 litre turbocharged four-cylinder unit. In the E 200, the mill serves up 197 PS (194 hp) and 320 Nm of torque, while the E 300 provides 258 PS (255 hp) and 370 Nm. The standard transmission here is a nine-speed 9G-Tronic automatic, with drive sent to the rear wheels.

Naturally, the E 300 is the quicker in a 0-100 km/h sprint, taking just 6.2 seconds to complete the feat, while the E 200 requires 7.4 seconds. The top speed is also higher for the former at 250 km/h instead of 240 km/h.

GALLERY: 2021 W213 Mercedes-Benz E 300 AMG Line