The first time I laid eyes on a Mercedes-Benz E-Class cabriolet was almost 28 years ago. Sidney Pollack’s latest film, The Firm, featuring Tom Cruise and Gene Hackman was playing in theatres. Tom played a young lawyer named Mitch McDeere, who made it into a prestigious law firm. After the money started flowing, Mitch upgraded his car to a 1993 Mercedes-Benz 300CE cabriolet.
Having grown up with Mercedes-Benz E-Classes in my family – our family car was a W124 Mercedes-Benz 300TE wagon at the time – I thought that the cabriolet was pretty cool (well compared to our wagon anyway) with its drop-top and open air motoring experience.
Fast forward to 2021 and having reviewed a number of E-Classes now, this is the first time I’ve had an opportunity to review the modern day equivalent of Tom Cruise’s character’s car in the form of the 2021 Mercedes-Benz E450 4matic convertible.
What is it?
The history of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class variants stretches back more than half a century ago with the Mercedes-Benz Stroke/8 Coupes of the 114 model series, and almost 30 years ago with the cabriolets of the 124 model series.
Today, Mercedes-Benz still offers more convertibles in its model line-up compared to other auto makers. The 2021 E450 Cabriolet finds itself in an interesting spot, sitting above the smaller and less opulent Mercedes C300 and C43 cabriolets at a price premium of around $30,000 more. My test vehicle stickered in at just under $100,000, with the base vehicle starting around $88,000 Canadian.
Four-seater convertibles are relatively rare now, even more so with the sumptuous Mercedes-Benz S-Class cabriolet having been put out to pasture. With the S-class having been phased out, the E-Class Cabriolet now sits at the top of the food chain when it comes to four-seater Mercedes convertibles.
As far as the competition, the E450’s archrivals include the Audi A5 Cabriolet and the BMW 8 Series cabriolet. BMW’s 4-Series Cabriolet is more of a competitor with the C-Class cabriolet, though in M440i or M4 form, you can certainly spec it out to a similar price as the E450.
An update in mid-2020 refreshed the E-Class Cabriolet’s styling, bringing it closer in appearance to the latest models in Mercedes’ range. It was given a new grille, LED matrix headlights and new bumpers, along with new LED rear lights, alloy wheel designs and paint options.
Compared to the relatively small C-Class cabriolet’s trunk, the E450’s cargo capacity is spacious enough for a proper weekend trip for four. A clever power foldaway partition can extend the cargo space when the roof is up. Bulky items can be fed through into the cabin as well, thanks to its folding rear seats. This makes the E450 one of just a handful of convertibles that can almost double as a family car for shorter trips.
Under the hood is a 3.0-litre turbocharged straight-six engine with Mercedes’ EQ Boost mild hybrid system, producing 362 horsepower, 369 lb-ft of torque from a low 1,700 rpms onwards. The transmission is Benz’s nine-speed automatic gearbox. This engine / transmission combo is also shared with the 2021 E450 4Matic sedan and is abetted by the 48-volt integrated start-generator mild hybrid system that can deliver up to 21 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque for brief boosts of power on-demand.
Also shared with the E450 sedan is the excellent and always-on 4MATIC all-wheel-drive system, making the E450 cabriolet an all-weather car when fitted with the proper tires. This is indeed the first time an E-Class Cabriolet can be ordered with the company’s 4MATIC system.
The Cabriolet’s relatively low sales precluded any major investment in restyling the rear end, so cleverly, the redesigned 2021 E 450 coupe’s elongated taillight design now means the two cars look similar from the rear.
What about the interior?
The good news carries on inside the interior. To support its sporty image, the E-Class Cabriolet has a slightly lowered ride height (by 15 mm) compared to its sedan and wagon siblings. The cabin is still relatively easy to get into and doesn’t require stooping too low. Incidentally, the track width is also up 67 mm at the front and 68 mm at the rear when compared to the previous model.
Once you’re in there, you’ll be able to see why the E450 Cabriolet feels every inch a baby S-Class Cabriolet. Featuring a multi-layered insulated roof, four full sized seats, going topless has never looked or felt so good.
My test vehicle’s interior and exterior colour combination was certainly tailored more towards the luxury end of the spectrum, looking more fitting at the golf clubhouse versus at outside night club.
Finished in Silver Blue Metallic with a dark blue top and a two-toned Macchiato Beige and Yacht Blue Nappa leather interior, it was a bit too “mature” of a colour palette for me personally but looked and felt extremely classy.
There was no denying the quality of the finishings, from the dark open pore ash wood to the satin finished aluminum buttons. Just about every surface was wrapped in or cover with expensive materials.
Technology galore
As with just about all Mercedes-Benz models these days, the E450 Cabriolet’s dash is dominated by the two large 12.3 inch LCD screens. The screen in front of the driver serves as the virtual instrument gauge cluster and the latter as the infotainment system.
The system features the latest version of the MBUX (Mercedes-Benz User Interface) system and is controlled with the combination of a touchscreen, a touchpad on the centre console, and Blackberry Bold-like touch control buttons in the steering wheel.
Compared to BMW’s iDrive system, the touchpad is less intuitive and precise. At least the touchscreen works well.
The system also features a navigation display with augmented reality technology plus intelligent voice control with natural speech recognition which is activated with the keywords “Hey Mercedes”.
MBUX’s brilliant 3D high-resolution graphics and animations really do compliment the high-end ambience of the E450 cabriolet. Combined with the 64 colour LED ambient lighting system, the whole thing just screams luxury, but in the very nicest way of course.
When the acoustically enhanced soft top is lowered (in under 20 seconds mind you, and up to speeds of 50 km/hr), the E450 Cabriolet coddles with its many features. This includes sun-reflecting leather and an Airscarf neck-level heater that blows warm air around your neck to keep both front occupants warm even at low outside temperatures.
The innovative AirCap system reduces wind turbulence and wind noise in the interior by way of a rising windshield air deflector complimented by a secondary deflector between the rear head rests.
My 2021 E450 4matic Cabriolet was also fitted with standard collision mitigation automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, an excellent 360-degree surround-view camera system, and automatic parking assistance.
As an optional extra, there was also a Driver Assistance Package with adaptive cruise control that reduced the speed for curves, traffic sign recognition that adjusted cruise control speed, active lane control, and automatic lane changes at the tap of the turn signal stalk.
How does it drive?
“Relaxed” is probably the word that best describes the E450’s driving experience. It’s quickly apparent that the Cabriolet isn’t just about speed but caters to a relaxed and unflustered approach to motoring. The car is impressively smooth but yet steering inputs are precise and the handling is balanced. Even with the roof down, passengers can speak to each other without shouting.
Put your foot down and the buttery smooth twin turbocharged 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder engine can still haul a**. The healthy 362 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque moves the cabriolet without any issue and the 4Matic all-wheel-drive system puts down power where it is needed most.
The only caveat is that if you’re going to attack country roads regularly, you might be happier with the more sport-focused Mercedes-AMG E53 cabriolet or even a BMW M440i xDrive cabriolet.
I could easily spend days in the multi-adjustable heated and cooled front seats. They’re absolutely amazing. Two adults can fit into the back seat of the E450 cabriolet, but they’d probably not want to stay too long due to the upright seatback angle and the limited legroom.
Final thoughts
While Mercedes’ latest E450 Cabriolet isn’t the fastest or sportiest car, it can still hold its own and is very capable of impressing with its luxurious features and classy looks.
Adjectives such as “elegant”, “sporty” and “luxurious” are personified by the two-door coupe and cabriolet of the E-Class. Like a typical Benz, exemplary safety and comprehensive long-distance comfort were high on the priority list versus outright aesthetic finesse.
To this day, these strengths continue to make the E-Class Coupes and Cabriolets so successful. I’d hazard a guess that even Tom Cruise’s character would be impressed.
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