Independent Reviews of Mercedes-Benz New and Used Cars

Featured Mercedes-Benz Review: ‘A CLASSIER E-CLASS CABRIO’

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Car and Driving’s Independent Used Review of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class Cabriolet [A238] (2020 - 2023)

By Jonathan Crouch
Added 4^th August, 2023 , updated 17^th July, 2023

The improvements made to this A238-series E-Class Cabriolet - the more efficient engines, the smarter looks, the extra technology - were certainly welcome but the essence of its appeal actually changed very little. As we said when testing its predecessor, what Mercedes-Benz did with this car was something so simple that it sounds blindingly obvious. Assuming that it’s not lashing down with rain, here is a convertible you can use for roof-down motoring almost whenever you want. It can be cold or windy. Your journey may be at high speed. Or it may include rear seat passengers. Either way, it matters not. In no other comparable soft-top will you find yourself retracting the hood quite so often. True, there are rivals you could choose that’d be more dynamically rewarding to drive, but as Mercedes well knows, that kind of thing doesn’t tend to be prioritised by many likely buyers. These people will probably attach much greater value to the way that this E-Class Cabriolet will rack up huge distances in exquisite comfort - and with impressive efficiency. So, how to summarise? Well, in driving this car and in owning it, you feel another, more elegant level away from owners of the brand’s less aspirational C-Class Cabriolet. And a cut above the sporting convertible models that car competed with in its period, cabrios like BMW’s 4 Series and Audi’s A5. There’s a maturity and a class here that these sportier rivals lack. They could never be considered as a wise and cost-efficient alternative to spending considerably more on a Maserati GranCabrio or a BMW 8 Series Convertible. This Mercedes could be. And that about sums it up.

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