The current E-Class design introduced many innovations that are not necessarily apparent to the eye. This was the first Mercedes sedan to use aluminum body components extensively, starting with the hood, front fenders, trunk lid, front crossmember and front subframe. Aluminum is lighter and stronger but more expensive than steel. Aluminum amounts to 10 percent of the body's weight. About 37 percent of the total is modern high-strength steel alloys. From the aerodynamic perspective, the E-Class is one of the slipperiest sedans extant. Its 0.27 coefficient of drag is a benchmark for sedans, and helps minimize wind noise and maximize fuel economy.

Before the launch of the gorgeous CLS sedan/coupe, the E-Class was widely considered to be the most successful design among Mercedes' current sedans. The four-headlight theme introduced on the previous-generation E-Class, now the company standard, has been refined in this car. Its front end is lower and its long hood appears to be steeply raked. The E-Class sedan still looks fresh and youthful, yet elegant.

The E-Class wagons will never be mistaken for anything but a wagon. Nonetheless, they are impressively sleek, and some critics find the tear-drop taper of the rear roof more aesthetically pleasing than the trunk deck on the sedans. The wagon's added cargo-passenger flexibility is welcome, and the if E-Class wagons still implies a bit too much stodginess for your taste, there's always the new-for-2006, 469-hp E55 AMG wagon.

The E55 AMG looks meaner than the other E-Class models. With its lower body cladding and huge, 18-inch wheels, the E55 is clearly the raciest and most aggressive-looking E-Class. That said, those body add-ons add slightly more drag, if you can call a 0.28 cd more drag. For those who like the E55 look but not the $80,000-plus price tag, Mercedes offers a couple of body packages that give other E-Class sedans more aggressive tone, including a full AMG sport appearance package. (It might be interesting to have it the other way around, all the AMG performance bits with the standard bodywork.)