So following the teasers and previews Mercedes-Benz treated us to, the first official pictures of the new 2016 Mercedes E-Class have now hit the web. The car will also get a formal online unveiling prior to its world debut at the Detroit Motor Show later this month.

For now, let’s check out these leaked photos of the 2016 Mercedes E-Class and see what’s new over the current generation, the W212. As you would expect, the design is still very, very conservative, which is frankly a bit disappointing after what we saw in the preview sketch. That said, the new E does look a little less boring than what’s currently on offer.

Hard-core Mercedes aficionados must have already noticed the strong resemblance of the W213 E-Class to its brethren, namely the C-Class and the S-Class. The headlights are pretty much identical and the bumpers too look fairly similar. Mercedes makes no secret of the fact that they are after a unified look for all their sedans, just as their sports car, the AMG GT, the SL and the SLC look pretty much the same.

This unified look means that with the 2016 Mercedes E-Class you get an S-Class like interior design for a lot less money. Will that piss off S-Class owners? Probably. But taxi driver in Frankfurt and Zurich will be very happy spending their days in this pleasant cabin!