The new Mercedes-Benz E-Class Cabriolet, a car that whipped-up quite a media stir when it was first unveiled at this year’s Detroit Motor Show, is now available here in South Africa. Based upon the elegant E-Class Coupé that impressed me greatly when I tested it late last year, the new Cabriolet gets a folding fabric roof that looks set to deliver some proper wind-in-your-hair driving thrills. Interestingly enough Mercedes-Benz, like their rivals Audi, decided to go the cloth-top route so as not to infringe on boot space; the E-Class Cabriolet apparently offering 300-liters worth of the stuff with the roof fully stowed. Taking approximately 20-seconds to open or cl0se at speeds of up to 40km/h, Mercedes also claims that their new acoustic soft top not only gives the E-Cabriolet “one of the quietest interiors in the segment” but makes it possible for the driver “to have a perfectly normal phone conversation in hands-free mode even when travelling at a speed of over 200 km/h.” Although why anyone would want to do this in the first place is beyond me.

Regardless, just like it’s steel-topped brother the Cabriolet also benefits from the same two petrol engines and can be equipped with either the 3.5-liter V6 (E350) or the punchy 5.5-liter V8 (E500). Hoofing out 200kW and 350Nm, the E350 will romp to 100km/h in 6.9-seconds, while the 285 kW/530Nm E500 betters this already impressive figure by one second. Thankfully, no matter which model you plumb for, both get Merc’s superb 7G-TRONIC seven-speed automatic transmission as standard for remarkably seamless gear changes. Expect the handling of the new Cabriolet to be fairly decent too as the engineers have spent a lot of time and money stiffening and fettling with the chassis in all the most important places.

Now obviously as most owners will drive these cars with their tops down, Mercedes-Benz has equipped the Cabriolet’s interior with a host of innovative technologies to help make the experience as enjoyable and as comfortable as possible. Standard on both models, Airscarf is a neck-level heating system that keeps your noggin warm even when the weather is at its most foul. Optional on the E350 and standard on the E500, the newly developed Aircap automatic draught-stop also reduces in-cabin turbulence substantially for all four seat occupants and can be activated by the push of a button at speeds of up to 160km/h. Taking the form of a special electronic wind deflector that pops up from the top of the windscreen frame, this feature is unique to the Mercedes-Benz stable.

In addition to this wind-beating trickery, both versions of Merc’s sexy new cabriolet come loaded with a surprising amount of kit: tyre pressure monitoring, Parktronic parking guidance, automatic air-conditioning, heated seats, a 450-watt Harman Kardon surround sound system and a MobiloDrive 120 maintenance plan all weighting in as standard. Already available from Mercedes-Benz dealers around the country, the recommended retail price E350 is R770 000 with the range-topping E500 starting at R900 000. I’m going to be testing one soon, so watch this space for my driving impressions. Until then, tease your peepers with the pictures below…