Spied - Long wheelbase E-Class to counter the 5 Series L

The Chinese banker can stretch his legs after a long day of earning money

BMW has just launched an extended wheelbase variant of the new 5 Series exclusively for China. What has captured our attention is the growing number of 5 Series owners in India, and they relaxing in the backseat of their new expensive ride.

During a chat with Volvo India Managing Director Paul De Voijs, he pointed out that customers show interest in long wheelbase models and the company has started arranging these vehicles specially for them. Volvo sells a fraction of what Mercedes Benz manages, and the demand for long wheelbase cars would be more, going by that stat.

With the average age of the Mercedes Benz owner in 35-40 years range, one starts to question why Mercedes hasn't introduced long wheelbase vehicles for the Indian market. Many Mercedes Benz owners prefer to be driven and tell me, by the time someone reaches forty, will he have the same urge which he possessed during his college days to drive, negotiate traffic to find that one stretch where he'll satisfy his craving for a burst of torque. Maybe not all forty year olds fall in this category, which is exactly why Mercedes should offer the E-Class L as an option.

Coming back to the spyshot, China Car Times states Audi's successful launches A4L and A6L have prompted Mercedes and BMW to bring in their competitors with more legroom. The powertrain options on the new lengthened Mercedes should be no different and the equipment level would also remain same.

Source - China Car Times