Stuttgart/Vienna – The Austrian Automobile Association (ARBÖ) has presented its "2009 Car of the Year" award to the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, choosing the successful luxury saloon as Austria's favourite premium car.

For the 26th time, the Austrian Automobile Association (ARBÖ) asked a re-nowned jury of experts and readers of the ARBÖ club journal Freie Fahrt to choose Austria's favourite car. Candidates are assessed based on criteria such as techni-cal perfection, design, economy, reliability, safety, eco-friendliness and value for money. In the premium category, the jury and readers chose the Mercedes-Benz E-Class as the clear winner with 177 out of a possible 195 points. The coveted Austrian Car of the Year Award 2009, presented by the Austrian Automobile Association (ARBÖ), is Austria's premier car award.

Impressive attributes of the E-Class include its dynamic design, innovative tech-nology, exemplary comfort, outstanding safety and economy. Not least thanks to highly efficient powerplants. The E 250 CDI, for example, develops 150 kW (204 hp), boasts a peak torque of 500 Nm and delivers excellent performance whilst consuming just 5.3 litres per 100 km (combined NEDC consumption
figure), equivalent to 139 grams of CO2 per kilometre. The E-Class is equipped with a unique combination of driver assistance systems such as drowsiness
detection, Adaptive Highbeam Assist and proximity control with automatic emer-gency braking, which is activated when an acute accident risk is detected. What's more, the E-Class offers outstanding long-distance comfort. These traits are shared by the other members of the successful premium car family – the E-Class Coupé and the E-Class Estate – the latter having just become the third body
variant to arrive on the forecourts at dealerships.

Since its launch in spring 2009, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class has already won numerous awards. To name but a few:

• Readers of the German car magazine Auto Zeitung voted it the best luxury saloon, awarding it the Auto Trophy 2009.
• Around 100,000 readers of the German car magazine AUTO BILD voted it the world's most beautiful car, presenting it with the AUTO BILD Design Award 2009.
• It won the renowned "EuroCarBody Award 2009".
• It received the Diners Club Magazine Award for the "best power-to-economy" ratio.

In addition, the independent market research institute Bähr & Fess Forecast has determined that the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class will have the highest value re-tention of any luxury segment model series, with the highest resale value after three years – be it in Saloon, Coupé or Estate guise. This once again confirms the high value retention of Mercedes-Benz vehicles.