With Mercedes-Benz having a long illustrious history in motor racing and in making luxury cars since the pre-war era, you don’t need me to remind you that the brand has had a long long history in designing two-door body styles for the longest time.

The fondness I had for them started in the 80s with the SEC. With that elegantly shaped body, long overhang front and rear, images of tai-tai’s and wealthy businessmen knocking champagne glasses together to the tunes of the good ol’ days are instantly conjured up.

Then there was the 124 series of two-doors in the 90s that weren’t aesthetically exciting compared to the one it replaced, but still looked good on the road. In fact there’s a retired businessman in my neighbourhood who still owns one, stock.

The 208 series was the turning point for the brand, design-wise, with the introduction of the four-eyed circular headlight front that got people sitting on the fence, not too sure of whether it looked good or not. I, for one, didn’t think too highly of the design. The series also gave birth to the CLK, a two-door coupe or convertible (you pick) going head-on with the might of the BMW 3’s.

Although the first one was criticized heavily for its lack of quality, the second iteration was a huge hit and suddenly everyone had one.

Now though, after two good runs, the boys at Mercedes has thrown the CLK out of their plant and have got a whole new car to replace it, the E-Class Coupe we’re reviewing here as you might have predicted by now. But although they say replacement, the new car isn’t anything close to.

The last time Mercedes-Benz had an E-Class Coupe, it was back in the 80s. Customers who were able to pay the exorbitant prices back then were treated to a choice of either having a fixed roof or a cloth soft top but not so much a sporty drive as one would have expected from a two-door.

This time, it’s pretty much the same, but once you’ve had your hand at steering one, you’d be convinced the E-Class Coupe was in a class of its own.

All those lines...where do they lead?

As its nomenclature would suggest, the coupe has been aptly tied in with the E-Class sedan to position itself at a totally different level from the CLK before it, or even the 3 Series from BMW. But don’t be fooled, an almost identical design is the only thing that the coupe has in common with the larger sedan.

So, as much as there were some who hated the four-eyed gawker back when it first came out, the new design language on the sedan isn’t anything to scream about either, especially without the useful touches from AMG.