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For Mercedes-Benz, the E-Class is the heart of the line, the bread-and-butter craft for the upper crust.

Sturdy, reliable, safe and secure, as well as prestigious, luxurious and high-tech, Mercedes’ midsize sedan is the uptown ride for affluent families.

For 2003, the E-Class receives its first makeover in eight years, adding sleek and attractive to its list of adjectives. Carrying over much of the last version’s styling, the new shape lays back the front end, lowering it and elongating the headlights, subtly different but highly effective.

Marginally bigger, the new E looks smaller due to its sportier lines. Mercedes calls it a sedan with the style of a coupe, the sculpted roof mimicking the soft curves of a two-door.

Extensive use of aluminum in the body panels helps keep the weight down, while the chassis is beefed up for rigidity. Advanced suspension engineering and electronic magic makes this luxury sedan handle like a sports coupe.

The E320 is the base model of the E-Class, the V-6 version that notches in under the V-8-powered E500 (which replaces the E430) and the performance-enhanced E55. This base model has a bottom line over $47,000, hardly on most people’s shopping lists but still selling more than 200,000 last year, making it the world’s top luxury sedan.

The 221-horsepower, 3.2-liter V-6 is smooth and strong, pulling competently from a standstill and moving the sedan quietly at highway speeds. Acceleration is decent, but here is where you feel the heft of this 3,600-pound car. Midrange acceleration lags noticeably until the RPMs climb.

Overall, the E320 has an athletic feel with precise and responsive steering, sharp cornering, powerful brakes and the typical Mercedes “carved-from-one-piece” structure.

The interior has been transformed, with more rounded shapes and softer surfaces. The feeling of luxury is accented by leather and burl-walnut trim. Switches and gauges are much better organized than the previous E-Class.

For 2003, the E-Class cars, including a station wagon introduced recently, get a bonanza of technical features, some coming down from the pricier S sedans and SL sports cars.

New to the E is the optional Airmatic Dual Control Suspension, which monitors speed and road conditions to optimize ride and handling. There’s also a manual control for “comfort” and “sport” suspension tuning.

The comfort setting felt right, but the sport setting was too stiff, even for a driver who prefers firm suspensions.

Electronic braking is standard, linking the brake pedal electronically to the hydraulic system and controlling pressure to each wheel individually. The system includes Brake Assist, which senses the onset of a panic stop by boosting brake pressure. This system can be intrusive, though, such as in hard braking for turns when it sometimes adds too much brake pressure.

Other standard safety systems include anti-lock brakes, traction control and Electronic Stability Control, which helps avoid skids. There are eight airbags, front and side.

Some other special features are rain-sensing windshield wipers; 10-way power seats with three-position memory; Tele Aid emergency communications; infrared remote locking and ignition key; and Babysmart, which turns off the front passenger airbag if it senses a special baby seat.

There’s lots of other stuff, including a superb, standard 10-speaker audio system.

Options on the test car included an integral cellphone system, $1,595; Airmatic suspension, $1,575; heated seats and steering wheel, $875; Brilliant Silver paint, $655; a four-zone climate control for individual rear-seat as well as front-seat settings; and shipping, $665. The bottom line, $52,865, is definitely up there, unless you consider what people are spending on high-end sport utility vehicles, none of which come close to the E320’s quality, performance or value.

Mercedes-Benz E320

Vehicle type: Five-passenger, four-door sedan, rear-wheel drive.

Base price: $46,950.

Price as tested: $52,865.

Engine: 3.2-liter V-6, 221 horsepower at 5,700 rpm, 232 pounds-feet of torque at 3,000 rpm.

Transmission: Five-speed automatic.

Wheelbase: 112.4 inches.

Curb weight: 3,635 pounds.

EPA mileage: 19 city, 27 highway.

Highs: Overall quality, high-tech features, sharp styling.

Lows: Midrange power lag, too-stiff “sport” setting, too-stiff price tag.