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Mercedes-Benz has devoted 160 pages of its owner’s manual to not only pinpointing the location of each button and dial, but also detailing the task that each performs in its 2003 E-Class, the first major remake of the luxury sedan since the 1996 model year.

Wow! How electronic wizardry and gadgetry has mushroomed in only seven years.

Hmm.

Wasn’t overly sophisticated electronics one of the negatives that sent BMW owners into fits when the 2002 7-Series bowed?

But we digress.

The E320 and E500 sedans are redesigned for ’03, while wagon gets the treatment for ’04.

In keeping with the styling philosophy of those that came before it–the S-Class in 2000 and the C-Class in 2001–the E-Class sedan now resembles a coupe, thanks to a sweeping, low-slung roof and sharply tilted oval headlamps flanking a laid-back, sloping grille.

As with the C-Class, the design makes the car look more sporty and less formal. Personally, when a vehicle is priced around $50,000, we prefer it look more formal and less casual.

The resemblance to a coupe also tends to make the car look smaller than its predecessor with standup roofline and grille. When a car is priced around $50,000, we prefer it look bigger, not smaller.

Mercedes says not a millimeter of cabin space has been sacrificed. In fact, the E-Class sports bigger dimensions–a nearly 1-inch stretch in wheelbase and length, and a half-inch stretch in width and height.

While not keen on how the E-Class looks, how it acts is a different story.

The E320 comes with the same 3.2-liter V-6 rated at 221 horsepower and 232 foot-pounds of torque as the ’02 model. The E500 comes with a 5-liter V-8 rated at 302 h.p. and 339 foot-pounds of torque, up from 275 h.p. and 295 foot-pounds of torque in the 4.3-liter V-8 that was in the former top-of-the-line E430 model.

We tested the E500. With more horsepower and torque, it’s a lot quicker moving from the light or down the merger ramp in keeping with the new sporty coupe look as well as the demands of Mercedes owners.

But there’s no free lunch. The 5-liter is rated at 16 m.p.g. city/23 m.p.g. highway, down from 17/24 with the 4.3-liter V-8. And the E500 carries a $1,000 gas-guzzler tax.

The 5-liter gives the luxury sedan smooth, but spirited, takeoffs. The increased torque is at the low end for quick reaction to pedal input. The E500 waits for no man–except the guy behind the window at the fueling station.

V-6 and V-8 are teamed with a 5-speed automatic with Touchshift borrowed from the S-Class that allows manual shifting without a clutch.

The 5-speed automatically adapts to your driving habits to program slower or more rapid throttle response when you touch the pedal based on whether you are light- or lead-footed. When light and lead change places, the system adjusts its memory.

The E500 tested starts at $54,850, up about $1,000 from the E430 in ’02. T he beefier engine and such features as four-wheel anti-lock brakes with electronic braking as standard account for the price hike.

Electronic braking was borrowed from the SL500 roadster. A computer applies braking pressure electronically as needed to each wheel individually based on such factors as vehicle speed, steering-wheel angle and road surface and traction at the moment. The system, for example, can change brake pressure to the outside wheels when braking in turns to maintain vehicle stability. Call it a safety and security system.

There’s also a new Airmatic air suspension (optional on the E320) that electronically matches shock and air-spring settings to such factors as road conditions, aggressive or relaxed driving style and cornering forces to provide optimum sure-footed handling. The 17-inch performance radials (16-inch on E320) also help.

The driver also can play with one of those bevy of buttons to choose soft, medium or hard suspension settings r sit-back-and-enjoy or sit-up-and-pay-attention performance. And another button lets you raise the vehicle a few inches when traveling over gravel roads or on the ramp at the boat launch.

And, of course, the E-Class comes with standard stability control that applies the brakes or regulates the throttle to control unnecessary wheel spin in straight and lateral maneuvers.

The E500 comes with more air bags than cupholders. In addition to the dual front bags, there are side air bags and side air curtains front and rear. The curtains deploy in side impacts and, thanks to special sensors, in rollovers.

The front bags are “smart” air cushions whose speed is determined by severity of impact. Deployment speed of the front passenger bag also depends on occupant weight, so it inflates with less force the smaller the person. If no one is in the passenger seat or if a Mercedes child safety seat with special sensors is there, the bag won’t deploy.

Standard equipment includes four-zone climate control system to regulate temperatures at each seat location front or rear and the expected power goodies, from windows, locks and mirrors to seats, which, for another $1,150, come with Dynamic Drive. That feature adjusts the seats automatically based on driving habits, such as increasing air pressure to the left side seatback bolster in right-hand cornering. Or, if cruising, the seats will massage you.

You also can get ventilated seats for $1,200 that provide cool air on hot days; $650 more if you want heated seats for hot air on cool days.

When you opt for the $1,500 power panorama sunroof (basically a glass roof, though only the forward portion opens), you can add a rooftop solar panel for an extra $925 that uses sensors to automatically turn on the climate control’s blower motor to circulate air and cool the cabin before entering on a hot day.

Other options include a folding seat feature ($550) that allows you to fold the rear seat and the front passenger seat to slip skis through the trunk into the cabin; a power trunk closer ($475); and should you get lost often, a navigation system ($2,125).

A couple gripes, other than too many buttons and too long a list of options that can raise the $54,850 base price to equal or exceed the cost of your house. The outside mirrors are absolutely the worst to adjust so you can see vehicles from the side. Too tiny, too narrow.

And so you can better see and use the overhead console and its assorted controls, it comes with a “halo” light, a beam that circles the console. That was a gimmick used decades ago on Sylvania TV sets so you could watch TV without turning on room lamps to ease eye strain. Worked on the TV, but it’s a distraction in a car.

Mercedes expects to sell more than 40,000 E-Class models for ’02 and top 50,000 for ’03 thanks to the redesign.

That’s a lot of buttons.