The main thing is, that it is clearly identifiable as a Mercedes at first glance - you do not need to take a close look to see what brand it is - a quality the competition from Asia is still lacking with almost all of their creations.
As for the looks - well, I saw different pictures from different angles and some looked good, some looked less good. I suppose it's one of these designs that needs to be seen in real life... I kinda like it,though. It has character.
And by the way: Ever since the W123 retired, each and every new E-Class was considered ugly at first. People tend to forget that, though, when they get used to the looks after a while.
I still think the W210 was ugly and looks out of proportion, mainly because the wheel arches always look too wide for the tires. You need to fit in ridiculously wide tires to compensate that. The only one I liked, was a Brabus model.
My favourite is still the W211, even if it had quality problems at first. We had two of them in our family and the interior design alone was an enormous step forward. The W210 basically still looked like a W123 from inside. Also the W211 was the first model, that could keep up with a BMW 5-series in the handling department.
The new W212 will most definitely be an awesome car to drive (also something you cannot say of every competitor from Asia) and I'm looking forward to getting my hands on one as a rental, as soon as it is available