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We report experimental differential cross sections (DCSs) for electron impact excitation of bands I to V of benzene at incident energies of 10, 12.5, 15, and 20 eV. They are compared to calculations using the Schwinger multichannel method while accounting for up to 437 open channels. For intermediate scattering angles, the calculations reveal that the most intense band (V) emerges from surprisingly similar contributions from all its underlying states (despite some preference for the dipole-allowed transitions). They further shed light on intricate multichannel couplings between the states of bands I to V and higher-lying Rydberg states. In turn, the measurements support a vibronic coupling mechanism for excitation of bands II and IV and also show an unexpected forward peak in the spin-forbidden transition accounting for band III. Overall, there is decent agreement between theory and experiment at intermediate angles and at lower energies and in terms of the relative DCSs of the five bands. Discrepancies between the present and previous experiment regarding bands IV and V draw attention to the need of additional experimental investigations. We also report measured DCSs for vibrational excitation of combined C–H stretching modes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]