All Entries Tagged With: "E-Class"
Drive An AMG Look-Alike Until The Real Thing Arrives
A subtle poseur, to be sure.
By Gunnar Heinrich
GIVEN that previous AMG packaged E-Classes have made the mild looking Mercedes-Benz sedans look as though they could fart fire through chrome ringed exhausts, it’s surprising that the AMG package offered for the 2010 E Class is so, um, restrained.
Kraft Und Character: E-Class Generations Observed
krafty komparo
By Gunnar Heinrich | IMG von Mercedes-Benz CLASSIC via Germancarzone.com
CURIOSITY got the better of me.
In an online bid to decide which generation Benz E-Class earned ADL’s non-monetary award for best-most-awesome-nevabetta-over-engineered-vault-like-tank, my searches unearthed an interesting comparo.
Posted to a forum on Germancarzone.com, a self described “photo phanatic” shared the above photo along with a very rough abstract of an article first published in the German print issue, Mercedes-Benz CLASSIC.
As we might have guessed, the original report found that the old (W114) 280E was a sprightly, if nervous performer; the (W124) 500E does chase Porsches; and the (W211) E63 AMG is a UN sanctioned, roadgoing weapon of mass destruction.
The performance Gods of Valhalla are in the following technical details.
280E Technical Data
Engine: 2746cc inline-6
Power: 185-horsepower @ 6,000 RPM
Torque: 238 Nm @ 4,500 RPM
Transmission: 4-speed manual (optional 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic)
0-100 km/h: 9.8 seconds
Top Speed: 200 km/h
Fuel Economy: 16 L / 100 km
Units Produced: 22,836
E500 Technical Data
Engine: 4973cc V8
Power: 320-horsepower @ 5,600 RPM
Torque: 470 Nm @ 3,900 RPM
Transmission: 4-speed automatic
0-100 km/h: 6.1 seconds
Top Speed: 250 km/h (limited)
Fuel Economy: 16.9 L / 100 km
Units Produced: 500
E63 AMG Technical Data
Engine: 6208cc V8
Power: 514-horsepower @ 6,800 RPM
Torque: 630 Nm @ 5,200 RPM
Transmission: 7-speed automatic
0-100 km/h: 4.5 seconds
Top Speed: 250 km/h (limited)
Fuel Economy: 14.3 L / 100 km
Units Produced: currently in production
[Linked: Germancarzone.com]
On The Way To A Round Of Eighteen In A Lexus LS460
By Christopher P. Davis
THE fine workers of Tahara-Aichi have done it yet again – they’ve produced a full size luxury sedan that gives its Teutonic colleagues a run for their money (In fact a run for less money – MSRP starts around $60,000).
As I embarked upon my usual Wednesday golf game this week, one my friends had just taken delivery of his new Lexus LS460. He offered to pick me up, and with gas prices the way they are; I jumped at the chance (It also gave me the basis with which to write this article).
He had already picked someone else up, so I was relegated to the rear bench seat. With three sets of full size golf clubs, what would seem like an exorbitant amount of shoes, and a surprising amount of junk (my friend hangs onto things) there was still a great deal of room in the trunk.
So, I climbed into the cavernous back seat (Although this was not the extended wheelbase “L” version it was still quite big) and buckled up. I had oodles of legroom. Even with a 6-foot tall comrade in front of me.
Size wise, the car felt somewhere between a Mercedes E-Class and S-Class, though technically it’s grosser like the latter. At 116.9 inches, the short wheelbase model is within an inch of an Audi A8 SWB in length.
The leather was soft and supple. The seats were some of the most comfortable I’ve sat in. Even for rear seats, they seemed to embrace you.
Two courtesy mirrors are installed on the headliner in the rear – a nice feature, fun to play with and occasionally useful. A large, leather and wood armrest folds down from between the rear seats. Two cup holders pop out from the front. When it is opened, a storage compartment is revealed, and also two knobs, and a button.
The two knobs control the heating level of the rear-heated seats. The button in the center raises and lowers the rear sunscreen. For warmer days, like this past Wednesday, the LS460 has four rear air conditioning vents (two in the center console and one on each of the B-pillars), to keep you cool.
For those sitting upfront, Lexus’ best is equipped with heated and cooled front seats – something that is quite nice after hitting the links.
Asia is a center for technology and the LS460 succeeds at fitting in. The user interface is intuitive and useful (Read: No iDrive here). Although I didn’t play with it, I was impressed with the ease that my tech-challenged friend, changed the radio station (LS 460 has AM/FM & XM), punched things in the Navigation system, and used the integrated Bluetooth speakerphone all while driving.
Everything was broadcast throughout the passenger cabin with a superb Mark Levinson 19-Speaker sound system – Bloomberg never sounded so good!
I have to say that the Bluetooth speaker system is the best I have ever been party to. People on both ends have no issues hearing one another. In the car you don’t have to shout to be heard on the other end either. And the Air Conditioning – even with a high fan speed had little, if any affect on the call quality.
The Lexus LS460 is one of those automobiles that lies about its rate of progress. Sixty feels like nothing, 100 feels like 50. Three hundred eighty horses under the reins of an eight-speed auto never felt so tame. From the backseat, at least.
It’s a quiet car on so many levels.
Aside from the vocally absent V8, the sedan is a sleeper. It’s elegant, it’s luxurious, and it’s so understated. There’s nothing flashy about he car, the rear is subtle, the sides are subtle, and the grill is subtle.
It’s a luxury car for the 21st century.
No longer is it “Politically Correct” or “Social Responsible” to have overt flash, and unless you’re a rapper – Bling is out. What’s in, is quiet luxury, subtle wealth, and by proxy the Lexus LS460.
[Linked: ThePassionatePursuit]
Lexus Outsells Mercedes In USA. Why?
By Gunnar Heinrich
ACCORDING to Toyota (and they should know), in the year 2007 the Japanese automaker’s Lexus division sold 329,177 units to Americans; marking their twelfth consecutive year of market growth.
Mercedes-Benz, by contrast, sold 253,433 cars to US car buyers; marking the Germans’ fourteenth consecutive year of growth.
Lexus currently offers nine model series if you count the F-Series IS sedan and omit the hybrid variants of the LS, GS, and RX models.
Mercedes offers thirteen model series if you include AMG as its own line.
Counting out possible model permutations from each, the Germans offer more than twice the number of choices than the Japanese. And yet, Lexus sold seventy-five thousand more units in the US than did Mercedes-Benz.
Per che?
[Linked: Autospectator | Toyota Media | MBUSA | Lexus]
Double Take: Exploding E-Class
Was it the work of a Sacco traditionalist?
By Gunnar Heinrich
ABOVE is a production still from Warner Brothers’ soon to be released film: The Dark Knight. Apparently, the movies’ producers felt that the (W210) Mercedes-Benz E-Class was the perfect car to destroy.
To see more pictures from the movie, including the next Batmobile, tap the link below.
[Linked: Slashfilm.com]
E Class Generations
From left to right: W120, W110, W114, W123, W124, W210, W211
The Drive: Benz’s Suburban E350
The car I drove was silver on charcoal. Were it battleship grey on black, it would have been much sharper. Still, from a distance, the car looked decent enough.
The reason why I am so ambivalent on the new E-Class’ styling, is that I cannot help but feel as though I have seen it all before. For instance, every line of the trunk including the taillights seem as though they were taken off a Toyota Camry. This is, by the way, not a case of the chicken before the egg, as the current model Camry has been around for just as long as the current E-Class. Could it be that Japanese industrial spies have been infiltrating Mercedes-Benz’s California design studios? Or was it German spies that infiltrated Toyota plants in America?Ein kann nie wissen.
Conspiracy theories aside, the general point is that the new E-Class is at best a really good Japanese styled family sedan.Walk to the car.
It looks as everyday suburban as the Honda Accord. Blends right in.
Grab the door handle and
pull.
Light to the touch, it feels of a kind of hollow plastic. It probably isn’t, it just feels that way.
The door swings open lightly.Sit. The seats are Benz firm, though I find them oddly shaped. Especially the headrests; not quite oval, not quite circular, they are uncomfortable and not pretty.
The dash is elegant though. A swooping reversed arc that leads to the padded armrest. I am not quite comfortable with the padding. It feels loose somehow. The same is true for the padding on the door armrest. Squishy. I guess this is done for safety, but really I wonder what difference it would make.
Close the door. Once again it seems light and closes with the feel of an Accord.
Take the laser key in hand. Feel it being sucked into the ignition. Twist and let go. The car starts quickly. Nice. No waiting for the engine to turn over while holding the key. In an on demand society, this aspect satisfies – even if it is devoid of soul.
The GPS monitor is wider than previous Benz systems. The graphics are better. This must be GPS 4.1.5. One should consider getting a new car when 4.1.6 hits the showrooms. Overall its easier than previous Benz systems, but still complicated and not particularly user friendly.
My favorite controls are the circular climate knobs. They are situated conveniently at the top of the dash within easy reach. They are easy to use as well.
I swear the burled walnut paneling looks like plastic. I would almost wager a bet that it is.
The glowing diodes on the instrument panel have my attention now. The numerals and dials are backlit in white. It has been sometime since Benz has used easy-on-the-eyes orange.
The shifter has changed. A sleeker looking system than the slotted shifters before, it is buttery smooth in its operation. Still, I miss the notched system.
Pull forward. The car feels light. The steering is light. The pedal action is light. All rather user friendly. Good for the daily commute.
The view out is over a very slanted hood. The star is not quite fully visible at the end.
Dome lights cast a soft orange glow over the cockpit. The front cabin is quite spacious – more so than the predecessor E-Class. The rear is nicely accomodating as well. There is ample legroom and headroom. The rear headrests are small, clumsy looking, and uncomfortable.
All the buttons inside the car feel like cheap plastic, yet their action is precise.
The car is quiet at standstill. At speed there is virtually no wind noise at 70 mph, however, there is a little too much road noise. It is almost as though I am dragging something. It must be the tyres, because there is nothing underneath the car.
Return to standstill. The brakes are potent and up to snuff.
Punch the gas. The E350 with its 272 horsepower V-6 barks as it surges forward. Mercedes-Benz claims the sprint to 60 mph can be done in just under seven seconds. Honestly, it felt more like just under eight. This car is quite tame, and its bark is definitely greater than its bite.
A turn comes, I stay on the gas. This induces lean and then a familiar sensation blesses me. Like its predecessors, this E-Class feels rock solid on the road. It leans to a point and then stops leaning and simply holds the road. I feel extra confident thanks to ESP. The car feels like it is on rails; quite impressive and true to Mercedes-Benz performance.
Back to rest. Look about the cabin while the car’s engine purrs remotely. It feels so cheap, so everyday, where’s that Teutonic charm – heavy though it was – it felt like something. This is, well, so everyday.
I miss the last E-Class. That car felt like a rolling event on wheels, especially when it was first introduced and before it was everywhere. This E-Class was met with much less fanfare. Quite so, for now it is an utterly common car. I think the C-Class has more pizzazz. Still, as everyday commuting car, the E350 would do the job nicely.
And yet… I wonder.
What’s the new GS from Lexus like?
For more information on the Mercedes-Benz E350, click the following link: MBUSA
