DustinV

Mercedes E500 Avantgarde
Test date 13 March 2009 Price as tested £45,510


What is it?

This is the Mercedes E500 Avantgarde. For the moment the Mercedes E500 sits at the top of the E-class range and its 5.5-litre 383bhp V8 is one of the few things that remains unchanged from the car it replaces. It’s also the only engine in the launch line-up not to feature BlueEfficiency badges; and unlike the Mercedes E350 CGI it sticks with conventional fuel injection.

What’s it like?

The Mercedes E500’s drivetrain is incredibly impressive: quiet, smooth and responsive, and benefiting from Merc’s seven-speed auto ’box rather than the five-speed unit in the four-cylinder models. Performance is more than adequate (0-62mph in 5.3sec) although the delivery is deceptive, partly because the engine isn’t tremendously vocal, even under full throttle. But mainly it’s because the new E-class is exceptionally refined.

There’s a bit of wind noise around the A-pillars but that’s about it. There can be fewer better places to absorb motorway miles than in an E-Class. Whether this latest offering will continue to restore Mercedes’ reputation as a builder of solidly engineered cars can’t be confirmed in a single day’s driving, but on first inspection the car does feel more robust than its predecessor.

The Mercedes E500 also drives the way a Mercedes should: relaxed but accurately. There’s a softness which imparts a sense of calm to its occupants, and yet Mercedes has reduced the initial roll rate so that when you turn it doesn’t feel like a large car. It’s very well judged, as is the steering, which (like the C-class) betters its BMW rival. The only disappointment is the slow-speed ride from the air suspension, which doesn’t quite match that of the steel-sprung cars.

Should I buy one?

As charming as the Mercedes E500 is, for the price it is overshadowed by the excellent E250 CDI, which brings nearly all the refinement at a more affordable and acceptable cost.


Source: http://autocar.co.uk/CarReviews/Firs...tgarde/238738/




Mercedes E220 CDI
Higher-spec versions of new exec have impressed. What about entry diesel?








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You're in - Car Reviews: First Drives
Mercedes E220 CDI
Higher-spec versions of new exec have impressed. What about entry diesel?
Auto Express Car Reviews
Text: Jack Rix / Photos: Matt Vosper
March 2009


It’s E for Efficiency! Mercedes is going green with its new E-Class, as every model in the range – bar the petrol V8s – uses BlueEFFICIENCY technology.

Weight has been reduced, aerodynamics improved and low-rolling-resistance tyres fitted. But by focusing on the environment, has Mercedes forgotten what the E-Class is all about: a luxurious driving experience? We drove the version predicted to be the top seller – the E220 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY – to find out.

Under the bonnet, an all-new four-cylinder diesel engine develops 168bhp and 400Nm of torque. Offered with a five-speed auto transmission from launch, it returns an excellent 47.1mpg combined and emits 159g/km of CO2.

If it wasn’t for the badge, you’d be hard pressed to tell this is a diesel. It’s smooth at all times even if, despite the huge torque output, it could do with better overtaking pick-up. The more powerful E250 CDI is faster, although refinement still impresses, with road roar from the harder-compound tyres and wind noise virtually eliminated. Adaptive dampers are standard and work magnificently, staying compliant in regular driving and firming up in fast bends. Throw the E-Class into a corner and the steering doesn’t offer the same feel as a BMW 5-Series or Jaguar XF. As a long-distance cruiser, though, the big Merc is peerless.

It’s stuffed with technology, too. Adaptive Highbeam Assist observes oncoming traffic and dips the lights automatically. Drowsiness detection, radar-controlled auto-braking and a night-vision system, which displays road obstacles on the dash, are also available.

The first variant to go on sale is the entry-level SE, which has leather-trimmed, powered seats and climate control as standard. And to keep things simple, there will be only three variants, with Avantgarde and Sport completing the line-up. There is twice as much scope for personalisation as on the previous car, though, so even the most discerning customer won’t be left wanting.

Rival: BMW 520d
while the 5-Series can’t match the Merc’s kit or comfort over long distances, it’s the class’s best driver’s car. Residuals are impressive, too, and the 520d serves up an appealing blend of 136g/km CO2 emissions and 55mpg fuel economy.



Verdict:
Mercedes has stuck to what it does best, which is why the E-Class sets new standards for build quality, comfort and technology. And with the range of new powerful but frugal four-cylinder diesel engines, the firm is offering the prestige without the traditional price tag. For an extra £1,000, the more powerful E250 CDI is arguably a more appealing choice than this E220. Yet even without the thrills of a 5-Series or flair of an XF, the E-Class maintains Mercedes’ status as a leader of the executive class.


Source: http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/carrevi..._e220_cdi.html

IS-SV

Good info about this important class of Mercedes cars. Any news of the 3.5L CGI coming to the US?

DustinV

Translation Assistance

By Daniel Pund, Senior Editor, Detroit Email
Date posted: 03-06-2009

During the presentation of the new 2010 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Sedan, we could have sworn that the Mercedes spokesperson said the car had a "eunuch personality."

Now that was a bit harsh, we thought. But, if true, we weren't so sure that we wanted to make the car's acquaintance. That description certainly jibed with the presenter's early characterization of the new E-Class' design as being a "reflection of its inner values without aggressiveness." Indeed, lack of aggressiveness is something of a job requirement for eunuchs.

Perhaps it was the dazzling 3-D film of the new E-Class the company had just played for us that had us misinterpreting the speaker's German-accented English. Or maybe it was the jet-lag haze that was floating around in our cranium. Or the big honkin' magnum of 1970 Rothschild we had helped empty the night before. What he'd said was "unique," as in the car has a unique personality. Right. Of course.

Anyway, we thought, we had just driven the 382-horsepower, 2010 Mercedes-Benz E550 to the presentation and it was certainly no eunuch. To the contrary, it had more than its fair share of equipment and potentially troublesome systems.

Adaptive Automatic Assist-Tronic
For this launch of the 2010 Mercedes-Benz E-Class, we were presented with the opportunity to drive a 2010 Mercedes-Benz E550, which like every other 2010 Mercedes-Benz E550 provided for this event had been loaded to the rooftops with cameras (three of them) and radar systems (one long-range and two short-range) and infrared this and swiveling that and human-form recognition software and a vibrating steering wheel and seats that bulged in concert to the car's g-load and also mechanical eyelids.

It's a bewildering array of sensors, detectors and emitters. Hearing this, you expect the thing to look like some project from the Department of Defense, bristling with antennae and unidentifiable domes and cones and cylinders. In fact, however, the E-Class looks remarkably like a car, as evidenced by the attached pictures.

We shall now dive right in and describe all these sensors, detectors and emitters for you. First, the coolest, most effective one of the bunch is Adaptive Highbeam Assist. Because headlights that self-leveled and swiveled sideways in curves were not complex enough, Mercedes has given the new E-Class mechanical eyelids. A nose-mounted camera detects the headlights and taillights of other cars on the road and lowers the eyelids sufficiently to keep from dazzling traffic. If you're closing on the car in front of you, the Highbeam Assist will progressively lower its lids, keeping the beams from blasting the rearview mirror. So, depending on conditions, the headlamps can light between about 215 feet and 985 feet of the road ahead. Amazingly, this actually works.

The other system that counts as a technological success and even a potentially useful thing is the Nightview Assist Plus. This system uses an infrared camera mounted behind the rearview mirror to provide a crystal-clear image of the road ahead and its immediate surroundings. It's pretty effective at lifting the shadows that conceal pedestrians, goats and javelinas at night. This system is an evolution of the same infrared unit introduced by the S-Class. The E-Class adds software that recognizes the human form and highlights any examples it detects right on the center stack display. The thing works. But the screen really should be straight ahead of the driver, as in the S-Class, and not on the navigation screen where an attentive driver should not be staring during night driving.

More Sensors and Stuff
Speaking of attentive, Mercedes has also added a system called Attention Assist, intended to warn sleepy drivers to pay some attention to the road. Primarily this is done by monitoring steering wheel inputs. If, after a time, the system records an increasing number of steering corrections, it will give an audible warning and display the old cup-of-coffee warning light in the middle of the speedometer. (No word on whether Mercedes is getting kickbacks from Starbucks.) Apparently we were never sleeping enough to activate the system, so we can only take it on good faith that it works.

OK, one more. The charmingly named PreSafe Brake and BAS Plus is another evolution of an existing Mercedes system. Using the radar from the adaptive cruise control system, the system gets progressively more insistent in trying to prevent you from ramming the car in front of you. At what the system determines to be 2.6 seconds before impact, the system flashes a warning triangle in the instrument panel and beeps. If the driver doesn't hop on the brakes within a second, the system commands the car to apply the brakes automatically at a little less than half power. If, after another second, the driver doesn't respond appropriately and a collision is unavoidable, the system commands full braking force to at least reduce the speed at which your E-Class impacts its victim.

These doodads are in addition to the raft of more familiar doodads available on the car, including Parktronic, blind-spot assist and lane-keeping assist. Sadly, Mercedes hasn't yet figured out how to do you're-about-to-say-something-stupid-to-your-wife assist.

The Non-Electric Things
Clearly a large part of the focus for development of the new E-Class centered on new safety and convenience systems. But there's still a car underneath all of those minor electronic miracles — you know, that metal thing powered by a series of explosions to which these systems are attached.

And that part of the E-Class experience is pretty pleasant. The car is new enough to warrant a fresh code name, W212. Its structure is said to be stiffer than that of the current E-Class (naturally), and 72 percent of it is built with high-strength steel. But the 2010 Mercedes-Benz E-Class casts the same size shadow as the outgoing car. Of course, the W212's wheelbase is stretched by 0.7 inch to give rear-seat passengers a smidge more legroom. But fundamentally the car occupies the same spot in the automotive universe as the '09. The E-Class has been a mainstay in the Mercedes lineup for good reason and it wasn't broken.

The W212 E-Class still rides on the same independent suspension front and rear and comes standard as a rear-driver. All-wheel drive will be a late addition to the E-Class lineup this time. It will be offered in the fall, while the rear-drive E-Class goes on sale in the summer. And, unlike the outgoing 4Matic model, the '10 all-wheel-drive E-Class comes with the same seven-speed automatic transmission as all the rest of the E-Class line.

Here in the W212, the familiar Mercedes-Benz Airmatic suspension, which uses air springs, is matched with a set of electronically adjustable dampers. One of the major objectives of the retuned suspension has been to improve the E's already admirable ride quality. And in Comfort mode, the E550 is a very smooth and silky operator indeed. There's noticeably more freeway hop in Sport mode, but even then, the E represents the softer side of the class.

On the whole, this is not, strictly speaking, a sport sedan. It's a long-distance bomber. It just sort of glides along effortlessly. The 2010 Mercedes-Benz E550 is admirably agile and trusty through curves, but there's no escaping the car's heft, as its nose always searches for the outside of a corner. Further, the steering system — which is so composed and accurate during highway runs — requires corrections more frequently than, say, a BMW 5 Series does. But the E-Class nevertheless brings a commendably broad spectrum of competence to the proverbial table.

Motah
The V6 and V8 engine choices for the E-Class have not changed. And why would they? The V8 is one of the smoothest engines on this planet, while pumping out 382 hp at 6,000 rpm and 391 pound-feet of torque at 2,800-4,800 rpm. Mercedes hasn't released fuel economy figures for the new car yet, but expect that they'll be very near the 13 mpg city/23 mpg highway of the outgoing car.

And the seven-speed automatic transmission? Well, we have no recollection of it shifting at all, which we offer as high praise of its smoothness.

When you order up the 2010 Mercedes-Benz E350 with its 268-hp 3.5-liter V6, you're promised pretty much the same experience. But if this isn't enough for you, you could always wait for the E63 AMG, which arrives near the end of the year and should be amply motivated by more than 500 hp from its 6.2-liter V8. A diesel model with 50-state certification will also arrive in 2010.

There's a New Chief Designer in Town
Now that Gorden Wagener has come from his former position at Mercedes' advanced studio in California to direct the company's worldwide design efforts, the look of the E-Class is as different from its predecessor as its powertrains are similar. Gone is the soft, curvy thing with its oval peepers. It's been replaced by a modern, if not pretty, thing cast in the company's new rectilinear style. The rhomboid headlights give the nose of the new E a distressingly Lexus GS-style look. There's a lot of surface excitement going on elsewhere on the body, with various creases and lines applied in historically un-Mercedes-like fashion.

The interior of the new car follows the same crisply folded approach. But instead of coming off as aggressively modern like the exterior, the rectilinear cabin is supposed to evoke the look of previous-generation Mercedes-Benz cars, from a time when Mercedes was the unparalleled master of quality. It's a sober place, as a result. A very sober place. But the quality of the materials and generally agreeable ergonomics make it a perfectly pleasant place to operate the machinery.

You-Nick
Peel the layers of safety and convenience gadgetry and the distracting styling away from the 2010 Mercedes-Benz E550 (and the whole line of 2010 Mercedes-Benz E-Class models), and what you're left with is not radical or gimmicky in the least.

What you're left with is fundamentally the same experience as the E-Class has provided for a whole bunch of years now. It's smooth and measured and stable, and a really very pleasant thing.


Source: http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...hotopanel..1.*




Automobile Magazine - GREEN: First Drive: 2010 Mercedes-Benz E220 CDI Diesel
March 12, 2009
By Joe Lorio

or years, Mercedes-Benz has fed its U.S. customers a diet of ever-more-powerful engines in its E-class sedan. It's been decades since the forebearer to today's E-class had a four-cylinder engine behind its signature radiator grille - at least in America. Our lowliest E-class Benz, which isn't so lowly at all, has instead come with a six, with a V-8 as the move-up engine, and, for a time, a supercharged V-8 in the AMG version, which has since switched to a normally aspirated big-block (6.2 liter!) V-8.

In Europe, Mercedes offers those same engines, but they're the tippy top of a much larger pyramid. Four-cylinder gasoline engines and diesels, considered insufficiently muscular to power a compact C-class over here, comprise the bulk of E-class sales over there. For 2010, the redesigned E-class has a new family of four-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines at the base of its powerplant pyramid.

The two gasoline engines are turbocharged and direct injected. Both displace 1.8 liters. The more powerful version makes 201 hp, which isn't much shy of a typical V-6's output and is enough to send the E250 CGI from 0 to 62 mph in a not too shabby 7.7 seconds. With its five-speed automatic, the E250 CGI is rated at 32 mpg (combined city/highway, European test procedures). Its lesser powered but more economical sibling is good for 181 hp and is a full second slower to 62 mph, but returns 35 mpg in the E200 CGI, which has a standard six-speed manual.

The diesels, however, are even more impressive. The three four-cylinder units are all the same size: 2.1 liters, and all three are turbocharged (naturally) and use common-rail direct injection. Output of the three engines varies much more in torque than in horsepower. The E200 CDI, with only a single-stage turbocharger, is rated at 266 lb-ft of torque. The E220 CDI upgrades to a dual-stage turbo and musters 295 lb-ft of torque. The E250 CDI pumps out a V-8-like 369 lb-ft. Interestingly, all three diesels achieve the same, 44 mpg combined fuel economy rating, with their standard six-speed manual gearbox.

Curious to see how a 44-mpg diesel E-class would meet my American expectations, I grabbed an E220 CDI for a spin during the launch of the new 2010 model. Unfortunately, it was equipped with the optional automatic, thus making it a 39-mpg diesel E-class. Still, that's a long way from the mid-20s combined fuel economy of the U.S. market's gasoline V-6.

As with so many modern diesels, the E220 CDI blows old notions of turbo-diesel driveability out of the water. The sound quality is different from a gasoline engine's, but it's really only discernable during acceleration, not when cruising or at idle. The two-stage turbo is seamlessly integrated, so throttle response is predictably linear.

I drove an automatic, which was a five-speed (with a traditional shift lever on the console) rather than the seven-speed automatic (with electronic, column-mounted PRND selector) that Mercedes puts in our V-6 and V-8-powered E-class cars. Factory-measured acceleration is a brisk 8.3 seconds from 0 to 62 mph, and indeed the diesel steps out quickly off the line, thanks to an ultra-low (1400 rpm) torque peak. Mid-range acceleration is more leisurely than with our gasoline engines, but would be plenty for most drivers. High-speed cruising, though, is effortless. The only time the E220 CDI feels slow is when you try to drive it hard through tightly curving back roads; this is not a car that wants to charge from one apex to the next.

Overall, though, this 39-mpg E-class comes across as a very convincing executive conveyance that just happens to be more economical than even the smallest econobox. Should the dark days of $4 a gallon gasoline return - and who thinks they won't? - Mercedes, with this engine, or better yet, the just as economical but even more potent 369-lb-ft E250 CDI version, could blow Americans' minds by providing hybrid-like fuel economy and a luxury-car driving experience.

Source: http://www.automobilemag.com/green/r...sel/index.html

DustinV

I think that engine is definitely coming over. It's quicker and more fuel-efficient than the regular 3.5 V6 (without direct injection). MB would have to be crazy not to bring it over.

FKL

Great info Dustin, really appreciate the pictures man.

It took me awhile to warm up to the current E-Class, but I'm liking this one right off the bat. Gorgeous and timeless.

And by the way, this is why I absolutely love the Club Lexus forums. We have so many users who go out of their way to keep us all up to date on the latest in automotive news, all without fear of retaliation. .

IS-SV

When can we see these in the showroom in the US?

SLegacy99

Ughhhhh....because they both use alot of gas for the amount of power that they put out!!!!!!!!!!!!

pagemaster

what a stunning vehicle. I love the front end.

G Star

iTrader: (2)

Why does the interior of the current E looks 10 years ahead of the new E?

so dissapointed in interiors lately.

joe80

really? nothing really stands out IMO.

joe80

i was just about to say that.

it looks dated already.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

this will be a winner right out of the gate.

DustinV

Anytime.

DustinV

I should think that Mercedes interiors have generally been very conservative in terms of styling. I don't see what the problem is with this new interior for the new E class. The design is modern, elegant and simplistic and also very premium-looking. You could argue that there is a hint of extravagance in the cabin. Certainly one of the most attractive interiors in its class in my opinion.