Mercedes-Benz E 350 CDI

BlueEffi ciency

The new ‘business class’ carWith its solid reputation as market leader in the luxury car segment, Mercedes-Benz has comple-tely redesigned its saloon car, over 10 million of which have already been sold down several gene-rations of the innovative style of the C-Class and the GLK! As usual, the Stuttgart car university has come back with a dazzling array of technical and electronic innovations. The new E-Class therefore raises the bar to a dizzying new height.

So, goodbye W211 and hello W212! An image vehicle and best seller for Mercedes, the E-Class has traditionally been the focus of attention. It keeps its fourfold look. The front headlights, nowadays angular, may be viewed as a modern interpretation of its predecessor. The LED headlights, creating a visual signature that is typically Mercedes, are superb and com-pletely innovative. The rising ‘character line’ comes into the fashion effect which we already know from Audi and BMW models. The profi le of the door sills also of course shows a rising dynamism. The car has a racier, more decided look than the preceding generation, a defi nite stamp of modernity.

The design of the rear wings above the wheel arches is entirely new and is rather remi-niscent of that of the S-Class, giving the new E-Class a more refi ned look. With its huge

headlights, the new rear reveals itself as fundamentally deliberate, but stays in harmony with the rest. The AMG kit on our test car makes the ensemble very agreeable to the eye with a lower radiator grille, sporty side skirts and a set of ‘rounded off rectangular’ exhaust pipes integrated into really splendid bumpers, together with the legendary AMG 18 inch aluminium wheels! Dynamic elegance like a tailor-made suit !

In the estate version with its steep tailgate, available this autumn, we can see once an im-pressive loading capacity. Unlike the compe-tition, Mercedes remains here faithful to the estate car category instead of minimising its advantages by allowing some of the loading capacity to be cut off by the slope of the roof. We can expect a record for this category in terms of useable loading capacity.

On the road again…

Our test car was the 350 CDI BlueEffi ciency with the AMG kit and loads of innovations. As well as a night vision system there’s also a speed limitation detector, direction-assisted front lights which lower in the face of oncom-ing vehicles, and also a radar that can detect collision condition and keeps a watchful eye on the driver to warn him when he starts to doze off.

In fact, 50 years after inventing crumple zones which protect vehicle passengers in the event of a crash, Mercedes has raised the game again in its quest for safety. This system called Attention Assist, which warns a driver of drowsiness (a real problem that causes many accidents), does not need a camera. It analy-ses non-stop the driving style of the driver. If the latter presents signs of fatigue – sudden corrections in direction, abrupt manœuvres, loss of control of the vehicle – an audio and visual alarm prompts him to stop for a break. The icon on the dashboard represents a cup of coffee or tea … depending on taste!

The V6 3.0 BlueEffi ciency with 231 horse-power could take up a large part of sales in Germany, especially for long-distance drivers who will appreciate its wide range of utilisa-tion. It has to be said that with 540 Nm of torque, the new six cylinders of the brand rolls absorbs diffi culties with a smoothness that is hard to beat. Even more so as the 7G-Tronic automatic gearbox, which comes with the series, presents very smooth, almost imper-ceptible gear changes. Add to that an impec-cable soundproofi ng and a low average fuel consumption of 7.1 l/km (and 186 g/km of CO2), and you suit pretty nearly perfectly the needs of any driver who wishes to clock up the miles in complete serenity … in a great deal of comfort!

The engine is very discreet in D mode, only changing gears at reasonable speeds for a better control of fuel consumption in town driving, while it is even more dynamic and forthright in S mode for motorway overtak-ing. We were not impressed with the manual mode ... this isn’t what this type of automatic gearbox is designed for. The paddle shifters on the steering wheel are practical for decel-eration and retakes on motorway slip roads or in town for increasing the throttle response. In short, you can drive with 7 gears, 6 gears, 5 etc. This transmission therefore adapts to respond to the mode, the gear engaged and the style of driving. This deserves a gold medal!

Home sweet home

Although it is particularly aimed at the comfort of the rear seat passengers, the E-Class also pampers its driver. As always paying more than due attention to comfort, its interior is particularly welcoming and the new cleaner design of the dashboard adds a modern touch. The dark-tinted natural wood trim is very elegant and used with refi ne-ment.

Several modifi cations will be noticed im-mediately by connoisseurs, like the new, more intuitive air conditioning controls and the GPS, now installed in the high part of the central console. As usual, Mercedes offers loads of technology designed to make your journey even more agreeable: air ventilated seats with massage function, panoramic glass roof with motorised opening, a 14 HP Harman/Kardon audio system, reversing camera etc

Our E 350 CDI came with the top of the range AMG Avant-garde fi nish and also had fi tted as standard, an MP3-compatible navi-gation system with 6 DVD exchanger, dual-zone air conditioning, rain detector, both front and rear 12 V sockets, and adaptive bi-

xenon headlights with assisted beam correc-tor (their beam lowers for oncoming vehicles). Passengers in the back will have a choice of a bench seat or two independent seats sepa-rated by a leather-covered elbow-rest. In both cases there’s a great deal of legroom and headroom. The AMG fi nish doesn’t add much to the interior … just special carpeting and a sporty driving wheel.

But the most visible signs of progress are to be found in the performance of the new E-Class. Despite its heavy weight (1,825 kg) the saloon develops less sway than in the past and its steering has gained in lightness, making normal driving far more agreeable. These are welcome improvements, as they have not in any way modifi ed the comfort of this German car. On this topic, the Airmatic adjusting suspension option provides sensa-tional smoothness.

Heritage

The W124 surprised its world and made its mark on history through the adoption of several bold solutions in the interests of streamlining: wing gutters removed, auto-clave doors with visible seals, smooth hub caps, integrated shields and – an astonishingly raked radiator grille. Some twenty-fi ve years later, history seems to repeat itself by bringing the drag coeffi cient to the forefront of design preoccupations.

In its ‘low consumption’ BlueEffi ciency model the new E-Class displays an exceptional Cx drag coeffi cient of 0.25 which, according to the maker, is the most virtuous in its cat-egory. Mercedes calculates the fuel effi cien-cy thus obtained as about 0.25 litres at 130 km/h. We ourselves discovered that this large saloon has a really bird-like appetite, well - of a migratory bird maybe, but still very low for the miles covered and the performance ob-tained.

Available from 41,600 euros (the E220 CDI Classic model), the new Mercedes E-Class once again demands a high price for its comfort and engine quality. However there’s no price rise by comparison with the previous model. This is a positive point which should prompt current E-Class car owner to renew their pur-chase and, in return this will allow Mercedes to maintain its leading position in the luxury saloon market. A ‘best seller’ renewed every generation. Tradition has its good points.

Info: www.mercedes-benz.be

Thanks and contacts:Mrs. Rina Facchin

Mr. Sven Van den BruelMr. David Gérimont