Indiacar.com - Mercedes Benz E-Class

Everybody knows the Mercedes-Benz E-class. With the famous pointed star positioned on the top of a distinctive grille, it has an unmistakable presence. It is the definitive premium car, a rolling illustration of solid German engineering and quality. But recently Mercedes has been feeling the heat of competition.BMW sells more cars a year and Audi is fast catching up. While both the manufacturers have benefitted from establishing a sportier image, Mercedes continues its sober approach. Mercedes bosses say that as the heart of the range, the E-Class is too important to change fundamentally. The ‘E’ nomenclature was introduced in 1993 and the first to have the distinctive four oval headlamps in 1995 was W210, the model of the last seven years, W211 and the new E-class for 2009 is the W212. So what we have in store is a myriad of detail improvements and all the latest technology. OverDrive (June ’09) takes a ride in the world-class car…

The W212 is lower, wider and more prominently wedge-shaped than its predecessor. The imposing grille is still there – and the star still rises above it but the four headlamps are angular rather than oval. Its shape allows it to have the best aerodynamics in its class: a drag coefficient of 0.25 (most of its rivals are 0.28 or above) and the emphasis on aerodynamics is part of a programme to improve fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions dictated by other EC regulations. Mercedes calls its eco-package Blue Efficiency. It includes more efficient engines, low rolling resistance tyres and energy saving alternators and fuel, air conditioners and power steering pumps that switch off when not required.

The four-cylinder petrol engines are downsized to 1.8 litres, have direct fuel injection and are turbocharged. The three four-cylinder CDI diesels – E200, E220 and E250 – all use the new 2.1-litre engine in different states of tune. The E350CDI and E350CGI have developments of the previous six-cylinder engines; the petrol CGI also has direct injection. The 5.5-litre V8 engine for the top model, the E500, is carried over from the old E-class and this is the only version not to have the additional Blue Efficiency features.

Volkswagen Jetta

OverDrive(June ’09) has concentrated on the E250 CDI and E350 CDI as diesel is the more attractive option in European markets. These engines develop 204 and 231bhp respectively. The 250 comes equipped with a six-speed manual or five-speed automatic transmission while the six-cylinder 350 has Mercedes latest seven –speed automatic.

The four-cylinder diesel has a curious combination of characteristics says OverDrive (June ’09). It is unusually smooth and quiet at idle but noisy when pushed hard. Although the 250 has two turbochargers in sequence to even out the power delivery, the performance is far from startling. In this respect, the seven-speed E350 CDI is livelier but is not the best of the latest crop of high performance diesel.

As before, the E-class is better to travel in than to drive. All models have adaptive shock absorbers that react to the driving situation and adjust to provide maximum ride comfort or cornering stability as required. The seats are improved, the air conditioning allows the choice of three different air volume and distribution modes and is arranged in three independent zones – driver, front passenger and rear passenger – and there is more space inside thanks to the 2cm longer wheelbase and 3.5cm extra width.

The talking point is the safety systems marvels OverDrive (June ’09). Mercedes has always been in the forefront with most of the active safety systems and the new ‘E’ class moves this to a new level with a raft of ‘assist’ systems, all electronic and very clever and designed to see and react to the motoring hazards and mitigates their consequences. Some of them include:

Attention Assist
A drowsiness detector which is standard on all E-class models. Sensors monitor 70 different parameters to pick up irregularities in driving behavior. If it detects a series of steering errors or other inconsistencies it concludes that the driver is sleepy and sounds a warning and a symbol representing a cup of tea appears on the instrument display to suggest that the driver should take a break!
Volkswagen Jetta

Brake Assist Plus
A radar based system linked to the optional Distronic cruise control which provides the driver with optimum braking pressure when a collision is imminent and if no action is taken will apply the brakes automatically.

Lane Keeping Assist
This function uses a camera on the windscreen to follow lines in the road and when the car has moved out of a lane without indicating, an electric motor in the steering wheel vibrates its rim as a warning.

Nightview Assist
This function uses an infrared camera to give a grayscale image on the dashboard screen to show hazards beyond the light range and highlight pedestrians

Adaptive Highbeam Assist
While other cars have active headlamps that turn with steering or illuminate corners, Mercedes uses a windscreen camera to recognize oncoming traffic and adjust the headlight beams accordingly. This is much more than automatic dipping; it changes the shape of the dipped light beam to give the best possible road illumination from 65 to as much as 300 meters.
So the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class is a car that truly crosses boundaries – of not just cars but the people who will own and drive it….signs off OverDrive (June ’09).