Mercedes-Benz E 200 & E 220d 2016 Review

Mercedes-Benz E 200 & E 220d Review
Australian Launch Review
Yarra Valley, Victoria

The Mercedes-Benz E-Class badge has played such a large part in the German manufacturer’s history it should be heritage listed. But while the image of the E-Class is a bit crusty, the reality is this latest offering, the W213, is a tech-laden treat that showcases the brand’s future rather than past. First out of the blocks in Australia are the E 200 turbo-petrol and E 220d turbo-diesel 2.0-litre four-cylinders. Fast enough, frugal and with a level of refinement that is hard to align with their cylinder count, these entry-level Es are A class!

I am getting old… That can be the only explanation why I am enjoying cruising along in the new tenth generation Mercedes-Benz E-Class, a car with a Sport+ mode that consumer affairs could justifiably investigate for false advertising.

It’s so quiet, relaxing and comfortable I am almost lolling off to sleep, which isn’t the disaster it sounds considering this is a car with more autonomous ability than any other Benz. And just about any other car on the road.

Using various radar and camera-based systems, the E-class’ Driver Assistance Package Plus is quite capable of cruising at a set speed on a freeway without driver intervention, negotiating curves and keeping spaced from other traffic. It will even change lane for you.

It is quite fun to drive past people in other cars and wave at them… with both hands. But after about one minute (and a slew of visual and audible warnings) the system will cease to operate if your hands are not on the steering wheel. Mind you, I managed to extend that to about 1 min 40 secs by occasionally operating the indicator stalk. The car took that to mean that I was in control even when I didn’t have my hands on the steering wheel.

But there are limits for a system even as clever as this. When a lane change and merge right was required, it pretty much just gave up the ghost, the ‘dinging’ from the audible warning getting ever-more strident as we headed straight on past the end of the lane. Don’t worry, I took over and proceeded without coming to a sudden halt. I wasn’t so game to be willing to test out the emergency brake assist.

While this whole experience is a fascinating introduction to where our motoring lives are headed, the W213 E-Class does a great job right now fulfilling its traditional role as a luxury saloon. It achieves that with the aid of a pretty dramatic mechanical overhaul. Underpinning the latest E-Class is what Mercedes-Benz calls its MRA modular rear/all-wheel drive architecture. If that rings a bell that’s because it also underpins the C-Class, albeit in a shorter wheelbase form.

Underneath the bonnet there’s a family of turbo-petrol and diesel engines in four and V6 varieties, including the new OM 654 four-cylinder turbo-diesel. Every engine works through a new nine-speed Benz 9G-Tronic automatic transmission. In most cases it only drives the rear wheels, but the front wheels will get a work-out when some higher powered 4Matic all-wheel-drive versions roll up later.

We’ve written a lot about the E-Class since its Detroit auto show unveiling. Much of that has concentrated on its cutting edge technology. Here’s Feann Torr testing some of that out on the global launch and then a local examination just weeks ago at Sandown Raceway in Melbourne.

In terms of what you get for the money, we’ve gone into the pricing and equipment and more recently and in more detail. In a nutshell, it’s more gear and more money across the board, although Benz argues all the extra kit its thrown in to the pot almost always adds value or at least neutralises the cost equation. That said, based on manufacturer list price the E-Class is now the most expensive of the logical contenders in the category, including its close German rivals the BMW 5 Series and Audi A6. That’s likely to be redressed somewhat next year when both of them go through generational change.

Our first local taste included the turbo-petrol 2.0-litre E 200 as well as the E 220d turbo-diesel, predominantly in and around the Yarra Valley east of Melbourne on a wide variety of often winding and bumpy roads. The conditions were at times streaming wet and often greasy.

We sampled both cars with standard passive suspension, but fitted with 19-inch rubber, rather than standard 18s. Considering their size and run-flat construction the ride was pretty darn comfortable, the four-link front and five-link rear-end both providing good absorbency with just a little pattering over the smaller stuff. But there was also enough body control to avoid wallowing or feeling lard-like in the winding stuff.

The cars were comfortable, controlled and confident without being harsh. It’s a great set-up compromise.

Agility Select wound up the electro-mechanical steering weight from Comfort through Sport to Sport+, but the former seemed the nicest compromise, providing reasonably light resistance yet acceptable directness at the same time. That made it easier to twirl the big steering wheel (It’s an E-Class it has to be big doesn’t it?)

Transferring to an E 220d with optional air springs and 20-inch rubber spread the breadth of abilities wider. With the suspension now active, Comfort mode was at the pillowy end of the scale and body movement more noticeable. In Sport+ everything was more tied down, but there was still give and movement as well as the occasional thump as a rear corner dealt with a sizeable lump. This felt like a gentleman’s cruising saloon should feel. For me, it’s preferable to the C-Class, which has a more aggressive edge. But like I said, I’m old.

Under the bonnet there was no doubt the new nine-speed auto did a great job shifting smoothly through its many, many ratios. It was only really intrusive (and then only in a nice way) when Agility Select was wound up into the more aggressive modes. Then the 9G held on to gears longer and the throttle blipped during the down changes.

With the shift lever mounted on the column, manual changes were via the paddles on the steering wheel. They cut up and down quickly and didn’t seem to be so conservatively set-up that you couldn’t get that extra downshift you needed most of the time.

However, the transmission wasn’t set up to hold gears on the up-shift, which was an impediment in the diesel with its rev limit just beyond 5000rpm. Otherwise, the OM 654 proved a terrific engine and a real improvement in terms of quietness, smoothness and vibration compared to its predecessor.

It had no trouble hauling this near-1700kg car around and would be all the E-Class anyone needed… Yes, wanting is something else again, all you AMG lovers. Mind you, the 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine with 100Nm less does a pretty decent job of motivating the E 200, which is 80kg lighter.

The driving experience in both cars was completed by a cocoon-quiet cockpit that allowed little wind, engine or tyre noise (except on the coarsest surfaces) to penetrate the cabin.

And just sitting in this cabin is a treat, especially the front seats, as they have a heavily bolstered backrest, are fully adjustable via the Benz-signature controls mounted on the door and are very comfortable. The steering wheel adjusts for reach and rake, there’s a generously-sized left footrest, plenty of storage, no problem fitting two adults in the back-seat (the middle rear pew is very much an after-thought, however) and the boot is simply huge now there’s no spare tyre.

Which leaves us the main interior party trick -- the Widescreen Cockpit; which comprises two high-resolution 12.3-inch LCD screens together behind a single sheet of glass. The new E-Class’ instrument panel screen allows three different digitally-crafted gauge designs and personalisation of minor gauges as well. The centre stack screen provides access to various infotainment functions including sat-nav, phone, media and radio.

There are numerous ways to control these screens and their various sub-menus via traditional buttons, the Comand dial, finger writing, voice control and new smartphone-style buttons on the steering wheel that can be swiped horizontally or vertically.

The screens look fantastic and are a definite step up from the current Benz dashboard that looks like it has a tablet stuck to the top of the centre stack. Once you acclimatise and figure out how to navigate (which takes a while) it’s a pretty logical system to use. But despite all the various ways of making things happen, I did find myself wishing they were also touch screens.

For instance changing between classic, progressive and sport instrument gauges required quite a bit of drilling. And sometimes information got a bit lost. For instance, in the single dial ‘progressive’ layout, the manual gearchange indicator was hidden away in the right-hand lower corner.

But using the centre screen for a panoramic 3D navigation view proved startlingly effective and looked great.

Perhaps the only really underwhelming part of the E-Class is the exterior styling. Yes, yes, styling is subjective, but making this car look like a C-Class on steroids or a shrunken S-class (take your pick) hides its beautifully crafted driving qualities and high-tech.

Yet, even if the exterior is boring, it’s certainly efficient, with its startling 0.23 drag co-efficient. Given the E-Class is such a technological tour de force, it’s appropriate it has a body that’s cutting wind if not edges.

In any event, us old blokes aren’t into making loud, fancy statements on the road. We know owning a car that is so nice to drive – or can even drive itself – is satisfaction enough.

Mercedes-Benz E 200:
Price: $89,900 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder
Outputs: 135kW/300Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Fuel: 6.4L/100km
CO2: 144g/km
Safety Rating: N/A

Mercedes-Benz E 220d:
Price: $92,900 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.0-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder
Outputs: 143kW/400Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Fuel: 4.1L/100km
CO2: 108g/km
Safety Rating: N/A

Also consider:
Audi A6 (from $79,900)
BMW 5 Series (from $82,300)
Jaguar XF (from $82,800)