Mercedes-Benz E500 Cabriolet 2010 Review

Price Guide (recommended price before statutory and delivery charges): $186,950
Options fitted to test car (not included in above price): anti-theft package $1200
Crash rating: not tested
Fuel: 91RON ULP (95RON PULP recommended)
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 11.0L/100km combined
CO2 emissions (g/km): 257
Also consider: Audi S5 Cabrio; BMW 335i Convertible

Overall Rating: 3.5/5.0
Engine/Drivetrain/Chassis: 4.0/5.0
Price, Packaging and Practicality: 3.5/5.0
Safety: 4.0/5.0
Behind the wheel: 4.0/5.0
X-factor: 3.5/5.0

About our ratings

Top-down motoring is heavy on compromise, often exacting the price of sex appeal and Cote d'Azure feel in structural integrity, weight and noise. More again in the four-seat variety, in a way summed up by Volkswagen's Eos. That otherwise very well sorted car's fold-out wind 'baffle' straddles the back seat from sill to sill, forcing you to choose between rear passengers and wind protection.

Folding tops, hard and soft, all take their toll in bootspace, too. In Benz's relatively generous E-Class Cabriolet, it's to the tune of 33 per cent when the top's down -- 300 litres against its coupe sibling's 450. This is where soft-tops retain an advantage over more modern folding hardtops. More here than most -- raise the E Cabrio's roof, push its moveable storage compartment forward and the boot expands to a respectable 390 litres.

That's just part of what makes the Benz's replacement for the CLK convertible easier to live with than so many of its drop-top counterparts. Carsales Network had the car during an ideal week for testing such models, taking in climatic conditions from cloudless sunshine to bucketing rain. This included a weekend of four-seasons-in-a-day weather up in Port Stephens, several hours north of Sydney.

It was the best test possible for the E-Class Cab's new Aircap, the windscreen-mounted wind deflector blade taking centre stage in the sell for the model. Activated by a button in the console, it rises like a spoiler to redirect oncoming air up and over the vehicle when the top is down. We discovered just how remarkably effective it is when our top-down ride in brilliant sunshine was interrupted by a rain squall that came out of nowhere. As long as we remained in motion, the entire cabin remained dry, from front to the rear deck.

It demonstrates a depth of development also evident in touches like an adaptive cruise control that functions way down below 30km/h. Most competing systems won't get out of bed below 40... And in a one-size-fits-all transmission integrating the auto and manual modes. No switching between D and M to make the most of the paddles -- you just use them when you want. Paddles are a good thing on Benzes for the way they render the east-west manual shifting on the stick redundant. They could do with a little extra tactile drama, though.

But while the cockpit ergonomics are first class, the look and feel don't live up to the E500's pushing-$200K pricetag. Part of the reason lies in the trick Benz is playing on buyers with this model. The E-Class cabriolet in fact sits on a C-Class derived platform, so it's actually not the clean-sheet upgrade it may seem.

While it's not short of front seat interior space for six-footers and over, though bigger than the CLK it's certainly more C-Class in this respect than it is E-Class saloon. The rear is usable enough for two adults, however, as not to make a joke of Benz's inclusion of a separate rear climate control zone.

For engineering complexity, it also sits a clear notch or two above your garden variety C-Class. In touches like the extending arm that hands you your seatbelt when you start up, handed down from the S-Class coupes. And in the brilliant AirScarf, which channels warm air up to outlets below the headrest to keep your neck warm on chilly days.

Some of this complexity is of questionable value, for example in the location of the seat adjustment switching. How many connections and electronic synapses does it take to put this near the door handle? Wouldn't it be easier to put it on the side of the chair? These are minor quibbles, but it's worth pointing out the difference between clever and too clever by half.

On the road, however, it's a thoroughly pleasant proposition in town and country. Although it's nearing the end of its life, the 5.5 litre V8 is an appropriate mix of beauty and beast. With its peak 530Nm of torque arriving at 2800 rpm, it hefts the 1840kg car from 0-100km/h in a claimed 5.3sec.

Kicked or paddled down, it delivers big, easy surges of midrange overtaking power. It's a happy marriage with Benz's 7G-TRONIC transmission; in its default Comfort mode it imparts its momentum with a feel as if it could roll on forever. There's enough of the eight-pot orchestra to please, albeit without the rip-snorting induction histrionics that come with the AMG badge.

Like the CLK before it, the E Cabrio boasts one of the best sorted convertible tubs on the road. Its composure at freeway speeds suggests it would remain that way well past Australia's lose-your-licence threshold.

Nor does it lose anything once you're off the freeway. Despite the relatively low profile of the 235/40 rubber around its 18-inch alloys, it absorbs rough tar noises, bumps and potholes with aplomb. It's a lively handler, too, with well-weighted steering and a low centre of gravity serving up plenty of fun in corners. Especially in Sport mode, where, for a car of its size, it delivers palpable response going in on a trailing throttle and enough stomp coming out to keep the traction control software busy.

The brakes, ventilated all round and perforated up front, work with the big, sticky rubber to deliver the prodigious pulling-up power you'd expect of premium product from the inventors of antilock brakes -- even in the wet.

Thanks to a slippery 0.30 drag coefficient and an inch-thick canopy of insulation overhead, it's remarkably quiet with the top up, although our car was affected by occasional visits from an annoying rattly squeaky noise somewhere along the driver's side window line.

Rear passengers are the Aircap's chief beneficiaries. Without it, the back seat is not that nice a place to be. At over 100km/h, it's a bit like a high-sided two-seat chesterfield in a cyclone. Activate the Aircap and life in the rear becomes tolerable, approaching pleasant.

Equipment levels befit the pricetag, with this top-ender getting the full Avantgarde spec standard. That means keyless entry and start, adaptive cruise and the full COMAND integrated satnav and entertainment package including six-disc CD, DVD and TV tuner hooked up to a terrific Harman Kardon audio package.

Around the outside is an AMG body styling kit comprising front and rear aprons and side skirts; underneath, they've lowered the suspension, stiffened the stabiliser bars and firmed up the springs and dampers.

On the safety front, it's the usual Benz story of plenty to keep you out of trouble, plenty more to protect you once you cross the line. Seven airbags is a lot for a droptop -- two each front and side, a kneebag for the driver and side impact headbags that pop up from the doors. You can option that up to nine if you have passengers astern often enough. In the unlikely event of rollover, protection comes from a massively reinforced windscreen up front and sensor-activated pop-up rollbars behind the rear seats.

Over our week, we returned an average fuel consumption figure of 16.8L/100km -- no huge surprises there with this engine and a fair amount of foot-down action.

By year's end, Benz will be phasing this V8 out in favour of a 4.5-litre twin-turbo, boosting power output by 12 per cent from to 320kW and peak torque by nearly a third, to a huge 700Nm.

Also cleaner and more frugal, it will filter down from the S Class to the E in the first half of next year. We can't wait...

Mercedes-Benz E350 Cabriolet model (blue) also shown.

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