My dream ride, but with a practical edge! (E320 CDI)

Background:

I finally got out of my lease on my 2002 VW Passat, a nice enough car, but a bit too boring and utilitarian for me. I am paid a lot better now and so I want a nicer car. I find myself torn between half a dozen models ranging from the new Audi A6 to the BMW 5 series.. My budget is $62-65000 out the door..

I literally drove them all, Audi A6 with V8 (335hp/310 lb/ft), the BMW 545i(325hp/330 lb/ft), and 4 others that I consider of a lesser quality/reputation so I'll spare you the details.

All were great cars in many respects, and I was at first genuinely torn between the BMW 545, the Audi A6 and the MB E500... until I found the 320CDI.

My MB Dealer, a very nice and non car salesman like fella called me and said that he just got a 320CDI in after being sold out for a week on them if I wanted to drive it. I told him, that I wasn't keen on going Diesel that I wanted a high performance sedan, not just practical. He told me to do a bit of research and to drive one before I said no. Never being one to turn down a test drive, I said to him, are you free to do it today? He said yes.

The Review:

The car he had in his showroom was a Platinum Blue (a kind of slate blue metallic) with the two tone grey interior and looked great... you wouldn't think it was any different that the Gas model, though the E500 has 17 vs 16" wheels. But otherwise the interior was the same, and this Diesel was very well equipped with Nav, Massage/heated/vented seats, park-tronnic, HK high end audio, and a few other nifty items. Sticker was $59,200.

I told him I would drive it, but In the back of my head I had no intention of getting it.

We pulled it out of the show room, and that is where my first shock occurred. The car was not loud, it had a diesel(ish) sound, but it was very quite and subdued, more so than a gas engine even, and this was while inside an echo prone building interior. Then, after the car was parked outside we went over and I climbed into the now familiar drivers seat. As with all MBz this is a fully adjustable (including the head rest) seat via a switch arrangement on the door resembling a seat, and there are 3 memory positions as well as the two side mirrors and the steering wheel. Upon exit the seat and wheel move to let you out. After adjusting the seats, we were on our way. Here is where my second and third shock occurred. First off the car was very quiet (again), and secondly the driving experience was no different that the E500!! As a matter of fact (and we never really opened it up as it only had 6 miles on the odo), the low end torque (a massive 369ft/lbs at a mere 1800RPM) was nothing less than amazing, the car would just go when you added gas like it had an unlimited power reserve! For those who don't understand the relationship between HP and Torque... Torque is more useful for most of your driving, and HP is useful if you plan to drive your car at top speed (like in Germany).. where more HP translates to a higher top speed. Even though the governed speed of this car is 130mph, and un governed it's capable of 139mph, the E500 with 335hp can do 150mph... so this is where the additional HP is noticed. However, the additional 39 ft/lb of torque on the CDI is more than noticed while driving at 30-50mph in city traffic, and the 0-60 time is claimed to be 6.6-7 seconds depending on what test you see (vs 6.2-6.6) on the E500. Now here is where my last and biggest shocker came... This car has more or less the same performance as the E500, but has the added benefit of getting 30mph city and 37mph highway!! Yes, that's not a typo 37mpg! on Diesel that typically costs $.10 less than 91 octane anyway!
But this car really has an incredible power curve and a lot of reserve power for passing, a true "sleeper". (As a foot note, RENNTech, the well known Mercedes tuners formerly from AMG make a software upgrade that gives you 230hp (29 more) and a F550 truck 440 ft/lbs torque!!!! for $1300).
This I-6 ( a 3.2 liter 4 valve iron block/alu heads) engine is a MB workhorse and I'm sure is capable of being rated at much higher. The future V6 due in 2007, I don't believe will be as robust, and is certainly not going to have the millions of miles of experience it's predecessor had. The unfortunate reality is that an I-6 is expensive to make and takes up more room under the hood, and hinders their use options in other cars.. so going to a V6 is more for cost than for improved performance and reliability.

Then there is the added bonus that Diesel engine is more robust and has a significantly longer life-span than the gas (in many cases 500,000 miles between major overhaul) which translates to less major breakdowns. Diesels are more expensive to build because of their high internal pressures and stronger construction, but the trade off is that they last for ever.

So this is how I came to the decision to buy an E320CDI.

Now onto the features:

Standard on this car is a few nice features, but for the most part, it's the most sparsely equipped car of the 6 I drove (in base configuration). This is mainly due to the historically more expensive nature of MB and their attempts to keep the base price at just over $50,000. If you equip the 320 CDI like a Audi A6 (even the V6) you are closer to $56,000... So if your entire world is based on getting the most bells and whistles for your buck, don't get the benz. It is disappointing that they didn't even include the NAV system or heated seats as standard, but then if you were getting a $78,000 S Class, they may have. This car is designed to be with in reach to the non-typical MB Buyer who wants MB Engineering (mechanical) at lower cost.

Driving wise, the ride is sporty and firm for a 4002lb sedan, which is exactly what I like... there is minimal body lean, and the steering (speed sensitive) is very responsive at all speeds, and keeps you in touch with the road. The Brake-by-wire system is rather smart and has twice now given me confidence it the cars stopping power. When you apply brakes, it seems to know when your trying to stop at a stop sign, vs when you're trying to avoid hitting the idiot in front of you who just slammed his brakes on to turn right!

Airbags on this car are everywhere (same config as on my Volvo XC90), with side impact, head curtain, and front (variable speed, and gas controlled). Also like on my Volvo, the passenger cage is made of boron steel which is 5 times as strong as regular automotive steel. The legendary Mercedes Benz door slam sound was present, a sound that gives you confidence in the quality of this car's construction.

IF Your airbag deploys, you are automatically connected to the "Teleaid" system where a person will ask if you're ok, if he gets no response, the Ambulance is rolled without your even knowing it.. The car constantly monitored by GPS and as such you can use Teleaid to get directions (if you don't use you NAV system) or concierge services, as well as vehicle tech support and road side assistance. This is MB's own version of On-Star and I find it much better.

The interior deserves mention here.. in keeping with their reputation for workmanship, the interior of this car is about as well made as you could ask for a production car. The wood trim (a beautiful burl) is mated to a chrome strip and very nicely integrated into the dash and doors of the car, and which a fit and finish I've not seen in many another "luxury" car. The leather stitching is fine and has the look of the finest quality. The choice of instrumentation (VDO) is all I could ever ask for, and the fuel and water temp which is displayed in LCD format take a few minutes to first figure out, then becomes second nature. The standard automatic climate control is very easy to use and doesn't require a lot of tweaking, there is an optional 4 zone controller that is more involved (standard on the E500) but I didn't see a need for it. The car is lined with a very nice grade of carpet (not the same quality as their cars of past, 1960-1985) where they used fine wool, but more durable as it's a blend of wool and synthetics. Their choice of rubber and plastic is of a definite higher grade than most of the automakers out there, though more and more companies, like Audi, BMW, Volvo, and other higher end European makers, as well as the three higher end Japanese companies are doing more of the same now.

Lastly this car, being a Diesel has even more sound insulation than the standard E class and as such has a very quite ride on the freeway, more than I would like frankly as it's a bit odd to be doing 80 and feel like your driving 40. The wind noise is almost nil, the best I've ever seen, not a peep! With a drag ratio of .26, and legendary MB fit and finish, that is not a surprise to me.
Now some gripes: (added 6.11.05)

An area I am a bit disappointed in is the NAV system. Our friends with a Honda which sells for less than 1/2 the cost of this car have a better system in their car. Furthermore the Honda has Voice Command, a feature, while not very useful is oddly missing from a higher end car like this as standard. Back to the NAV system... It doesn't provide much in the way of detail at close zoom, with street names, and a good many streets and POI's (Points of Interest) are missing that have been around for a few years from the databank. And for a whopping $285 per DVD update (done yearly) one hesitates to buy an update if this is how sparse the current revision is.

Along the lines of the NAV system, the Command system (part of the same integrated console) could give you more info with little effort, but for some reason it doesn't. For example a time/date would be nice, or RDS for the radio station (a feature again standard on the higher end Honda, and on my Volvo). The Radio could include SAT radio as standard, instead of it being an $800 option, far outside the realm of reason for a small handful of transistors and a small antenna.

The door sills are another area of annoyance for me. I am rather anal about keeping my car (especially a new one) clean. With the deign of these door sills, there is material lined where your feet may rub at the bottom, as well as on the doors themselves towards the bottom of the door. No doubt this is to add to the luxury trim of the car, but in fact the material is a magnet to shoe dirt. The dealer told me that standard carpet cleaner will return them to new, and thus far he's been right, but I can't help but wonder how many time one can rub this material before it starts to look worn out? I would have preferred an all metal sill (of finer quality of course) and a more durable rubber/plastic material for the bottom of the door. Again, a minor issue, but nevertheless when you play $60,000 for a car, you expect a lot. More over, there was a time when the line between an MB and a Buick, or Honda was very, very clear... not so much any more because mainly the later have greatly improved their cars, but I'm afraid that MB needs to stand out more than they do with regards to interior appointments and standard features than they do.

(As I find more, I will revise this article - but for now I am totally satisfied)