Not your father's diesel Benz.

Intro:
Being a MBZ nut doesn't come easy. There is so many Benzes to choose from. All great cars. There are also some not so good when reliability and some function items are involved, something that has chased the star car for some time now. Fortunately, we have fun with the E 320 diesel which satisfies a lot. True, it may not be the fastest kid on the block, it is no slouch. If you are a previous Benz diesel owner, you know about the interesting characteristics of a compression-ignition engine. More about that coming up. The mid Benz series continues to impress. New for '06 is the electric brake assist. Out with the old vacuum reservior, in with the electronic gadgetry.

E Class:
The E class has been a mixed blessing. A nice car in so many ways, not too big, not too small. Smooth and quiet, though not in league with the S class. Excellent driveabliity but many E class of the 03 iteration and up have been sadly plagued with many problems. Most of them electrical. Our car came with an alignment error that required a slotted castor alignment bolt, needed to bring more adjustment to bring the front end into spec (it was off more than negative 2.5) and it was done on a German rack, designed for Benz cars. We think for almost 60 large, you should have a car that's perfect right out of the box and for that we say; "points deducted". To be fair, not all cars off the assembley line are properly aligned and to presume otherwise would be naive. "We rarely see one that is" replyed the guy at the local independent shop which specializes in der Deutchland autos. "Don't take it to the dealer. His rack is not set up for Mercedes cars and I doubt he'll ever figure that out.", he went on to say. He was right as we burned up a set of tires on our S class from the same shop. Needles to say we won't go back but will stick with our independent guy. He takes the time and effort to get it right. Why not?

Inside story
Fit and finish is the usual top notch you'd expect. Our new benz came with a pretty greyish/brown exterior metalic colour. Trim package is basic but includes most gadgetry you'd expect. No annoying knobs on the centre console, every thing is well placed and easy to reach. Controls are logically laid out and buttery smooth in operation. Some don't care for the fuel and temp gauges which read in bar graphs but we found them easy to read and placed nicely on each side of the instrument cluster. A cluster which is far less busy then that of yore or the more informative S class. Sometimes simplicity is just fine. Leg room is decent up front but a little crampt in back. Rear seat bottoms are angled up enough to make good use of room whilst delivering adequate comfort to the rear passenger. Interior lighting is very bright in low light or dark. Trunk room is generous. Deep, easy to access. There are tie down hooks but no place for a cargo net. That's something you'll have to add later. The rear seats do not fold down. Good for quiet, not for utility.

Controls
There is the usual menu system located in the centre circle of the instrument cluster where the speedo is. Functions for radio and other functions are there and easily accessed from the left side of the steering wheel via a group of screen/page buttons. There are volume and telephone controls on the right. You can also access radio functions from the centre stack where there is nav, radio, cd, wb, and aux controls. This time, they did it right by swapping the nav dvd, on earlier years a cd that lives in dash, with audio cds. One cd loaded above the screen in the centre stack, or push an eject button and the lower control bar pushes out and raises to reveal access to the 6 cd changer. 7 discs total right there whilst the dvd nav now lives happily in the driver's side of the trunk wall where it never has to be ejected except to be repalced with an update disk. Why didn't they do this at first, one might ask. Who knows?

Under way
Spirited driving doesn't ruffle its feathers or you can loaf along for the ride, which is comfy at all times. After roasting the 16" Michelins in the AZ desert, they become like an old dried up eraser you'd find on a pencil. We promptly replaced them at 22,000 miles with Khumo's latest offering and picked up some serious handling and quiet. Hmmm, was it really that hot out there? Uh....Yep. And to our shame, the tires were well under the recommended air pressure. This car does not have the optional low tire warning. Just as well as they can often cry wolf where you are off a pound on one or more wheels. Now, we'll check them every month at least. But, 22 lbs all the way around is not a good pressure. Shame on us. Throw it in to the curves with a push and shove and it's always well planted. A little too much and the very liberal nanny doesn't intervene until the rear is beginning to slide. Meaning, the traction control lets you get away with a lot until crying foul, something you want when pushing to the limit. Very nice balance when the thin line between sane and close to losing it comes into play. Yes, you can disable the traction/stability control but it isn't recommended save for the closed track wtih the right safety equipment. We're told the system will still intervene but at this point one doubts why. By then, the car could be at the bottom of a revine or worse yet, down a several thousnd foot drop with nobody living to tell about it. Almost been there, don't wish to try that again. Once is enough, thanks.

Diesel fun
We've taken out the E 320 gas which was adequate in power, and the E 350 gas, more like the S class in get up and go. Both quiet and fine for the work/play a day environment. And, of course, the E 500 with loads more. More to the point, we focus on the E 320 CDI (Inline 6) and E 320 Bluetec (V6). Both quite similar in power and handling characteristics where the Bluetec (pre ad blue) is slightly faster and sprightly. You can read more about Bluetec and Ad Blue from Mercedes and many great blogs on line. Serious discussion about a diesel hybrid S class didn't come of much but there is a gas version slated for the U.S. sometime in the next couple years. Too bad, the diesel would have had lots of promise in a hybrid application.

On the road
Starting 'er up is effortless with a switch of the key to the ignition on position. Wait about one sec and the glow plug light goes out and you can be on your way with a flip of the switch to start. Like many modern gas cars, engine start up is automatic. Just hit the key and the computer does the rest. No waiting around for 30 seconds as in the old days. Glow plug sequencing is fast. On warm days you won't see but a flicker of the light. You can actually hit the key even when it's cold and start up is still instant. Serious compression you feel, especially when you shut off the engine and feel a nice solid thunk as it comes to rest on compression. It's a diesel thing. Don't ask to have it explained. The engine is not whisper quiet as the new gas engines but it is not the least bit obtrusive and that becomes apparent during hwy cruising. It's easy to see why the new gen oil burners are so well liked. Power comes on fast with a slight bit of turbo lag. Most diesels are turbocharged these days, a wonderful way to tap into the umph.

Push you foot down hard from a stop and you'll easily spin the rear tires....whoa!!! This is an auto trans to boot. 5 speeds to be exact. It could use a little faster time in programme but never bothersome and most shifts are very subtle and smooth as silk. The power is always on tap and when the engine comes into its power band, around 1500 revs, and you're enjoying the new diesel wave. Lots of pull with little rpm. Wide open, you run out of the power band around 3500 revs but are right back into it on downshift. Very reminiscent of the old mid 70s GM beasts only gobs more power. Nimble handling in all situations defy the diesel version's slightly higher heft. No waiting around.

From go to stop
As mentioned, new for the E is the electonic brake assist. This system is actually well engineered and feels similar to vacuum assist. Binders come on sooner with longer travel and well modulated feel. Stamping on them feels a little different but stops just as good and engine off, power off conditions ad effort but you can get this car stopped with or with out assist, though it isn't advisable to kill the power just to prove the point. There are nice sized rotors at all four corners and decent calipers to do the job. Just give a nice squeeze and you've got plenty of stopping control. Moduating pressure to a full stop at slow speeds comes easy. Maybe easier to finesse than our big S class we love to romp around.

Wipe please
The brakes work great in the rain but we wish the rain sensor wipers, also in our S class, worked as well. Sweeps are a bit lethargic and there is some chattering at the end of the stroke but it's time for new blades, which cured the latter problem on the big S. Slow, auto, or fast speeds are driver selectable. The auto mode seems a bit sporadic. As if they had a mind of their own. They do adapt to rain intensity in relation to vehicle speed but there is no driver set variable speed. Still the two blade arrangement is much more preferred to the older style single arm that does this weird dance back and fourth but never keeps up with the wet stuff. And a bit better than the twin blade system unique to previous Benzes. We'd prefer to see the driver's side wiper cover further toward the window's edge, a gripe we had with the early '70s Plymouth Gold Duster/318. We solved that problem with an articulating arm borrowed from a Chevelle of near the same vintage. Don't try this at home. We won't try it on the E, thank you all the same.

Misc
Newer Bluetec E class cars will require more maintenance for its emission equipment. There's the urea injection and ad blue to burn off even more particulates. The only emission equipment on the CDI is the collector, sort of like a catalytic converter for diesels. Much simpler and we suspect the "50 states" diesel Benz will be missing the power and performance of the previous models but we'll restrain from passing judgement until we've gathered some wheel time. Gone is the diesel smell exhaust, gone is the soot. Just a faint chlorine scent when cold, then little else. Our advisors tell us that bio fuel should not be more than 5% or B5 as it's known in the petrol industry. Some are running the B20 (20%) even in their Bluetec (pre ad blue) but it is not recommended by Mercedes of North America due to damage to the collector and could void the warranty where applicable. Simply put, wait until the warranty is out, then put on your cold air induction, engine chips, and "cat back" exhaust system if the ECM doesn't freak out. A word to the wise; try it out of the box first, then see about dos and don'ts.

What about mileage? All this for high 20s in town and high 30s on the road. We're seeing in the low 30s most of the time. Last time that happened, was on a 4 banger Honda Accord of old. More power for less fuel? We'll do it. No problem.

Caution
Early '05 CDI and gas E class cars had many problems with electrical an computer functions. The '06 car, which ours qualifies as even though it was built earlier, brought solutions to most of that. A good Benz guy or dealer can download more up to date software which will remedy most of those issues. Have we gone too far with this computer age concept? Maybe so in components but the C.A.N or Computer Area Network simplifies much of the communication chores. Verdict: still up for grabs .

Finally:
Diesels are an acquired taste. Bimmers of Germany are a kick to drive but you can't get 'em here unless you import a used one and that's no easy task. Diesel trucks are a great tool for the work place and towing, see the Chevy Silverado with Isuzu's provided Durmax reviews, and the oil burning Merces of old are adequate for getting around if you're not in a hurry. The E class diesel offers so much that you really can't go wrong. Nothing but praise in our home and each person wants to sign it out when ever possible. Yep, we can sure live with that. It's a keeper and with 23,000 miles on the odometer, we can happily report no defects or glitches. Did we mention the longevity of these wonderful engines? Long time if you take care of them. Try half a million real miles. At least that's what they say.

Expensive to buy new, not too bad used. E class cars are easy to like, agile to drive and enjoy, and always good on power with any of their engines. The CDI just happens to be a little quirky but fun if you're a diesel nut. Is if fast? Oh yeah. Speeding ticket fast. Oops!

Update: Well into '09 and the news is all good. This car just grows on ya. Comparing it to my S class, it is quite different. The S is luxury quiet and big where the E is close coupled and steering is a bit more precise as it is dialed in. Truly a different car. It's quite niimble, fast, and all the good things we mentioned above. Just can't say enough good about this machine. Getting diesel fuel is fairly easy and the impressive economy just adds so much more. Filling the tank, setting out on the interstate at a steady pace and seeing a range of within 20 miles of 700 avg. is really impressive. ON a good day, the S class will get in the upper 20s. The CDI will bring in an easy 38. Less in CA because of the lower quality fuel. This car is a life long keeper.