2019 Mercedes-Benz E300 Reviews

Mercedes has carried out an extensive redesign of its mid-sized E-Class coupe and cabriolet and at the same time has introduced an impressive all-new turbocharged V6 engine.Mercedes-Benz Australia offers an E-Class coupe for under $80,000 (plus on-road costs). The most expensive model in the range is the E 400 cabriolet with a recommended retail of $142,900. The E 250 carries a tag of $96,400 as a coupe, and $106,400 in open-top format.All E-Class models set up for Australia are very well equipped and we feel most buyers will find the car suits their tastes without any real need to tick many, if any, options boxes.We tested the E 250 after our enjoyable 300+ km behind the biturbo V6 engine and feel that many buyers will be happy with the output of this smaller capacity unit. We are yet to get behind the wheel of an E 200.Biggest news in the E-Class is the introduction of a new V6 engine in the model called the E 400. In keeping with Mercedes’ downsizing policy – to reduce emissions and trim fuel consumption – the company’s new 400 series engine displaces just 3.0 litres, but achieves V8-like performance thanks to the use to twin turbochargers.With up to 245 kW of power, with an amazing 480 Nm of torque through most of its rev range - that peak being maintained all the way from 1400 to 4000 rpm – the Mercedes E 400 engine can move the big coupe from zero to 100 km/h in only 5.2 seconds, yet the fuel consumption is officially measured at just 7.4 litres per hundred kilometres.So impressed is Mercedes-Benz Australia with this new E 400 that it plans to concentrate on it in place of the V8 unit currently used as the topline powerplant. Though some buyers may feel they need they image of a V8, a test drive of this high-tech V6 is likely to convince them otherwise. That, and the savings of around $50,000 when they opt for the high-performance biturbo six.More realistically for Australia, the biturbo engine provides the safety of effortless overtaking on tight country roads.Also on offer in Australia will be four-cylinder turbo petrol engines in the E 200 and E 250. For the first time,Though the overall shape of the about to be superseded E-Class was very good, the frontal appearance was regarded as being overly complex by many critics. The new look is significantly neater and more attractive. We spent some time chatting to the chief designer, Robert Lesnik, during the global media launch in Germany and Denmark, where he explained how he had done this work without interfering with the impressively low coefficient of drag; just  0.24.Sporty looks are a feature of the latest Mercedes models, no more so than in the new E-Class coupe and cabriolet thanks to their large three-dimension grille centred around the iconic three-pointed star. So great is the alteration to the appearance that it’s hard to believe the bonnet and front guards remain as before. By doing so body change costs having been minimised, thus leaving more in the budget to be spent in other areas.Inside, the latest E-Class retains the same overall design theme as the original, but detail changes to the colours and finish of the materials work well and increase the feeling of luxurious sportiness.Cabin room is better than anticipated and we managed a couple of hundred kilometres in a cabriolet with a fair sized bloke in the rear. We moved the front passenger seat forward to share legroom and all three occupants enjoyed decent space.Safety is of increasing importance to Australian drivers and these mid-sized Mercedes have many crash avoidance features designed for the much more expensive S-Class. Thus we see monitoring of all potential dangers for 360 degrees around the car; lane keeping; radar cruise control; automatic braking and pedestrian collision protection.If you should still be caught up in a serious collision the E-Class will do its very best to minimise injuries.Most of our driving time in the revised E-Class sporty models was done behind the wheel of the all-new biturbo V6 and we loved the effortless surge of torque as we took it over the high side of 200 km/h on several occasions on the famed unrestricted sections of an autobahn.Ride comfort proved excellent on the European roads, which are generally in better condition than those in Australia. Tyre noise doesn’t intrude to any real extent, even in the cabriolet when the roof is closed. Should you open the roof – and we must admit that with the temperature generally round the 12 to 14 degree mark we didn’t do a lot of topless motoring – you can still enjoy some comfort thanks to the heated seats and optionally-fitted Airscarf. The latter blows heated air onto your shoulders.Handling is good due to the low centre of gravity and the balance offered by the front-engine rear-drive layout and by the dynamic precision built into these sporting machines.

Playing it safe has always been a Mercedes-Benz hallmark but the German carmaker is breaking with tradition by installing its updated mid-sized E-Class as the occupant-protection pioneer. It is part-acknowledgement that technology evolves too quickly to delay innovations for the new flagship S-Class due late this year and partly a reflection of the fact the E is now a more important vehicle for Benz as sales of large limousines continue to decline. Either way, it’s a win for E-Class buyers when the car goes on sale in Australia in August.Pricing for Australia hasn’t been confirmed but company spokesman David McCarthy says an “assertive” strategy will mean minimal changes to the existing numbers, which start at $80,000 for the petrol-powered E200 four-cylinder car.  “We’re still finalising specifications for the range,” McCarthy says. “Expect the E-Class to lead the way on pricing and features.” Holding the prices in check will be a big achievement for a car that has had 2000 new components.There will be a choice of three petrol and three diesel engines in the sedan. The highlights are a bi-turbo V6 petrol E400 that will give Mercedes a vehicle to rival BMW’s 535i and a diesel hybrid that uses just 4.1 litres over 100km. Wagon buyers will have the option of a four-cylinder diesel or the bi-turbo V6.There are 11 new or updated safety systems in the E-Class, headed by automatic braking to prevent rear-end crashes and a system that detects pedestrians or crossing traffic at an intersection and hits the stoppers to avoid them. A single windscreen-mounted camera has been replaced by dual cameras linked to radar sensors to provide a virtual 3D field of vision that constantly monitors a 50m space around the car for potential hazards.Unlike the new Volvo V40, Australian E-Classes won’t read speed signs. Put that down to rural signs often being used for target practice by gun and 4WD owners and the fact many of our major cities have such a gaggle of signs that it is almost pointless to try and monitor them. “Like all our safety features, until it works perfectly every time, we won’t implement it,” McCarthy says.The basic structure of the E-Class hasn’t changed but just about everything else has. The headlamps are now a single unit with a pair of daytime running lights in a tick layout. The lamps are housed in a new front end that still comes in two guises - the traditional “Elegance” design with a bonnet-mounted three-pointed star and three-strake grille and the sportier-looking “Avantgarde” style that uses a larger Mercedes roundel mounted in a two-band grille.The interior updates are more subtle but reflect the move to improve refinement. It’s a sum-of-the-parts equation: touches like a new “split view” seven-inch screen that can project one display for the driver and another for the passenger and an analogue clock nestled between the redesigned vents aren’t instantly obvious but in combination make a big difference to the cabin ambience.Mercedes is still assessing which features will go into which cars, but the range-topping regular model, the bi-turbo V6 E400 will pick up everything. That includes adaptive cruise control with “steering assist”, which uses the dual cameras to keep the E-Class in the centre of the lane. A lane-keeping assist function also scans the road for solid and broken lines.It automatically brakes a wheel to avoid crossing solid lines and alerts the driver with a vibration in the steering wheel if they are veering over a broken line. If the system detects oncoming traffic in that situation, it also brakes a corner to bring the Mercedes back into its lane. A five-star rating from ANCAP is pretty much guaranteed.The four-cylinder models are expected to account for the vast majority of E-Class sales and the performance from the lightweight engines is more than acceptable. The pair of 250 engines - the entry level E200petrol wasn’t available at the international launch in Spain - pull the 0-100km/h sprint in around 7.5 seconds.The E220 CDI is the diesel price-leader to take on BMW's 520d, which heads 5 Series sales. The E250 diesel is the pick, courtesy of an expected $95,000 price backed by 500Nm that gives a decent shove in the seat at any speed.Step up to the hybrid and the reward comes in even less fuel use. The diesel-electric system adds around 100kg but still uses just 4.1 litres over 100km. That weight can be felt in the wagon over badly broken roads, where there’s a muted bang over seriously big bumps. We’re reserving judgment on that until we can try the car on local roads but around town the behaviour is impeccable.The E400 is a weapon and it’s only the sound from the bi-turbo V6 that gives away you’re not in a V8. The electric steering now has more weight at speed without sacrificing feel and makes the mid-sized car a lively vehicle when the road starts to wind.

Heads up because the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class touches down in Australia in six months. And, while it does not look or feel radically different from the current model, you get the feeling there has been a changing of the guard.The V8 powered E500, previously the top of the E-Class tree, has been unceremoniously dumped - consigned to an earlier time when fuel consumption and/or its detrimental effects on the environment were not the priority they are these days. To hammer home the point, the E-Class line up will also include a hybrid for the first time - and not just any old hybrid . . . but a diesel one.Benz hasn't revealed any prices yet. That won't happen until closer to the Australian launch in August. But expect prices to be "assertive'' to use their words, which in some cases might mean cheaper than the model it replaces.Benz is keen to deliver more E-Class sales and the way to do this is to kit out the car with better engines, more tech and a longer list of standard equipment. Prices for the current range start at just under $80,000 - expect the new E-Class to be close if not slightly less than this figure.Safety features are something the company is loathe to skimp on and automatic braking, to prevent costly rear-enders in traffic - is sure to be standard.One of the biggest changes has been the consolidation of the twin front lights into a single headlight cluster. It has been a hallmark of the car for three generations and was the subject of much discussion prior to its introduction.Suffice to say Benz has managed to create a twin light effect, using LED technology to separate the one light into two distinct groups instead. You wait until you see it.The other big change is the adoption of two front facias, just like Benz has done with the smaller C-Class - Elegance and Avantgarde. There's no prizes for guessing which style will be most popular with Aussies, where Avantgarde outsells the more conservative Elegance look with its raised Benz three-pointed star at a rate of almost 10 to 1.Five stars for sure. Benz wrote the safety book when it comes to technology. It doesn't get any safer than this, with the usual fare, including multiple airbags and electronic traction and stability control - plus a long list of standard/optional safety features.They include the aforementioned steering assist, high beam assist and rear ender prevention. The latter detects the presence of pedestrians up to a speed of 50km/h, at which point it will stop the car automatically and quicker than you could ever hope to do so yourself.The chance of injury continues to be lessened up to a speed of 72km/h - after which you're on your own. The high-beam assist system is so new Benz it hasn't even been seen in the S-Class yet, and the company is faced with the daunting task of having to talk the Government into it - there's just no rules to accommodate it.The system is able to dip the all-LED head lights, but only in a narrow gap around an on-coming car - not completely (maintaing the driver's view of the road ahead). Also a combination of radar/cameras and ultra-sonic sensors create a 360 degree safety envelope, 50 metres around the car which can even warn of traffic entering the path of the car from either side.We'll be getting three petrol, two diesel and one hybrid model. There's the E200 four cylinder petrol model, the entry to the range with 135kW of power, 300Nm of torque and fuel consumption of 6.0 litres/100km, the E250 four cylinder petrol with 155kW/350Nm/6.1 litres/100km, and the new E400 Bi-Turbo 3.0-litre petrol V6 with 245kW/480Nm/7.7 litres/100km.The entry level diesel is the four cylinder 250CDI, with 150kW/500Nm/5.2 litres/100km, the V6 E350 Bluetec with 185kW/620Nm/5.7 litres/100km and the four cylinder E300 Bluetec Hybrid, with 170kW/750Nm/4.4 litres/100km.The latter is basically the same engine as the E250 CDI with the addition of an electric motor to give it some extra oomph and to reduce fuel consumption. The wagon will be available withe the E250 CDI diesel, as well as the E400 Bi-Turbo V6 - but the jury is still out on whether there will be an AMG version of the wagon - Benz only sold five last year.Details of the coupe and cabriolet will not be revealed until closer to launch later in the year. All are hooked up to a 7-speed automatic in Australia and all are fitted with fuel-saving stop/start technology.We got to drive three of the models at the international launch of the E-Class this week in Spain. The E250 CDI diesel is expected to be the biggest seller in the range again and deservedly so with 500Nm of torque, for most people all you'll need.The Hybrid with its extra power and lower fuel consumption figures could be a sleeper, providing the same kind of performance, if a little smoother - depending of course on the price. The E400 Bi-Turbo petrol V6 while not quite as quick off the line as the V8, at 5.3 versus 4.9 seconds for the 0-100km/h dash is pretty damn good and will go head-to-head with BMW's twin turbo six - something that has been lacking until now.It won't be anywhere near as expensive either - but it's still a big hop, step and a jump up to an AMG for a V8. Benz says the percentage of diesels it sells is now close to 50 percent in E-Class, but drive the Bi-Turbo V6, with its satisfying snarl and rapid throttle response and you won't want to give it back - trust me.