Test drive Mercedes Benz E-class w211 2002-2006 sedan

Autumn oligarch

If the events in our country will develop according to the same scheme as recently, then the circle of people who can afford to spend money on models occupying the upper lines in the price lists will soon be narrowed significantly. But so far the demand for VIP machines is very stable. The names of these brands and models are pronounced with feeling, with a proper, with arrangement. Listen! Mercedes. Benz. E 500. 4Matic. No comment.
For many years, I have to transfer almost daily from one car to another for many years. A dozen and a half different models run monthly. And so our brother is difficult to surprise with anything special. The acceleration records to hundreds are beaten one after another, and from the nobility of names and luxury of salons, breathing no longer caught. The ancients also noticed everything you get used to it ... So the current e-class in the 211st body is no longer a curiosity. But one thing is 1800 cm3, albeit with a compressor, and another five liters, and even with all -wheel drive.
Dynamics
To ditch gas to the floor and spin the 306-horsepower engine all the way, there is no big mind. And experience too. I would even say an excerpt to go very quickly, but not headlong. Although E 500 helps you in this, connecting electronics that strangle power and smoothing jerks. It happens that on some forced machines there is a breakthrough, moreover, on each transmission, and the total acceleration to a hundred mediocre. It’s just that the driver’s sensations are dulled by the roar of the motor, a twitching box and various -frequency vibrations of the body, steering wheel, seat, etc. Mercedes have a reverse picture. It seems that acceleration is only moderately intense. But in fact he is horrified! Firstly, no extra nervous shudder of the balanced V8 motor, even with a sharp set of revolutions, almost does not deviate from a given position, and the noise and vibration isolation calculated to the smallest detail protects the senses of senior senior senior sledges. Well, and secondly, the set is still not so harsh and smooth. This creates the illusion of a lower speed of movement than in reality. You go 180, and you feel a maximum of 120, and, most importantly, you do not strain. This is both cozy and dangerous. After all, do not forget that the braking distance increases in proportion to the square of speed. And this means that you, swaying measuredly on the waves of peace and complacency, you can miss the moment when it will be too late. It is easy to disperse a heavy car due to a super-powerful engine, but it will have to be stopped using a relatively small spot of contact tires with asphalt. And if not with asphalt? Although, I must admit, the efficiency of inhibition E 500 is supernatural. Thanks to the hefty actuator brake mechanisms hiding under 17-inch wheels. To identify how much the 4Matic accelerates more slowly than the usual rear -wheel drive five hundredth is less -orely empirically, since the losses for friction in the handout are minimal, and the extra 100 kg of weight is equivalent to an additional passenger in the cabin and the suitcase in the trunk. But dry numbers say that, in comparison with the basic E 500, only 0.2 s are lost in acceleration to 100 km/h. Agree that the tribute is small. And the maximum speed was not affected at all, because on both modifications it is forcibly limited, as is customary in powerful German machines, up to 250 km/h.
Controllability
It is quite obvious that it is precisely for better controllability on the Mercedes of the E-class that an all-wheel drive transmission has been optionally offered for one and a half years. I must say that on a traditional rear drive, Stuttgart cars show miracles of controllability. Gracefully moving their weighty bodies even on ice, they allow you to keep the situation with a skid under control. And first of all, under the control of the anti -boom and contrasting systems. But still, the feeling of a classic drive, when the front line is not connected by the transmission of the torque, but only changes the direction of movement, one of the main advantages of the Mercedes, for which, by the way, its traditional admirers hold on. And in this light, all -wheel drive on his favorite brand somewhat shifts accents. But how much?
The first November frosts are the most insidious for drivers who were weaned over the summer from a sudden decline in clutch. At this time, they beat the most, later they simply adapt. At the same time, the owners of Mercedes do not want to part with the usual skills. We go to the almost bare ice here yesterday broke through the water supply, the whole street was flooded, and by night, as usual, -7 ° С, and grabbed the ice as properly. The result of three small chain accidents are almost in a row, about 910 pm, and then, by midnight, a penny firmly embraced the pillar. Where did you fly on a whitish ice? It seems that there were guests from the south, who first learned about the surprises of Russian nature ... Already at night, when Moscow was empty, we slowly roll out onto this training ground. The first attempts to turn around with the drift of the rear axle end ... nothing! First, the traction control system (4ets), together with the traffic stabilization system (ESP) with the sound of the Abeesses, braked the slipped wheels, and almost immediately the engine reduced the momentum. Another attempt. Third, fourth ... all the same. Well, since you won’t deceive you, let's go the other way. We accelerate in a straight line up to 50 km/h and sharply wag to the side. Then to another. And a couple of times. By definition, the car must, if not to fly off the highway, then at least go to a noticeably large trajectory. But this does not happen! Almost 4matic is going like a dish! Nothing, add. 60, 70, 80 ... Only at a speed of about 90 km/h E 500 began, no, not to lose contact, but only to delay with the implementation of my oscillatory commands. It sounds and looks implausible, but, if you do not use the brakes, then the firmician is the same as under the wheels. And if you use it, then almost still ABS helps out. Another distinguishing feature of this car from the usual 211 Merps, a hydropneumatic suspension adjustable in height. True, it is placed on the monotive version. And you don’t even need to talk about 4Matic as it is convenient, when entering the curb, press the button up and, having waited 1015 seconds of pumping, with a stone expression on the face to roll onto the highest sidewalk, which is available only to full -fledged jeeps! One of the main reasons for the unshakable, almost rail behavior 4Matic is permanent drive to both axes, with an emphasis on the rear, in a proportion of 60:40. This maintains generally classic sensations from management.
Ergonomics
To describe the convenience and comfort of Mercedes 500 is the same as praising the beauty of alpine landscapes or gastronomic advantages of dishes from Maxim. Of course, there are nuances, but the range of assessments will still range from 5 to 5+. But in all the previous models and modifications of the E-class it seemed to me that these cars could be driven by yourself, but it would be better to entrust the driver. And for Drivers Car, they usually read cars of the main German competitor. It seems that now the roles have changed, and in the new model I would not entrust the steering wheel now for an active driver. Especially in the 500th company.
Summary
Each true motorist has a dream. Sometimes she comes true, and a long -awaited crew appears in the fanatical garage. At first, he leads the owner to ecstasy, then he simply gives pleasure, and later passion fades, and the previous lust already seems ridiculous and excessive. And then the probability appears that a new favorite will start in the stable, and so to infinity, until there is an option from which there is nowhere to run to. They stay with him for a long time, and you have to dream about something else, unauthorized. Yes, yes, and to desire more than E 500 4matic perversion.
Text Vladimir Smirnov photo Alexander Nozdrin
 

 

Source: Cars