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

Mercedes Benz E 500 Avantgarde Review

General
As you know, the Mercedes Class E car turned out to be between two lights: on the one hand, the flagship of the series of class S is pressed against it, and the class C car props down from below. This position seems very uncomfortable from the point of view of conquering in the market of its niche. Nevertheless, the old car of this model in seven years of its existence gained 1 million 40 thousand buyers. In other words, 200 thousand cars were sold per year, and 17 thousand, respectively, per month. If compared with similar indicators of other cars, it should be noted that such sales of an expensive car, in general, is simply incredible. By the way, for a car from a class from the previous model, this indicator amounted to 1 million 700 thousand pieces. Thus, the volume of the E-Class machine is comparable to the volume of the C-Class brand.
So, the high market price of a car, multiplied by high demand. What else can the manufacturer be desired? But the developers are not going to dwell on what has been achieved, and in this desire forward the strength of the Mercedes brand. This is extremely reminiscent of the behavior of Toyota in the Japanese market, if you touch its expensive Mark II or Crown models. Indeed, you just have to become a universally recognized leader in his class and the sales volume is provided, right?
Be that as it may, but the advantage of the car of the E is comprehensive. At least among European cars in the Japanese market he does not have a worthy competitor. Of course, the BMW 3 Series and Audi A4 car can very successfully compete with the S. class model, but cars of the increased category of the same companies, namely the BMW 5 Series and Audi A6 are sharply inferior to Mercedes E, this is a fact. The same alignment exists in the market of used cars: the popularity of the model E causes increased interest in it here, so the lower threshold of the price of used car is also growing. There is a very close relationship between the salesiness of the new model and the high price at its predecessor in the secondary market.
 
Technology
So, it is safe to state that in terms of the number of machines sold, the E-class model is on a par with the C-class model. And the manufacturer has already outlined new borders and plans that after the release of the new generation of the model, its sale will reach 240 thousand cars a year. Of course, such forecasts to a certain extent are based on the fact that recently the market of representative machines of the middle category has been signs of some revival. But on the other hand, in order to achieve the intended goals, you need to further expand your presence in this market. I remind you that Class E car occupies 24 % of sales in this sector. So, it must be brought to an even greater level. And how can this be done without, simply put, not to take the client from under the nasal of a competitor? It is for this purpose that Mercedes does not spare the strength to introduce new technical achievements.
The symbol of this introduction may be the use of brakes in the model E model E (SBC), which previously occurred only in the category S. Then, even more progressive than in the S-class, the electronic tracking system of pneumatic suspension (included The standard set of modifications is 500, and for machine 320 is offered in the form of an option). But the SBC system is now the most advanced brake system that allows you to achieve a high level of stability and highly effective braking. This has already been tested in the SL model, but the fact that now the same brakes began to equip a car that is already sold in mass quantities is, I would say, a sign.
What else is new in the 2004 model machine? Of course, this is an automatic 7G-Tronic step-by-step electronic transmission. This is done, by the way, for the first time in the world. This transmission is equipped not only by the E500 model, but also by the S500, CL500, SL500, in short, all cars with 8-cylinder engines.
Now you will not surprise anyone with a micro-lighting car with a 4-step automatic transmission. And in the machines, the class is mostly used, the five -speed box is already used. I am the fact that transmission with an increased number of steps is becoming increasingly popular. And this is explainable, since there is a struggle for fuel saving, for reducing noise, for increasing the intensity of acceleration and increasing the quality of the gearbox. However, increasing the number of speeds, the manufacturer is forced to put up with an increase in the size of the transmission and its weighting. Say, Toyota decided to equip the Crown car with a 6-step box after long weighing all for and against. And here Mercedes with its 7th speeds!
 
Performance
A 7-speed gearbox is, first of all, dimensions and weight. But Mercedes engineers have found an excellent way out. Constantly working on the design of the box and the optimization of its work, they were able to make it only that its length is only 4 cm larger than that of the previous 5-step transmission. And yet, for the first time in the world they used a magnesium alloy for the manufacture of a crankcase, which allowed to limit the weight of the device only 1.8 kilograms. Structurally, it was impossible to do without increasing the number of details and, accordingly, without increasing material costs. But this is nothing compared to the price of the car itself: the car became only 50 thousand yen more than its predecessor. Yes, the formation of the price of a representative of a representative class can go with a certain margin, so such a slight rise in the cost of a new model can be explained by purely tactical considerations. But, one way or another, and the goal was achieved: Mercedes made a strong move and established himself as a leader in the field of multi -stage automatic transmission.
In fact, the new Mercedes was sitting behind the wheel of the new Mercedes, I did not feel at all that I was driving the world's first car with a 7-speed automatic gearbox. After all, the previous E500 model with a 5-step the box was easily accelerated from any transmission, it possessed so powerful traction characteristics. Where is the best help of automatic transmission? Well, of course, in machines equipped with engines with a small working volume. And when you have such a powerful power unit at hand as a five-liter V8 engine, there is almost no noticeable difference between the 5th and 7th step box. Yes, indeed, the acceleration time from 0 to 100 km per hour is reduced by 0.3 seconds. But under normal conditions, to use the advantages that the transmission promises with the updated to seven steps will not be so simple.
Nevertheless, this is exactly what attracts in the 7G-Tronic system! In a multi -stage automatic box, there is usually another problem, in addition to the already named increase in weight, lengthening and incremental. I would call it the problem of excessive switching. When such a machine starts diligently switching from one speed to another, this can often cause a feeling of deterioration of controllability. But in the Mercedes car, equipped with a 7G-Tronic transmission, this effect does not occur excessive switching, and the feeling of handling is as if you were driving a previous model with a 5-speed gearbox. Plus, when driving at high speed, the engine operates at lower (5%) speeds, which further reduces noise in the cabin. Although much quieter, because the previous model was almost inaudible. This, in turn, reduces fuel consumption (based on the fact that the consumption is now 10 liters per 100 km, saving approximately 10%). For an individual owner, such savings may not give anything. But from the point of view of the manufacturer, who is used to measuring progress by interest, at once 10 percent is almost a revolutionary technology.
Of course, someone will definitely think: if you want to save, why the hell with a five-liter engine?. All this is so. And at the same time, if a person has such a desire, well, how, tell me, to stop this craving for a luxurious life? And here it all depends on how the manufacturer behaves in this regard. Mercedes, in particular, equipping its luxurious model with a 7G-Tronic system, has already demonstrated its understanding of the direction in which the production of cars of this class should develop.
 
 
 
 

Source: CarView.co.jp