Mercedes-Benz and BMW have taken rather divergent courses when redesigning two key models unveiled in the last six months or so. On the one hand BMW has gone for the revolutionary approach with its new 7-series, with completely new, angular styling featuring a prominent, and controversial, tall and flat boot lid.
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Inside, all the design details and switchgear familiar from previous generations have been chucked out and an all-new, clean-sheet design imposed, centrepiece of which is the huge silver I-Drive knob, a computer mouse-like interface with numerous vehicle systems such as the sat-nav and trip computer.
On the other hand there is Mercedes-Benz’s new E-class, which competes with BMW’s 5-series (a new one is on the way this year). For their car, Mercedes has taken a distinctly evolutionary approach. While the entire car is pretty much completely renewed inside and out, it looks much more like its predecessor than the 7.
Trade in a previous generation E-class and there’ll still be that familiar four-eyed nose looking at you when you come out of the house in the morning. Slide in behind the wheel, and much of the switchgear, the general layout of the instruments, the column stalks and the seat adjuster controls all have a familiar look and feel, and operate as you expect, despite the fact they’re mostly redesigned.
Trade in an older 7 on the new car, and you’ll likely need a lengthy session with the salesman (and a four-inch stack of user manuals) before you’ve come completely to grips with such things as the column-mounted gear selector with its push-for-park button on the end, electronic parking brake and way-too-complicated stereo and sat-nav set-up.
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By GlobalDataAs the Americans are aleady gleefully pointing out (the 7 went on sale in January; the E-class hits showrooms this month), you should be able to hand your new E over to a valet parker no problem. Give him a 7 and be prepared to also provide an operating briefing, which is perhaps why BMW has printed a glovebox instruction card.
One thing the 7-series owner will find, though, if it matters to him or her, is that no-one will mistake the latest car for any other Bimmer in the traffic, at least until the new 5 appears. The E, in contrast, can be a bit difficult to pick at a glance from the current C- or S-class.
However, even though the look ‘n’ feel of the new E may be refreshingly familiar (we suspect the more conservative Benz buyer would not react well to a BMW-like full makeover), Mercedes-Benz still seems to have got plenty of value for the 800 million euros ($US697 million) invested in the new car – and the further 1.2 million euros spent to revamp the production facilities.
Key among a long list of innovations are the electrohydraulic brakes, (introduced with the new SL sports coupe but in volume production for the E).
These generally work well but have a vague, slightly snatchy response as you roll to a stop and it’s hard to avoid that final slight jerk by lifting off at the final moment, as with an all-hydraulic system. Give the software another generation…
Airmatic dual control air suspension from the S-class has now migrated down to become standard on the E500 and optional elsewhere. The system uses microelectronics to control both springing and damping according to sensors which monitor the road condition, driving style and loading of the car.
Like so many systems of this type, the choice comes down to a ‘comfort’ setting that gives a great ride but handling just a smidgeon too mushy for the press-on driver, or a ‘sports’ setting that transmits every road imperfection to the cabin and, on the wrong road, threatens to dislodge your fillings.
More useful, we think, are the ‘intelligent’ safety systems that add two-stage belt force limiters and automatic weight classification for the front passenger to the adaptive front airbags previously seen on the model.
There are also sidebags for the front seat occupants, large windowbags, high-performance belt tensioners, automatic child seat recognition and even a rollover sensor.
Another great idea is (optional) seats that inflate and deflate their side bolsters to hold front seat passengers in place during enthusiastic driving.
Optional over the standard a/c is a new climate control system that can maintain a different temperature in each of four cabin zones, front and rear, and a further system that utilises solar cells located in the optional full-length ‘Panorama’ glass roof (with tilt/slide opening panel) to power fans that assist the a/c to reduce passenger head area temperatures.
The E has also adopted the S-class’ COMAND system for audio, video, phone and sat-nav (as an option) with, again optional, voice control.
Also on the E-class’ innovations list is new four-link front suspension, doubled use of aluminium for body panels and twin balancer shafts in the 2.2-litre turbodiesel engine option.
There are also numerous other details, some standard, some optional, that are either new or also pinched from the S-class: seat ventilation, Bluetooth cable-free fixed cellphone, intelligent keep-your-distance cruise control, adaptive accelerator that adjusts (petrol) engine response to driving style, heated steering wheel (something BMW has had for a while), voice-activated systems such as stereo, phone and sat-nav, rain-sensitive wipers (standard at last) and ‘tunnel closing’ (stab the a/c recirculate button entering a tunnel or underground car park and the windows and sunroof close).
Launch engines include the familiar 2.4-litre and 3.2-litre petrol V6s and five-litre V8 plus the newly balance-shafted four-cylinder turbodiesel 2.2 and five-pot 2.7-litre units. One more petrol motor and three diesels are coming this autumn.
Those engines will include a new generation of four-cylinder petrol units whose unique Twinpulse system is claimed to set new standards for the class in terms of output and torque characteristics, smooth running and fuel consumption.
The variant most likely headed for the E is the 200 CGI (125 kW/170 hp) with direct petrol injection. The Twinpulse system features a combination of different technologies for claimed low fuel consumption and six-cylinder smoothness: balancer shafts, supercharger, intercooler, variably adjustable camshafts and four-valve technology.
The new CGI engine combines the Twinpulse system with a pioneering direct petrol injection system which reduces fuel consumption by around eight to 16 percent in the C-class sedans in which they will first be installed.
As before, the new E-class offers three trim levels – Classic (plain wood, cloth trim), Avantgarde (metal trim highlights, black cloth or leather trim) and Elegance (wood with chrome highlights, optional soft light-coloured leather). Sporty AMG versions to follow.
M-B plans to produce 200,000 of the new models this year and 250,000 annually in 2003.
Sales begin in Europe and the USA next month with right-hand models reaching the UK and other markets in August. After an all-too-brief first encounter, we think the new E’s sales goals are realistic. The numerous technical updates have moved the car on a generation and bring some worthwhile advantages but the look of the car and the way you access the new gadgets shouldn’t put off Mercedes’ relatively conservative customer base.
Or valet parkers.
