Mercedes Benz – E500 & E250 CGi

merc1 World of PowerBoats was invited to madrid to test their latest executive range…. Although testing high performance powerboats and SuperYachs is my ‘chosen subject’, I’m not averse to climbing behind the wheel of motor cars to voice my opinion. While the occasional boat builder or dealer makes an effort to impress when they are launching a new model, the majority seem quite happy to provide a pie and a pint at their local before letting you loose on the latest pride and joy. Needless to say, I couldn’t help but be impressed when a group of ‘motoring experts’ gathered at Farnborough Airport to board a private jet which whisked us away to Madrid where the latest beauties from Mercedes were waiting to be put through their paces. I listened intently to the experts trying to glean a few tips of what I might expect and when a fl eet of Mercedes ‘people movers’ with blacked out windows collected us from Madrid airport and whisked us away to one of the cities most impressive hotels my thoughts were ‘If this is how motoring scribes earn their living, I’m in the wrong job’. Motor cars, like the modern powerboats have to comply with strict emissions levels and at our fi rst briefi ng, this point was very much the talking point. Mercedes personnel gave us an insight on what we might expect over the next two days before we were allocated a test car for the following morning. Most of us were teamed up with a fellow journalist and I joined David Watkins of the Independent who turned out to be not only good company but a saviour on the more technical aspect of car testing. We were in possession of a Mercedes E250CGI for our morning session and we plotted our course on the sat nav to take us out onto the busy city streets of Madrid and into the scenic Spanish countryside. The E250 CGI is a very deceptive car, the intelligent engine mapping by twin turbo’s fools you into thinking it’s a 2.5 litre as opposed to 1.8. Around town, the torque of the engine is very impressive and the vehicle’s refi nements of the on-board computer merc3 could calculate the fi scal projections of the third world for the next decade. Although no-doubt a lot of effort goes into designing seats for fast sports boats, they cannot compare with the sumptuous seating arrangements in the E250 CGI. Whichever way you aim the car and at whatever speed, the seat hugs you back accordingly making travel a pleasure as opposed to punishment. As you would expect motorway motoring was faultless and after reaching the mountainous part of our test session, the car took to the hills with little effort and piling on the power around hairpin bends was not for the feint heated. After an enjoyable morning in the company of Watkins and the Mercedes E250 CGI we arrived at another hotel for our second Press Conference. I had the opportunity to chat with the experts which included Roland Kemmler, head of gasoline engine development. The guy is a hive of technical information and it was clear he had fold memories of the pre-war racing era, a time of screaming superchargers’, BRM, Auto-Union and of course Mercedes Benz. After the conference and lunch we were introduced to the next in the E range, the E250CDI, the D designates diesel. It appeared several journalists were getting quite enthusiastic about a night drive back to Madrid as they were able to test the new headlights. I hopped into the E250CDI with David my co-pilot who agreed I was beginning the sound like a real motoring journalistic nerd as I swerved from side to side trying out the much talked about headlights. As a car approached from the opposite direc tion, the lights automatically dimmed. The torque developed from this 2.1 diesel is quite frankly astonishing and with Mercedes being pushed by BMW in the seriously competitive market, it can only be good for the customer. After a relaxing and informative evening which included a lavish meal complimented by fine wine, I retired to my room in preparation for the following morning’s merc2 programme which would include a drive in the V8 E500. After over-sleeping resulting in a missed breakfast, I made my way down to the array of test vehicles armed with the keys to the magnificent E500. Much to my surprise David Watkins informed me; he had no desire to drive the car as he seemed obsessed with CO2 emissions, so it was left to me to put it through its paces. We filtered out into the Madrid traffic and it became very clear, the 5.5 litre V8 is indeed ‘torquee’. The sat-nav once again took us to the motorway and open country. I followed an E350 driven by a genuine motoring hack and he eventually let me pass him knowing what lay ahead, my favourite race track, the motorway. Armco barriers either side around twisting country roads for miles. I’m afraid David was not impressed as I shifted into sports mode and shifting down through the gears I pushed the car to extremes, possibly thinking I’m more capable than I am. Thankfully the cars steering and suspension were very forgiving and the brakes were phenomenal for such a heavy car. I’m not a great fan of paddle shift gears but I have absolutely no complaints with Mercedes usual attention to detail, everything they do is meticulous, well designed and ruthlessly efficient. The E500 is a car for log journey’s and I would be quite happy to drive from the north to the south of France, via the Alps, have a cup of tea and jump n the car to drive back…I really can’t fault it. My days in the company of Mercedes were sadly too short as I handed the keys back to the vehicles keeper. Few can dispute Mercedes produce superb motor cars and I’m afraid I cannot choose my favourite from the three I had the pleasure of driving. Next week I’m off the test a new 23 foot sports boat and I can guarantee it won’t live up the grace and comfor t of the Mercedes E range.