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-   -   My Mercedes-Benz E350 CDI : The bad boy in a suit (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-drives-initial-ownership-reports/190934-my-mercedes-benz-e350-cdi-bad-boy-suit.html)

After years indecision of whether or not to go for a luxury vehicle I finally made my mind to go for a luxury sedan.

The Chartered accountant in me has till now kept me away from buying a new vehicle as the thought of depreciation kicking in once the registration is done becomes louder in my head when I’m about to close in on a new vehicle.

All said and done my wifey always gets the new car and I have till date gone with pre-worshipped SWEET deals.

Also now that we as a family, finally decided to stay in India for the foreseeable future the noise around getting a new luxury sedan became louder and louder and somehow managed to beat up the CA thought process and the depreciation logic went out of the window.

Then came the fun process of going through reviews and getting a feel of what the junta out there feel about the vehicles.

These were the shortlisted vehicles:

1. BMW 530 D F10
2. BMW 530 D G30
3. MB E350 LWB
4. MB E220 LWB
5. MB E350 W212
6. Jaguar XF petrol
7. Skoda Superb L&K diesel


Just putting down a quick summary and impressions that I had on each of these vehicles:

Drove the 530 D F 10 and immediately fell in love with the way it drives and its road manners. Nonetheless, it was a squeeze in the back seat with me driving the car and because of the rear seat entertainment the person sitting behind me felt that the screen is on their face. With a family of four this was seemingly not practical and with the G30 just round the corner thought of waiting for it.

The 530 D G30 launched and after doing the test drive and a couple of good advice later from Team-bhp folks immediately paid the three lacs booking amount. Then came the bad news of car allotments getting delayed and the Carbon Black color available only in December and the White only in October. Also came the news of Cess increase by around 10%. That would take the OTR price to around 80L. No way I was going to pay that kind of money, when in fact I was already stretching a good 10L to pay the 74L OTR pre the Cess fiasco. So had to choose head over heart and opted out of the G30 530D. I don't know how I would feel on seeing one driving past me on the road someday. But hey......BMW did screw up by not having enough cars ready after they made so much noise around the launch and the beautiful AD campaign.


The E220 and E350 LWB are both very good cars. The interior to me is by far the biggest incremental update that i have seen over one variant to another. Look at the F10 and the G30; they are kind of identical and evolutionary. But the W213 over the W212 is a big leap in the design language and seems like MB started with a clean slate on this one. The ride and handling on the other hand seems to be a downgrade as compared to the W212. It would be interesting to see how the ride and handling is on the regular wheel base version. Chauffeur driven bosses would like what it has to offer and that back seat could be the biggest reason why this would sell in thousands. Not for the self-drive types and therefore not for me!

The Jaguar XF petrol is a great car to drive and is a rocket when the turbo kicks in but the back is claustrophobic and stuffy for a lack of better word. The rear view visibility is severely impaired by the roofline and the way the rear shapes up creating a minimalistic viewing area. This is common to the Evoque range as well.

The Skoda Superb is a brilliant car and i feel the best in terms of value for money for what it has to offer. The ventilated front seats is truly a feature that's one segment above the competition. Would have gone for it had I not liked the 530D or the W212.

Two things really made the buying decision a lot easy.

ONE: GTO's review of his 530D and his reasoning for a three litre six cylinder diesel.
TWO: Driving the 530D (G30 and F10) and the E350 CDI W212.

The torque and the sheer drivability of the cars with these bigger engines could probably be the single most reason to go ahead and pay that extra and get these variants over the regular ones. For owner driver I don’t think the 4 cylinders should even be an option that they should consider. If budget is a constraint but the vehicle is going to be predominantly self driven one should try out the preowned/certified variant of these vehicles.

Enter the suited star

Having driven the Mercedes E-Class sporadically while in the US and UK I have come to associate the brand with reliability and luxury fleet owners go to car. The Lincoln town cars replacement in the US for the premium chauffeured segment and the go to car for Emirates ride to-and-fro the airport. So it never crossed my mind to look for the E Class as a first option as I have also associated it with cars with good road manners but a bit too good mannered to give that adrenaline rush that one may get with the Beemer.

Add to that my impressions after the review of the W213 LWB of the E350 and E220 really got me looking at the BMW. But when the cess news made the BMW too hard to get I went and test drove the E 350 W212 for the second time and after driving the G30 and the E350 within a day of each other on precisely the same route I decided to go with the W212 and save big in the bargain. My office being a 10 minute drive and a commute that I rather like to do on my modest collection of vintage bikes, sanity prevailed and I closed the deal on the MB.

The real issue with my stint on the E class in US and UK were boring looks as compared to the Beemer or the Jaguars and a bit too Executive-like. And I needed to change that and when I say that I really mean change that!!!

While doing that I wanted all the modifications to be covered by warranty and by insurance. So decided to get the mods done at Mercedes itself. The Shaman dealership in Kalina has a state of the art facility and is a lego land for some one like me. Literally housed myself there for a week looking at various permutation and combinations. I would like to specially thank Rohan Hatalkar – Sales and Shrivasta Shetty – Head, Accessories and Customization at Shaman.

The things that I changed on the vehicle are the following:

Front and rear bumper assembly along with the side skirts - As a package MB sells it as an AMG Kit

The alloy wheels color, now finished in gloss black and the hub caps

Side view mirrors, finished in black

Front grill, finished in black

Rear spoiler

The way I plan to write this review is first talk about the customizations that i did on the car while sharing the stock pictures of the E350 and then the pictures with the customizations and some pictures that I had captured at the Kalina workshop while it was being finished.

The second leg of the review shall be the actual review of the car as per the forums suggested layout. Hope I'm able to do justice!


Here it goes...

This is what really matters. It really puts a smile on my face everytime I take it out for a spin. The BIG 6!:D



The car's front before the installation of the AMG Kit. Notice the front grill portion is silver in color here. The AMG kit comes with a different front and rear bumper assembly and the side skirts.



The car's derriere in stock trim



The side profile of the stock E350


After a wait of almost two weeks here comes the AMG kit from Germany.



The front grill after a black coat in the paint booth


This beautiful SLC's front grill was the inspiration for finishing the front grill in black



The side mirrors and the grill


The side skirts. There is a slight indentation on the side skirts that allows you to paint a different shade. I went with black but have seen some cars in the UK finishing this with a silver/chrome at times.


Here's a view of the grill installed on the car


My biggest headache was to get the correct alloys for the car. I tried the AMG alloys but it came with the possibility of spoiling the ride quality and I was not sure how the stock multispoke alloy would look on the car if finished in black. Once I decided that I will use the same alloys and paint it black the question of matt or gloss kept bothering me. A big thank you to Rohan and Shrivasta to finish one wheel each in matt and gloss so that I could take an informed decision.
I must say that we all wanted to go matt but after seeing the finished wheel it was a loud and clear GLOSS!




Here's me and Rohan Hatalkar at the time of delivery. Shaman got some nice family pics from facbook and put it on the big screen which was a complete surprise to us. A very good gesture and making the delivery experience that much more special!



Notice the front bumper with the AMG kit as compared to the stock E350


The rear bumper with the AMG Kit


The side profile of the bad boy in all its glory at the time of delivery. Compare this to the stock look. It just looks even more handsome in-person lol:


At my office parking lot

Congratulations on a wonderful acquisition. Glad you added the AMG kit, it does look boring in regular clothing. Wonder what stops MB India to sell such variants as an option. Do post some interior photos and the costs involved.

Great thread and many congrats. Thanks for sharing your purchase experience. Wishing you and your family safe and happy journeys in this car.

To me Lexus and MB appeal to my head while the BMW appeals to my heart. And Audi is no longer in the race.

Thanks a lot! The entire job cost me 4.5 lacs. And yes a detailed review is on its way!


Thanks a lot! Going by the numbers quoted by a very senior executive at one of these luxury brands MB leads the annual sales (by units) followed by BMW, JLR and Audi for the year gone by. Audi has seriously lost the plot here!

Congrats man!

Love the look post the AMG treatment, If i was in your place i would have done the same really, 4 Cylinders just don't match up with the 6 Cylinder's, The driving feel is totally on another level! There is a very true saying i believe, "There is no replacement for displacement". Wish you many many kms of happiness!

Also if you can share the discount you got on the car?

Nice, however, i am curious how you managed to get an AMG kit for the long wheelbase version which in India and China specific. The skirts would have been different from normal. Unlessthe kit came from China

Congrats!! That's a good looking car. It's always nice to read about a CA handing over the wallet to Mercedes :)

It is W212. Makes me wonder how many people are skipping new BMW 5 Series due to unavailability of cars and looks like Mercedes is under no pressure to bring the regular wheelbase E class.

Ah, I stand corrected, I did not read this fully. When the front ends of the W212 and the V213 are very similar, human error happens!

Cars are really meant to take you from place A to place B. In a city like Mumbai a Honda Jazz is probably the only car that you will ever need. Why Honda Jazz? Well coz that’s the other car that I purchased after buying my Bad Boy. Wifey needed a hatch for her use and the occasional trip to the market in the ever so crowding streets of Mumbai needed an automatic to do household duties and out went my Cedia and in came the Jazz.
So yeah, this is about the Mercedes and not me rambling about the Jazz.

The bad boy will be parked in the garage alongside my neighbor's 2014 E 250 CDI and keeping a close watch on it will be a CCTV just so that the daily Pav wala and the kids don’t hone their balancing skills in between the cars.

My office is a 7-10 minute walk from my residence so predominantly the car will be doing weekend duties and will be my ride for client meetings to South Mumbai.

All of a sudden I find myself owning two automatic cars and I guess I will really miss the thrill of driving a manual transmission vehicle.

I’ve already listed down the other cars that I considered before going with the E350, but having said that and having driven the car for a month now I’m really glad that circumstances led me to come to this decision.

The E350 CDI retailed for around 81L OTR before the new generation was launched and I got a very sweet deal on the car.

When I finally decided to go for the E350 it came down to picking up either a white MY 2015 vehicle or a black MY 2016 vehicle. Both these cars were dispatched by the Pune plant to Shaman in December 2016. Since I was saving over 7 lacs on the MY 2015 over the MY 2016 car and white is what I always wanted closed the deal for the white MY 2015 vehicle for a mark down of around 35% over the OTR price.
Since the prices are marked down one can actually finance 100% of the OTR price of the car. SWEET!!!

With the factory warranty available from the date of registration of the car, I got the car covered for additional 3 years for a total of 6 years; so my ride is covered till September 2023.
Since my annual run is going to be around 6k-7k kms I was strongly adviced to opt out of the service package, which I reluctantly complied.

Here's a snapshot of the hits and misses on the vehicle

HITS

• V6 Engine with a displacement of 2987 cc
• 265 BHP and 620 NM Torque
• 0-100 km in 6.6 seconds
• Uber comfortable seats
• 540 litres of boot space
• Uniform tyre size, front and rear
• Very good rear leg room
• Factory warranty of 6 years from the moment go
• 360 degree camera
• High quality cabin and very tactile feel of all buttons. Built to last
• A full size ALLOY rear wheel that does not eat up the boot space
• ISOFIX seats at the rear
• Stalk shifter for the gear lever. Frees up a lot of space between the front seats
• Moon roof at the rear. Really brightnens up the cabin and the kids love it
• Three zone AC with independent temperature adjustment for rear passengers
• Nappa leather trimmed steering wheel, A joy to hold
• Best ride quality in the segment - A true luxury mile muncher

MISSES

• The transmission tunnel makes it a 4.5 seater
• Complicated COMAND system
• Noisy rear AC when at max air flow
• Boring looks in stock trim as compared to the Beemer
• Rear AC does take time to cool the cabin
• Rear brake calipers seem puny
• Limited options on the music system

It's been over six months that i have owned the car and i must say that I have throughly enjoyed driving the vehicle, be it city traffic or out on the open roads - it is a pleasure to drive. I have driven it for approx 2000 enjoyable kms.

Extended Factory Warranty
Since I intend to use the vehicle till the time it falls apart I upgraded to the maximum factory warranty available and is now covered for a period of 3+3 years. The additional factory warranty was obtained from MB at a cost of 3 lacs. Makes sense just in case you have an engine failure or a transmission failure. Those alone could make you cough up close to 8-9 lacs easily. Would recommend all to take the maximum possible factory warranty that one can. It's just a risk mitigation strategy specially if you have bought into these high priced German vehicles.
By the way even my Jazz has a 5 year factory warranty, so can't stress upon this more!
The factory warranty is transferable on change of ownership

Service Package
Business is a zero sum game and dealerships make a ton of money in selling the service package and in servicing the vehicles. If you are primarily driving your car and don't plan to munch a lot of mile on the car you'd probably be better off in skipping this.
I was told that an annual service at MB for the E Class could be any thing between 30K to 50K and a major service could be 65K to 80K. Taking a midpoint of the same for 5 years you would end up spending close to 250K as service costs. MB sells a 5 year service package, that includes even replacement of worn out wiper blades, for close to 3.2 lacs so doing the math i opted out of the service package that was offered to me by MB. It may probably be worth it for someone who would do close to 20K Kms on an annual basis.
Surprisingly, the service package is not transferable on change of ownership.

Exterior

Styling and Design
The W212 marked a huge departure from the previous generation of E Class and the main focus was around the front end of the vehicle. The W212 gave way to the dual headlamps that one used to associate with the E Class and adopted a more sportier and aggressive look.

Unfortunately for the India, the E class did not get the AMG trim line and one had to be satisfied with the regular trim line. When i made the decision to go for the E this was the first thing on my mind that i knew had to change.

The previous generation car used to have an arch over the rear wheel that in my mind used to look rubbish. The W212 thankfully doesn't have those and instead has two bold creases running through the body line and makes it look sportier and kind of camouflages the bulk pretty well.

While the W212 over the previous generation was called a face lift, in my mind the changes were revolutionary than merely an evolution. It's interesting to note by the way that the S Class still continues have those huge grill upfront with the three pointed star flashing proudly on the top of the bonnet. I hope it continues to be like that in future as it does give it a stately presence (edge maybe) over its rivals.

The rear of the stock car looks a bit dull and adding a rear spoiler lid and the AMG treatment on the rear bumper makes it look youthful and sporty. The rear LED brake lights and the lights mounted at the bases of the rear mirror are bright and should give enough warning to the vehicle behind you to make a timely halt.

I really like the way the a white car looks. I may be biased here with the color option I chose but i think white really helps in highlighting the subtelties of the body line nicely.

Overall build quality, fit & finish, paint quality and panel gaps
The build quality of the vehicle is impeccable and after having driven various vehicles extensively in the US and UK, I have come to associate the so called good old thud while opening and closing the doors with Volvos and Mercedes.
For some reason the door seems lighter on the Audi's or the BMW's. It could be lighter material (not necessarily a flimsy material) used in the construction.

Opening/Closing the bonnet also gives a feeling of sturdiness with respect to the sheet metal used in putting it together. The bonnet on the MB needs to be closed with far greater force than for any other vehicle that i have driven. After i took delivery of the car had to call MB the very next day since the bonnet open warning light just won't go as much as i tried to shut the bonnet. MB was kind enough to send a technician over to my place and he educated me on how to properly close the bonnet. You literally let the bonnet fall when its around 18 inch from closing and its the recommended procedure documented by even the company manual.

The paint quality, fit and finish of everything is of extreme high quality and scratches that might have penetrated the paint on my Cedia seem to be surface scratches on this one. The panel gaps are uniform though I would have loved less of a gap on the doors. Probably, its the white color that seems to highlight it more than other darker shades.

Wheels and Tyres
The tyres, front and rear are Michelin Pilot Preceda PP2 245/45R 17 inchers. They have done 2,000 kms till date with a couple of long distance stint and I have nothing to complain about those. They could be quieter on certain stretches but that's again just nit picking.
Love the fact that the boot has a full size wheel on alloys waiting, just in case. Not many modern cars can boast of that!!!
PS: Note the auxiliary battery that aids in the ECO start/stop function.




Here are some external pics:

The side profile looks aggressive with the AMG side skirting with black inserts. Also notice the black side mirrors to give it a more sport look-


The rear lip spoiler and the bumper makes it stand apart from the crowd. It sure is a head turner-


The black grill and the front AMG kit completes the sporty look-
Did i mention those wheels:D


Three jets with a total of 6 sprinklers does the windshield washing duties. The jets have good pressure and is by far the best I've seen in covering the surface area. Notice the netted section that helps keeping those leaves and stems from entering the gap-


The intelligent light system from MB works like a charm and is a technological marvel that quietly works to keep you safe and also reduces glare to oncoming traffic-


Heres a link to the video that explains the LED Intelligent Light System in detail- https://youtu.be/dRKrZW6yX14


The MB logo in black looks sweet. The standard car has this in blue. Just did not go well with the rest of the car so got the black ordered from MB India-


The front camera comes standard only on the E350. It feeds in data to the COMAND system in order to give a 360 degree rendition while parking-


The LED tail lights are bright and IMO the rear of the W212 looks much better than the current generation E Class. It gives it a more aggressive rear and the W213 gets a more korean body line and most definitely a korean rear-


At night the puddle lamp nicely lights up the area around the driver and passengers door-

INTERIOR AND ERGONOMICS


Interior design and quality (plastics, upholstery, fit & finish etc.)

The E-Class cabin has a spacious, high-quality, well-built and a quiet cabin. It may not have the visual flair or gizmos of the latest E, but it’s definitely a place where you’ll be happy to spend hours.

The W212 at the top; the new E-Class LWB at the bottom. It’s very subjective, but I do think the W212 ages pretty well. The W212’s interior seems mature and stately and the new feels contemporary and new age.


The dash is a two-tone black and beige affair with a piano black wooden panel running the length of the dash, but for the AC vents and the steering column.
The soft touch plastic is of excellent quality and the fit and finish is what you would expect from these luxury German manufacturers!
The piano black wood trim is prone to scratches just like my Jet black iPhone. It requires constant attention and do all that you can it will scratch and unapologetically show it!
I like the screen placement that's integrated in the dash. For some reason I don't seem to like the placement of the floating screen that's now installed on some of the Mercs, Audi's and the BMW's.


The quality of material used is excellent and feels premium. The armrests, door inserts are faux leather.


The W212 door controls feels dated but is very high quality. The tactile feel of the switches and controls seems like they are built to last and should survive years of use in varying conditions.


Only two driving modes, switching between the two by the "E-S" switch that you see on the top-left. The rotary knob that you see is used to toggle through the COMAND systems various options on-screen.


The scruff plate is a good addition to the E 350. The Mercedes logo on the floor is an addition that was put in as a welcome gift by the dealer. Embarrassing for me!!! This is one thing that will go out on my next visit to Shaman.


The arm rest is wide, well-built and of good quality. It takes lesser space to get into the storage space due to that dual opening door that aids in keeping your hand movements minimal.
Also, the co-passenger can easily access the storage space without the driver having to move his/her elbow out of the way that is common in a single door solution.


From a nearly button less centre console on my business partner's Tesla the Mercedes is on the other end of the spectrum. Loads of buttons still decorate this console. I find the "buttoned" solution easier to operate on the fly and muscle memory means you take your eyes of the road a lot less.
The Eco mode is activated by the button to the right of the Hazard light button. To it’s right is the button to de-activate the audible warning signals in case you too close to an obstacle.

The sensors by default stays on when you first start the car and is very sensitive to people walking in front and motorcycles crossing the path between red lights. While it can get unnerving when it beeps for every obstacle in front it has helped me a couple of times to stop those bozos whose cars roll backwards without them noticing it.

Interior space and comfort...front & back (seat support, legroom, headroom & width)

REAR SEATS
Now this is where it really scores a lot of marks over it's competition. Nothing like the E-Class LWB version or the Superb but clearly the best of the lot when compared with 5 series or the A6 or the XF.
The beige color interior lends an airy feel to the cabin. The transmission hump basically makes it a 4-passenger vehicle for long drives if one really wants to travel comfortably. My 10-year-old is generally the one sitting there. Bechara Bachha!


That's a 6'1 feet me sitting behind me!


The back seat offers good under thigh support and the seat angle is optimal. The headroom is adequate as well.


FRONT SEATS
The front seats pamper you with their sheer size and comfort. Built for the big Germans I'm most comfortable and glad to get behind the steering wheel as clearly, despite of the great rear seats, this is the better seat to be in! Right from getting that sweet spot to rest your arms while having your hands on the steering wheel to resting your left leg on the dead pedal the E pampers the pilot with all that there is to offer.


On long rides you need a seat that is firm and offers good lower back and neck support and the E front seats have all the functionality to tune it to your exact specification.

Coming from a Cedia and a Civic before it, the adjustable headrests I truly appreciate.


I would have loved if they had the sun shade upfront as well. Would have made this near perfect experience just perfect!


Driving position, ergonomics, controls and MID

Not known to be a drivers first choice in this segment as opposed to its immediate competition, the E boasts of a very comfortable driver's seat and the driving controls are accessible without much fuss. The steering column mounted gear lever is a joy and allows you to keep your hands and eyes all on the steering all the time. It also helps to leave ample storage space in the center console.

A flick to the top engages the reverse gear and a flick to the bottom engages first. A gentle flick from “R” or “D” gets you to neutral. Press the outer chrome button from any gear gets you to Neutral

No button start-stop here. We are talking of a 80 lac car here! The Edition E offered the same as a late 2016 variant. The silver lining here is no searching for the key fob!!!

Readability on the instrument cluster is excellent and the floating needle look of the speedometer is just amazing. With most dials going digital I think the days of these analogue dials is numbered at least on the luxury cars.


The COMAND system is multi layered and is just not as intuitive to use as the iDrive on the BMW.

Visibility and size of mirrors

No problems here. The car has excellent visibility all throughout. The view from the rear mirrors through the rear windscreen offers a wide viewing angle and it works very well with the decent sized side view mirrors that greatly assists lane change manoeuvres. A boon on the streets of Mumbai.


The A pillars are not too obtrusive and in general the cabin offers a lot of viewing areas and angles.


Backing up into my garage at home and the puzzle parking at offices is relatively stress free due to the parking camera and the sensors. Have never tried the park assist. Don't have the patience nor the inclination to use those. I dread the day when all cars will be self-driven. Call me old school!

Air conditioner cooling and effectiveness

Watching Leno speak about his classic cars one thing that I always noted was his dislike of the cooling system on his Mercs and while I thought it were these early models that had these issues, owning the E350 I can say that Leno is bang on target in identifying this flaw. I did not seem to notice this when traveling in the E class in Europe but in the scorching heat of Mumbai this shortcoming is highlighted.

When I make this observation, I would like to state that with some adjustments one is able to be comfortable but that's not what is expected when someone would have paid close to 80 L for the car as a non-discounted price.

Our experience, in the back seat of the 520D in scorching heat of Udaipur where the Leela palace had issued us a chauffeur driven Beemer was very pleasant. Think Merc guys need to take their BMW counterparts our for a drink and exchange notes. Hell do it with the Maruti Suzuki guys. Even that will show the desired results.

Driver and co-passenger are treated with some good cooling through four vents upfront. No big issues there.

The rear seat cooling falls short. The pillar mounted vents are of no use whatsoever with very little air throw. It just cools the vent I guess! :D


While the rear passenger gets the fan speed and temperature adjustment functionality the Air con unit is noisy at full blast and while it helps to cool the cabin but still not very effective.

To circumvent this problem when travelling with family I make it a point to turn up the sun shade and the rear curtain. Does help substantially.


The unit offers three zone climate control and in "Auto" mode intermittently switches between the recirculation and the fresh air mode. Always helps in keeping the cabin fresh with external air. There is also a humidity control sensor that helps prevent dryness in the respiratory system.



Audio system and sound quality

The E350 boasts of a Harman Kardon Logic 7 surround sound system and includes: 9-channel DSP amplifier, 2-channel booster with a total output of 610 watts combined with 14 high-performance speakers. Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS comes standard.

After using the system extensively for 7 months, I can now say that I have found that sweet spot when it comes to sound quality. The sound was too harsh for my liking and fiddling with the relatively poor tuning options (Three only) took some time to get used to.

Notice the (only) three tuning options available. This is the setting that suits my style of music!


Interior storage, practicality and boot space

The E-Class can very well be termed as a complete family sedan for the ample storage space provided around the cabin. The only grouse being that the door pockets are not deep enough to hold big bottles. My Jazz does a way better job of holding those big water bottles.

The boot has an easy loading area and the shape of the boot makes the trip to the airport a no fuss affair.


The full size spare wheel tucked neatly underneath the boot mat is a boon and a departure to the norm these days.


The plastic cladding around the metal area smartly encloses the wiring to the lights and is aesthetically pleasing to the eye as opposed to my Cedia's or Civic's bare bone approach.


The front seats have storage option underneath. A very handy touch.


The glovebox has a sectional partition that helps in keeping the important paperwork separate from the daily tit-bits. Coming from a Cedia, the lights and AC vents in the glovebox is a serious upgrade...LOL


The door pockets though not very wide are deep enough and these days you get bottles of various shapes and sizes that can be easily stowed away in the pockets. The rear seats have pockets to fit in a magazine or two and not much over there in terms of functionality.

The clock looks classy isn't it!


The rear seats are blessed with wide, comfortable armrests with two mug holders that retracts rather nicely when not required. The arm rests also have nice storage area that can safely store your cell phones and chargers if you like.


The door opens wide; Ingress and Egress is fairly easy and not a big fuss with the senior citizens.


The seat belt is adjustable; really helps in keeping my son comfortable with the seat belt angle over the shoulder just perfect. Do notice how the seatbelt other end goes into the side of the seats. Helps activate the Pre-Safe in case of a collision.

Engine performance and drivability

Refined! That’s the one word that comes to mind when one starts putting pen to paper while describing the engine performance and drivability of the E350. While the 5 series may be the best handling sedan in this class the E350 leads when it comes to long distance cruising and at the same time makes no fuss about it! The 4 cylinder, E250 sounds coarse at high speeds, the E350's got a gem of a power plant in it’s 6 cylinder avatar. The same engine also did duty on the S350. (The new gen S350 has an inline 6!)

The E350 W212 engine is also retained in the W213. Speaks a lot about the longevity of the engine. If something isn’t broke don’t fix it. Of course, the new E has the 9-speed gearbox as opposed to the 7-speed on the W212. What you see below left is the engine writeup for the W212 and W213 to the right. Mercedes didn’t even bother changing the text after all these years!


Numbers on torques and bhps are really just that....NUMBERS and while for the CA in me that should mean a lot, to me what’s more important is how the vehicle feels and drives on a daily basis.

Just for the record: This bad boy has 620 Nm of Torque (making the peak torque from as low as 1600 rpm) with an output of 265 bhp that’s more than the BMW F10 530d (258 bhp and 560Nm) or the Audi A6 3.0 TDI (244 bhp and 500 Nm).

The car feels at home on both city roads as well as the highways and the huge torque from that engine mated to a very capable gear box makes light work of all driving conditions.

Sadly, there are just two drive modes on offer; Eco and Sport. In city driving and more so in traffic I prefer to use the Eco mode and use Sport rest of the time. I do a weekly ride from Vile Parle to Thane and get to use the sports mode in the real sense near the Godrej stretch in Vikhroli and of course on outstations.

The car pulls strongly in all gears and at any speeds. Not the one to go boy racer while with family on board but occasionally you tend to use and boast the power at your disposal of the Sixes, to keep that teenage prick who likes tailgating you on their Fortuner, Vento or L&K. Have apologetically put them way behind (Not necessarily where they belong) by flooring the pedal and this beauty of an engine makes the car pull even if you are doing 140 kmph to leave the crowd behind. It’s a fulfilling experience!

Just a side note: Once done and dusted, chest and ego swell later, I let the kid go by to keep their egos intact.

What is also worthwhile mentioning being that the E350 masks its speed brilliantly. You do not realize you doing three-digit speeds until you see the instrument cluster.

In a city like Mumbai and a country like India the E350 is probably all the car that you would ever need. It’s just the right amount of fun and practicality put together. I sincerely wonder where the roads are to enjoy the super sports class vehicles in India??? Sour grapes probably!

Transmission

If one must enjoy this V6, I highly recommend switching to the Sport mode as soon as one hits the freeway. The gear shift is more precise and the engine, which seems to be on a honeymoon sipping Pinna Coladas on a beach (while in Eco mode) is summoned into immediate action. With just two driving modes, not that you would have any more options to play with!

The 7 speed “7G-Tronic Plus” transmission is capable but nothing like the 8 speed that’s on the F10 530D. While I do not know what’s changed on the G30, but I remember the driving experience of the G30 to be far superior to the F10 or the E350 when it comes to crisp gear changes. Always had the feeling that I was in the right gear at the right time. The grouse I have with the 7G-Tronic on the E350, when driving in the Eco mode is that it upshifts a bit too soon to my liking and coupled with the throttle/turbo lag in the engine, makes overtaking manoeuvre not as instantaneous as the BMW.

The gearshifts are smooth, and you do not notice the gear changes one bit, until you see the RPM changing on the tachometer. MAKHHAN! The only time that I notice the gearshift is when you stop at a light and the car downshifts from 2 to 1; there is an ever so slight, rocking, for lack of a better word, that you can feel if noticing closely.
I do not use the paddle shifters as i) in the sports mode I did not feel the need to use it; and ii) I have not yet mastered the art of effectively using it.

All said and done, the gearbox isn’t perfect. It lacks the playful nature of the competition’s 8 speed box and isn’t lightning quick as the competition.

Overall NVH levels (including engine, wind & road noise)

The E-Class leaves the noises where they belong, making the driving/travel experience a soothing affair. I’ve done long stretches close to 150 kmph on the Mumbai-Pune expressway and other than a couple of bad road sections where the road noise does intrude into the cabin, it does a very good job of keeping the noises out. The rubber cladding on all four doors is not as thick as in the competition but still the engine noise is kept outside. A truly silent performer. If you know your cricket we have a Michael Holding aka whispering death, on our hands here! :D

The bonnet has good insulation that assists in keeping this monster engine’s noise at bay.


The top, left and right side of the entire engine has a heat wrap “aluminium coated insulation sheets” for lack of a better word to keep the heat away from the cabin.


There is no wind noise or engine noise that’s noticeable even while doing 150+ speeds.
The engine hardly breaks a sweat and settles into a very zen-like comfortable cruising mode doing 1200-1800 rpms at those speeds.
Might be a thing to do with the specific vehicle but, of the cars that I test drove I found the BMW to be most audible; E350, the least.

Fuel efficiency

The beauty of a big engine under the hood is that the engine does not feel stressed while doing top speeds. The 4 cylinders do gasp for air under fast acceleration or doing 150+ speeds; whereas the 6 cylinders/3 litre powerplant is humming nicely and ready for more. All that translates to a relaxed engine doing 2000 rpm tops and in turn translates to a nearly 14kmpl on highway stints and around 8kmpl in city. Not bad for a diesel sipping monster, eh! Just to give you a perspective my 2017 Jazz automatic (petrol) returns 7.5kmpl.
This is from a Mumbai Pune stint.


The Eco Start stop feature would help to get more out of the car but I find myself turning that feature off in bumper to bumper traffic.

Suspension and ride quality

The ride quality is fabulous and the way this car gobbles-up bumps is truly amazing. Other than the really sharp undulations making their presence felt a bit, the bad boy glides over roads with utmost ease, ironing out most obstacles in its path.

The E350 has what Mercedes calls as the "Direct Control Suspension" The DCS adjusts the damping to suit the current driving situation. The enhanced damping and vehicle stability are especially noticeable on poor road surfaces. The DCS ensures constant spring travel and ground clearance – irrespective of the vehicle load.

The 17-inch Michelins really complements the vehicle and greatly aids in making it an almost carpet-like ride. My better half and my daughter sleep their way to glory in the back seat leaving me and my 10-year-old to what my wife calls "senseless blabber" about Marvel, DC and nowadays wonder woman. Realizing that he is growing up fast. lol:

Handling, on-road behaviour, grip levels, stability & body roll

The stability at speed is excellent and this car can easily get to high speeds, but seldom do you realize you are actually gunning it hard. A stiffer suspension would have done wonders in truly appreciating that engine, but given a choice, I would still go with the current set up and change nothing. Someone "more" performance oriented might find it a bit soft as compared to the 5 series or the XF.

The E-Class offers good handling with surefooted body control, with slight body roll that I took some time to get used to, and now that I know it's fun when I want it to be. The size of the car is evident when you try to push it hard but is responsive nonetheless. While cornering hard, the car’s rear wheels screeches incessantly but, the traction control kicks in discretely and direction is maintained.

The wheelbase, overhangs, car width and the interplay between these play a very important role in the handling, stability of a vehicle. The comparison between the E-Class and the 5-Series below gives a very good insight to why the 5-Series is the segment leader when it comes to crisp handling.
The front overhang for the 5 series/EClass is 832/849. Rear overhang is 1107/1156. The rear width is 1627/1614.
While the E is not far behind but if you want a fun car to drive look no further than the BMW, but if an all rounder is what you seek E is what should get your money!


When I test drove the new E350, I found the car’s performance uninteresting and lagging the W212 E350 by a fair bit. A quick look at the comparison highlights the fact that the new E is narrower and taller than its predecessor.


Steering (size, feedback, weight, EPS)

This being my first luxury car in India, I tend to stare at the three-pointed star on the Napa leather-trimmed steering wheel, while appreciating the craftsmanship in putting it together. It's a perfectly sized steering wheel; a joy to hold.


Navigating the ICE menu from the steering wheel controls, uses a two thumbs approach. Selection of a phone number of from the left-side control switches and making calls is through the right-side controls.


Steering offers tilt and telescopic adjustment, (through the small lever in the middle) with both having a good range to suit drivers of all sizes. The bottom lever is for the speed limiter and cruise control.


The steering wheel is light at low speeds and weighs up quite nicely at high speeds but could do with a little more feel when tackling corners at high speeds.

Braking

The brakes, for me, have not inspired confidence in instances of sudden braking, leaving a feeling that the car stops a couple of meters farther than what I would have liked. It's probably got to do with the speeds that I was doing or probably me just being a little gentle on the brakes...I'm yet to figure that out.

Here is the quote from the brochure where they discuss of the ADAPTIVE BRAKE feature. Inspite of what it says it just does not do it for me!

"ADAPTIVE BRAKE Priming - The braking system interprets rapid removal of the driver’s foot from the accelerator as an emergency braking situation. In this case, ADAPTIVE BRAKE increases the pressure in the brake linings and brings the brake lining into light contact with the brake discs, so that they are able to bite immediately and with full force when the brake pedal is depressed. In this way, the system supports the functions of Brake Assist.


UPDATE: The initial portion of the review on braking effectiveness was written when i just got the car and obviously did not get a chance to release the review on time and the update section is after doing almost 2000 kms with the vehicle. I am keeping the initial review as I had written it and here's the updated writeup.

The E350 gets to three-digit speeds rather quickly and it's probably got to do with me adjusting to the driving style with these 2 tons Luxo-tourers. Now that I have spent close to 2000 kms with the car I have adjusted to the brakes and am very confident of stopping where I exactly want it to.

I would like to put in a special mention for anyone who upgrades to big powerful cars. Take some time out to fully understand the car before driving hard. A test ride will still not be able to fully highlight all the pros and cons of the car and you need to live with the car for some good miles before knowing the optimum operating procedure. It's a machine at the end of the day and gradually increase the difficulty level, if I can call it that way.

The pedal feel is direct and excellent, with no shuddering under hard braking.

Ground clearance

The ground clearance of the E350 is phenomenal. I have installed the AMG kit that includes the side skirts but does not in any way reduce the side profile of the car. The drive to Hilton Shillim from Mumbai was a mix of freeway run and very bad road section for a good 15 odd kms and not even once the belly scraped on the uneven road sections or huge speed breakers. Try doing that on the supercars or the low profile luxury cars!

Other noteworthy points

Notice the two air intakes upfront. There is a K&N intake and an air filter kit that’s available in the UK and is believed to increase output by 5%. I will provide the link to that once I get the exact site and the ordering information.


An ECU remap increases the output to 310bhp and the torque goes up to 750Nm. While, I would not recommend this its an option out there for the thrill seekers and who are not covered by the factory warranty anymore as these mods may most definitely void the warranty. Here’s the link to the website doing this in the UK. I’m sure the same can be done here as well.
http://gadtuning.co.uk/mercedes-e-class-remapping/

The US version E-Class get the flat bottomed steering wheel that looks even better than the one in my car. Look and decide for yourself. This one has come up for sale on ebay and I’m so tempted to pick it up.


The battery is located at the top left, nicely hidden in that black box! There is an auxiliary battery located in the boot that helps in start-stop function of the car.

The massive engine is a snug fit. It’s not very clear in these pictures but the floor can’t be seen as there is a fibre sheet below that neatly covers the bottom.