| E270 CDI Full Report
Hey guys,
As I had earlier told you, I was going on a nice long drive to Nashik and back in a C200K and an E 270 CDI, but before I could post, my post was taken off because the review wasnt up!...anyways here it is.
Sunday, 26th Feb, we left Worli with our company cars, an eight month old C200K and a brand new E 270 CDI. I got behind the wheel of the E while our driver took the C.
We left at around 8am and after a brief halt in chembur for 20 minutes to pick up a few coleagues, we were on our way. The E class is such a beautiful machine with its smooth curves and awesome stance. The c-class with its sporty new looks feels a tad aged compared to the E.
Anyways, once on the road, they are both awesome machines in their own respect. The C with its awesome, rev-happy 1.8l supercharged engine, always eager to be taken to its red line and the E 270, with its 2.7l turbocharged in-line 5, producing a GIGANTIC 42 kgm of torque. I drove the E both ways covering 440 km during the trip, so heres what I think of the E 270 CDI:
Engine and Performance:-
When she starts up, it produces the sound any diesel engine would, and sometimes I felt it was more than that of its predecessor, the 220 CDI. But 5 minutes later I realised I was wrong. The loud grunting had turned into a smooth purr. She felt like a tigress waiting patiently, ready for the kill. It is just unbeleivably quiet once the engine warms up. Producing a max of 171 bhp and 425 Nm of torque, the engine has loads and loads of power, and at really low revs.
A slight tap to the throttle, and you can feel the thrust of the engine!...boy she is responsive!...you can feel all that torque under your right foot now...and theres so much of it, it feels like the engine should have a 10k rpm redline! Once i crossed Bhiwandi, I really floored it and was amazed with how effortlessly the speedo went past 100, then 120, then 140, then 160...I wanted to do at least 190 but there were too many slow moving trucks. Overtaking is an absolute breeze and one has to barely ever think twice before making any moves. There is just so much power! The new car comes with a sunroof and with the sunroof opened, with the music on, all the sound of the diesel engine is overcome...infact at times it really confuses as to wether its actually a diesel or petrol engine.
Torque delivery is really smooth and the engine never feels out of power, not even on the Ghats, while the a/c was on and going uphill. Infact I was surprised that uphill, there seems to be almost no loss of power as compared to flat roads!...simply amazing! I had a ball overtaking everything that was coming my way infact there was a time when for about 30 minutes, there was this guy in a scorpio, who kept trying to overtake me, and everytime he would try, I would just surge ahead and not let him overtake and then 5 mins later he would try again and yet again I would do the same. lol he was getting really frustrated and then eventually gave up!
Handling:
Handling of the E is again stunning for a car of its size and weight. She can be pushed hard into corners and curves, and with the slightest hint of oversteer, she gracefully glides into turns beautifully. With such great handling, she instills tremendous confidence in the person who is driving. There was one complain though, the car pulls to the left. I checked this out with the guys at Daimler Chrysler and according to them it happens " because the front suspension setup is very sensitive to the road incline and since all roads in India slope to the left, she gives in " Handling is very sporty and its great fun flicking the steering wheel from left to right once the speeds are above 100...lol
The true use of ESP is on the Indian Highways. Whenever there is a truck overtaking in the opposite direction, and 2 wheels of the car were forced off the road and onto the loose mud, there was no need to slow down because the ESP did everything!...the light flickered and controlled the car perfectly!...it never felt like there was more traction under the right wheels, as the ESP maintains power delivery and braking force to each wheel independently.
Braking:
This has to be the greatest advantage of the E class. Sensotronic Brake Control found until recently only on the SL, and now of course on the CLS and SLK too, has always been a highlight of this great car. The true test of the brakes is to slam them at 120kph plus and watch how she literally digs her claws into the ground and halts! The only scary thing being that I thought if I braked to hard, I would stop in time, but the dude behind me would come straight into me! The ABS can be felt clearly as even after slamming the brakes at 120, there were no skid marks on the road ( obviously..the wheels never lock!)
Ride:
The ride on the new E class is neither too soft and sensitive like the S Class, nor too hard like the C class. She does take in all the deep potholes and craters with little fuss and generally doesnt touch speed breakers due to the anti-sit and anti-squat suspension setup. Of course the suspension would be hard for Indian Roads, and definitely impresses.
Build:
Needless to say, rock-solid build. All the body panels align perfectly. Quality of leather and plastic used is more than superb ( pun intended ) and of course anything less than this would be unacceptable for a Mercedes-Benz and car that commands this price. Interiors are a classy black leather ( except for the black and red car which have beige leather ) and very comfy especially the drivers seat. There is adjustment for height, underthigh support as well as lumbar support and a combination of all the adjustments can make a near-perfect driving position. The a/c too is very effective allthough no-one really uses the 4 zones of the THERMOTRONIC a/c unit.
Fuel efficiency:
ASTOUNDING! This fuel efficiency of this car shocked everyone. I drove 440 Km in two days of combined highway and city driving with the a/c on, and consumed only 40 litres of diesel!...returning an average of 11 kmpl! For a car that costs 44 lakhs and weighs almost 2 tonnes with an average of 11 is definitely impressive. It is an Ideal car for the person who has high running. Not like it makes a diff to someone shelling out 4 million bucks, but what the heck!
Other Interesting facts:
1) Tiptronic gear shifting is great to use while overtaking. Just one tap to the left is like downshifting in a manual and it falls one gear lower than the current ( on the older cars it would drop one gear below top gear, irrespective of what gear the car was in )
2) The car draws quite some attention once out of Mumbai. In Nashik especially, we had lots of stares and glares with some people asking for a lift while one old man came up to me and asked me " boss, kaunsi gaadi hai yeh? " and I was like "Mercedes hai " so he replies " accha....to yeh hai merchedis " lol
3) The sunroof initially fascinated me as neither of my own cars have one. It feels great to drive with the windows rolled down and the sunroof open with some nice music. But one hour into the drive and the sun burning right through the roof, I just had to shut it and it made me think as to wether we really need sunroofs in this country.
4) The automatically dimming interior and exterior rear view mirrors also proved their worth at night, eliminating glare from vehicles behind me. I always wondered why only the interior and right exterior mirror would dim and not the left one. Well now I know, because while driving at night, If I need to overtake, I need a clear left rear view mirror to Judge vehicles on my left. Hence the left mirror doesnt dim out!
5) The In-Dash cd changer on the E class is now MP3 compatible. Thus 6 cds into approx 150 songs = Storage space for almost 900 songs!
To conclude I must say that it was one of the most memorable drives I have experienced, that too in such a fantastic and capable machine. With its graceful lines, awesome engine, superior safety features and all its little gadgets and gizmos, the E Class never fails to impress. I would personally rather drive it on such roads with smooth curves and bends than drive it on the expressway at 220 kph on a boring straight road. Two days of a great driving experience. One thing is for sure, when I parked her back, she left me with a smile on my face! | 
4th March 2005, 02:23
