Drove the new E350 CDI Coupe

[evdok]

Drove the new E350 CDI Coupe today & must say it's 80% improvement on the old one's, Navigation has full postcode, sleek design, not much body roll, super quiet apart from the tyres, oh one more thing...it goes like stink! for 40k i think it's reasonably priced,

let the pic's do the talking...

 

[peterg1965]

Love it!But only in sport guise. I wonder if MB will be doing some subsidised PCP or PCH deals soon! Bet they don't, demand will be fairly strong I would dare to bet.

 

[evdok]

All sold at Worcester, sales going well considering.

 

[A210AMG]

Looks nice and having seen it a few months ago now at the Geneva show it also looks nice in white.

Needs larger wheels though those rear arches make those wheels look like an old combi van...yuck.

 

[nickg]

no doubt a fabulous car but the rear wings with the bizarre arch are a design crime.

 

[kbhogalW126]

I took a test drive of an E350cdi Avantgarde Coupe yesterday at MB Beaconsfield without the pano roof.

It felt very tight inside for me compared to my old CLK (W209).

They had a sport with the pano roof inside the showroom and even with the seat lowered fully and tilted back my head kept knocking against the roof.

The drive was amazing though. The parametric steering is wonderful and the kick you get when you gently put your foot down is really good.

Spoke to the salesman there and he said the estate and cabriolet versions were probably being lauched end of this year/early 2010 and if I wanted a soft top I should maybe wait.

So, would I buy one?

Not sure. It feels much tighter to sit in than my W124 coupe (which it would as its based on the W204 chassis, isn't it?).

It reallt is small inside. I just don't know.

Time will tell.

As an aside, I went for a drive in my cousins Porsche 911 (997) Carerra 4S yesterday evening and I was really impressed with the power it puts down and the (short) time it takes to get to the legal speed limit and the way it just all works so well!

Verdict? It felt roomier in the front seat than the E Coupe did, even though its a smaller car.

All in all, with me sitting comfortably in the E coupe there was hardly any space behind for rear passengers.

There's never any problem for rear passengers in the C124, neither was there any in the W209. My C124 passengers have plenty of space.

For a good spec C212?? you are looking at about £45 to 55k.

For a 2-3 year old fully loaded 997 you are looking at about £55-60k.

Its a dilemma.

My cousin was telling me, however, that his tyres cost about £300 each and I should budget up to at least £5k a year for things that may crop up - he's just fitted a new clutch AND changed his tyres.

Over and out,

KJ

 

[BenzedUP]

Wow that looks amazing. Might have to book a test drive soon!!

 

[lynall]

I bet the space thing will end up being an issue and bug the hell out of you.

I cant stick the wifes car as its so small inside, im not big just car is weeny.



Lynall

 

[levi's pram]

stop hating!!

the car is wicked and should sell well! just a shame only to those with no kids to sit inthe back.

levi's chauffeur

 

[Dryce]

I
Verdict? It felt roomier in the front seat than the E Coupe did, even though its a smaller car.

One of the advantages of putting the engines and transmission at the back instead of having it coming through from the front.

 

[kbhogalW126]

One of the advantages of putting the engines and transmission at the back instead of having it coming through from the front.

The good thing about the C212 was the boot was large.

The back seats will fold forward also. Not as big as the W209 boot but big enough or a large suitcase.

I've actually had 3 large suitcases plus a couple of smaller trolley bags in my old W209!

I had to slowly move 2 bags onto the back seats through the window when I did it!

I'm sure the coupe will be a grower though!

There was an E350 on autotrader last night for £35k.

The ony one in the country for sale?

KJ

 

[del320]

I took a test drive of an E350cdi Avantgarde Coupe yesterday at MB Beaconsfield without the pano roof.
It felt very tight inside for me compared to my old CLK (W209).
There's never any problem for rear passengers in the C124, neither was there any in the W209. My C124 passengers have plenty of space.
KJ

That's because it's smaller on the inside but bigger on the outside

As usual, there's nothing new in the world and the new E-class is a prime example of poor packaging. And as for that stupid rear quarterlight - dress it up all you like - it's still a crummy piece of compromised styling. (and, yes, I've crawled over one already)

 

[RichardM]

I was impressed with the standard spec. I think command and maybe real leather would be the only extras I'd need.

 

[C240Sport97]

I was impressed with the standard spec. I think command and maybe real leather would be the only extras I'd need.

panoramic roof?

 

[Diesel Benz]

That's because it's smaller on the inside but bigger on the outside

As usual, there's nothing new in the world and the new E-class is a prime example of poor packaging. And as for that stupid rear quarterlight - dress it up all you like - it's still a crummy piece of compromised styling. (and, yes, I've crawled over one already)

You should take into account that you are comparing an E-class to a C-class (the 207 is mostly a C-class on a 207 body). The C124 is very much the same as a W124.

Also it is not necessarily "poor packaging" on either the 207 or the 212, try to have a 124 tested against modern safety requirements, side impacts specifically. The 124 is a safe car from its time but things are different today.

 

[RichardM]

panoramic roof?

Nope, I would never go for that. But then I do already have the convertible for sunny days.

 

[BenzedUP]

I just got back from a test drive in the new E350 Petrol coupe, 292bhp very nice car/engine. Very impressed with the way it drives the way it handles and specially the brakes - they are amazing so sensitive and accurate steering wheel, great gearbox with sport mood. etc etc...

Gorgeous design from inside and outside so tempted to order one and get rid of my E320 CDi.

If I order one it would have to be a petrol fully loaded E350 CGI Coupe in White with pano roof and tan leather!!

 

[C240Sport97]

If I order one it would have to be a petrol fully loaded E350 CGI Coupe in White with pano roof and tan leather!!

would that be the flat white or the pricey (over £1000) diamond white metallic (there's a CLS in this colour at Brooklands)

 

[BenzedUP]

diamond white metallic no doubt!!! Ive seen that CLS looks stunning!!

 

[steve_acp]

Living with the E350 CDI Coupe

I handed back my CDI 320 CLS for a 350 CDI coupe Sport with leather, command, Pan roof and the "sport" button. I have driven 5k miles in the last 6 weeks.

I am amazed at the amount of standard equipment on the car that merc dont (or didn't to me anyhow) make a big deal about, for example the 4 electrically inflatable air pockets in the front seats, the Bi Xenons that move with the steering, automatic hi beam dipping.

The Sport button changes the feel of the car completely, the throttle response is more urgent, the suspension is stiffer, and the gearbox faster to change. In all modes steering is very direct and precise, and is joy to throw round the country lanes. Handing is MUCH sharper than the CLS. Performance is better with more torque. The extra 7 HP is not really significant on a big diesel.

Motorway cruising is very quiet and refined, with less wind and tyre noise than any merc or BMW I have owned (CLS 320CDI, E320CDI, CLK230 Komp, BMW 728, BMW 535), an amazing achievement with no B pillar.

The Pan sunroof is amazing, open all of the windows and the roof, and the car looks stunning. It does take a fair bit of headroom though. If you are over 6 foot, you will need the seat low and some rake on the seat.

The multimedia equipment sounds excellent, you can connect an ipod in the glove, or a self powered 2.5 inch hard disk, or an AUX lead from any mp3 player. I takes cd's or DVD's, and you can play mp3 tracks from the DVD's. You can write about 1000 tracks to a DVD.

The sat nav is Hard disk based, and has spare capacity, so you can transfer from mp3CD/DVD to Hard Disk.

It does NOT have full post code. It has some popular ones programmed in , but otherwise, same old same old. The interface is SOOO much more intuitive though, and the quality of the display fantastic. It even reads out delay information on your route, and your text messages.

The telephone interface is also much improved. With the CLS, comand read in the phone numbers each time you clipped in the phone, this system remembers the numbers, so you only reload periodically to update. Any phone you connect via blutooth can then use your numbers.

Bit tight to get in the back, and two seats only, and ltd head room. It is a coupe, so get over it. You dont buy a coupe to impress your back seat passengers!

So there you go, I love the car, I was struggling to decide what to follow the cls with, but this does the job, a real head turner, and 10K less, although the finance deals on the CLS make it cheaper on the monthly payments.

Any questions, just ask.