[karthik247]

Dippy man...hw do u manage to get those awesome testdrives!!??

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by lamborghini

The E280 is a Petrol V6 right?

Nice writeup. Good to know that the electronic gremlins have not affected the E as badly as the C-class.

There used to be an E280 V6 petrol(3 valve engine), but what Rudra is refering to is the brand spanking new V6 diesel engine that Merc has just launched, E280CDI to replace the 5-cyl unit. There will also be an E320 CDI.

[lamborghini]

Mpower,
Touch wood they haven't and will not also hopefully.
The E280 sounds intresting but like Dippy, the Audi Diesel engines sound more intresting. Heck i know for sure that the replacement for the merc. will be an Audi or a Jag or a BMW for sure as i am not fond of the new look S class and i doubt the E class will look as good as the new upcoming C Class.
Karthik,
it doesn't come with Xenons but the quality is as god so i am not complaining. But t is also the reason why the car is not VFM from any angle.

[merve_extreme]

Originally Posted by Mpower

There used to be an E280 V6 petrol(3 valve engine), but what Rudra is refering to is the brand spanking new V6 diesel engine that Merc has just launched, E280CDI to replace the 5-cyl unit. There will also be an E320 CDI.

what Rudra is refering to is the 2997cc(3L) petrol badged as the 280 and just launched in the SLK in australia and the UK.this is the one that is comming in india to replace the underpowered 240

The 280CDI is the same 6-pot diesel,buts its not from the new CDI range.The new diesel u a talking about is the 320 CDI.which will come in the new S-class

[Rudra Sen]

Originally Posted by Mpower

but what Rudra is refering to is the brand spanking new V6 diesel engine that Merc has just launched, E280CDI to replace the 5-cyl unit. There will also be an E320 CDI.

You're right Mpower. If I'm not wrong, it's the one with 260bhp+ on the tap.

Originally Posted by merve_extreme

what Rudra is refering to is the 2997cc(3L) petrol badged as the 280 and just launched in the SLK in australia and the UK.this is the one that is comming in india to replace the underpowered 240

No, not this one for sure merve_extreme. Besides, they were planning to put S320's engine on underpowered 240. Currently in India there are only S350 and S500.

[merve_extreme]

Ok so they are bring the 280CDI.the 320 petrol must be put in the E-class.the 240 is very slow for the E.

Originally Posted by Rudra Sen

If I'm not wrong, it's the one with 260bhp+ on the tap.

but,no its not so powerful.it puts out 188bhp and 440Nm of torque.the new generation 320CDI puts out 235bhp(to be launched in the new S).

[satish_appasani]

Nice writeup lambo. Enjoyed reading it. One of the best I love seeing on Indian roads.

[zulfikar]

Very Good Report...
Its Intersting how you went from 10L - 40L...

[Sahil]

Nice review buddy... I have always lovedd that shade in the E-class...its by far the best one...only if they gave beige interior with it... but sadly you got stuck with the black interior ..tho of late i think they have started giving biege interiors in your blue color..i have seen a few. The only thing lacking in this car is more interior space, it honestly feels almost as class as the C-class from the inside...but the 270 Cdi engine just makes up for all the flaws! smashers of an engine under that hood.
Whenever you become of legal age to drive ask your dad to gift you Pete's tuning box ...throw it into that engine...and you have the perfect gift ever!
Hope your experience with you merc goes smoothly from here on....do keep your fingers crossed....hopefully it wont turn out the way most of our mercs did.

[lamborghini]

Hey Sahil,
When i turn 18, i will first need the keys to the E270 for the Pete's tuning box. And you just can't compare this to the C Class. The C Class is Corolla sized wheras this is just a bit smaller then the accord. The black interior isn't as good but i would rather have the black interior then a dark red colour E Class. If you are still car hunting, get this or the Audi 3.0 V6 diesel.
Merve,
I am guessing that there is not going to be much of a diff. in power (please) as in performance on road. Only a difference in refinement. They should ideally continue giving all engines as option so they get more customers.

[amit]

Apparently Mercedes attempts at improving quality is paying off. In this article of May 2004, the writer has pointed out that Mercedes IQS as per J.D.Power Survey has improved by almost 20% and Mercs now have fewer problems then both BMW and Audi. More importantly, Mercedes most improtant customers, the Germans, are also getting convinced of improved quality in new Mercs. Quoting from the article:

members of the ADAC auto club rated Mercedes’ E-Class sedan, its biggest seller, ahead of BMW’s new 5 Series sedan. Its A-Class compact was ranked higher than Toyota Motor Co.p.’s Avensis.

Good thing that Mercedes realised the problems it was having fast and more importantly took steps to address it's problems. Sure long term reliablity is not yet proven but Mercedes knows whats going wrong and I am sure very soon we will see Mercedes right where it belongs - at the TOP.

[merve_extreme]

Originally Posted by amit

Good thing that Mercedes realised the problems it was having fast and more importantly took steps to address it's problems. Sure long term reliablity is not yet proven but Mercedes knows whats going wrong and I am sure very soon we will see Mercedes right where it belongs - at the TOP.

completely agree.see even the new s-class,every auto-jurno who has drive that car has nothing but praise for this car(unlike the A8 and 7-series),same with the M-class and CLS and the R-class(they dont know what it is,but they like it) and now will come the new gelaendewagen (G-class).looks like all Jurnos are starting to get fond of Mercs again.they are surely back at the TOP.

[lamborghini]

Hey guys,
the car has finally done 20,000 km, so here's an update
Since the last report, the car recently went for its second service which cost Rs 40,000 which is quite steep.
The car was also hit by a scooter and there was a small dent which cost Rs 1.10L to fix as it created some problems with the ORVM - RHS.
Here's a pic of that too.


Also, coming to reviews from family members -
mom - "the car's too cramped up. There's no leg space at all. The corolla is bigger"
dad - "I agree" (i don't think he had a choice)

But apart from that, my dad still loves the car and if he doesn't, i definitely do (maybe i can convince him to trade with the fiesta and i get to use the merc. Hmmm...). My dad and his driver who use it the most didn't seem to be fatigued when they did Mumbai - Alibaug - Mumbai in one day so that seems good and i personally find the car very comfortable.
The car also hasn't given us any problems so far and if only it was a bit bigger and had 'sink in seats', i'm sure the whole family would be revved up about it.
Cheers

[jkdas]

hei, 40k? could you post the details?

sorry; thought it was for lancer! Still details would be great

[lamborghini]

Hey guys,
The car has finally done 50Kkm, in about 5.5 years, and I thought this would be a good time to update the review.

Hey guys,
The car has finally done 50Kkm, in about 5.5 years, and I thought this would be a good time to update the review, specially since I have driven her for a decent number of times.
To be honest, I was a bit disappointed with the car during her 4th year with us. The main reason being the lack of reliability due to some parts failing such as the -
- Air con - Twice
- Turbo needed to be cleaned as it got clogged
- Heavy smoke under acceleration, though we have gotten the exhaust cleaned and plan on switching to regular diesel from a COCO pump as GTO advised me in his thread.
- The horn never seems to work when I need it to! It has been replaced a countless number of times till date.

Do note that this includes problems that occurred after the 4th year/still occurring like the horn, and smoke.
It is just as GTO mentioned in his C220's long term thread (http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...date-17.html):

The Mercedes, on the other hand:

First 2 years of ownership = Excellent. Minimal issues. Plus, the warranty covered it.

3rd year = Some problems trickled in, but were not so much of a bother. Good will warranty from Merc covered the expensive stuff (e.g. evaporator).

4th year = Terrible. Engine mounts, front suspension, air-con, brake pads (2nd time), turbo pipe, premature clutch failure.....it honestly got me a headache.

5th year = Surprisingly good. With 65,000 kms of hard-driving under her belt, she has only had one car related problem (the air-con sensor mentioned above). And that the plastic key gave up (using the spare for now).

It's a love hate relationship, really. Like dating a model. You enjoy the good stuff, but when tempers rise, all hell breaks loose.

However, we luckily haven't faced as many problems as he has. Guess Mercedes did try to improve the reliability of the W211's, though according to our driver, ours is one of the luckier examples.
In addition to this, I am very unimpressed with the quality of the car. Some of the parts have not aged as well as the rest of the car.
Please see the following pics for examples of what I mean -
Attachment 305919

Attachment 305920

Attachment 305921

Attachment 305922

Attachment 305923

Attachment 305924

It is also important to mention that the car also rattles in a few places on rough roads.
However, with due respect to the problems and poor quality of certain parts, let me also add that the rest of the car is exactly how it was on day one.
Take for example the paint. She is still shining like she did on day one, as long as she is given a yearly wax.
A special mention must be given to the paint quality. A couple of years ago, she was hit from behind and the bumper was dented. However, there were no signs of scratches at all!
Also, given the crowded roads on which she plys on, where scooterists love squeezing in and/or trying to see how close they can get to the bumper without leaving their marks, this car has no scratches!
Our other cars on the other hand, which travel the same route, with the same drivers, have scratches from the scooterists. And no, it is not that scooters avoid this car, I have seen marks on BMWs as well.
I apologize for harping on this point so much, but I am very very VERY impressed with the paint quality.
Even the interiors look amazing! The seats and the dashboard have shown little signs of age, and in fact, look much better than our sparingly used 2007 Octavia Combi!
If someone were to see the car, they would guess she was about two years old at most!
Another thing that amazes me about the car is the small turning radius and the immense torque. The car literally flies!
I actually find it easier to close gaps in traffic with this car than any other, and the more I drive it, the more impressed I am with it.
The immense torque, coupled with a heavy steering make this car a perfect city-highway car, and given that this is the most rugged of all the other Germans just helps improve things.
However, the BMW is any day a better drivers car, with much better power delivery and handling, though the E class handles rough roads and the city better, and is our choice for city drives.
In addition to this, once we got used to the harder seats (as opposed to the Japs sink-in seats), the complaints from the family have stopped.
In fact, my father prefers to drive this car over any other when the driver is not there (turning radius), and my mother WILL NEVER trade this car for any other (except a BMW ) - the comfort is superb thanks to the stability. The car sticks to the ground!

Given all the expectations we had about this car turning out to be a lemon like other mercs, let me just say that it has surprised us.
Sure some parts have been built to a cost, or give up every 4-5 years, but whenever you drive or sit in it, it just surprises you, and you just fall in love, again!
However, never get on it's bad side. It will haunt you forever!
Maintain her well, and she will look after you. However, at the same time, don't expect stellar reliability, and know that when something goes wrong, a big bill is about to come.
As of now, I am happy we made this purchase. I wouldn't have said that a year or two ago - me and another family member were trying to convince everyone else to sell this car off due to unreliability. However, things have changed, and how!

Mods - could you please delete the earlier post. It got posted by mistake.

Edit - Most of the service costs are around Rs 10K - related to synthetic engine oil and a few others.
Got a reliable independent mechanic.