[cityvic]

So finally comes the facelifted W212, E Class Launch Edition to my place.
This is our first premium purchase so it was quite thrilling to me.

This saga started sometime last year in October, when I was looking forward on selling of the Honda City i-VTEC and getting a nice premium. I was confused between the E350 CDI and the A6 3.0TDI. On asking several friends for suggestions on the purchase, everyone told me to wait for the facelifted E Class as it would be brilliant. I was totally convinced with the idea as the W212 was on its last leg in its first look and Merc would be coming out with a facelift for it in the next 6 months. So I decided to wait for the facelifted E and then compare it in its new avatar with the A6 3.0TDI. In the mean while this chapter closed.

In the meanwhile, I was constantly bugging Anish9000, Akshay1234, Speedy and SenIndra for queries.

S350L-E240's threads on various car updates proved to be really helpful too and were a major role in making the final decision.

I kept on pondering over the following threads in the last six months.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/intern...disguised.html
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ne-2013-a.html
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...-facelift.html
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...-facelift.html

Picture Courtesy: iraghava


Fast forward to Mid-May this year.

I wanted a 3.0litre only, though a 2.0litre made the most sense as the car was going to be chauffeured all day.
But the 2.0litre would greatly disappoint me when I get to take out the car in the mornings or at night and since this was our first premium, spending some more and getting a bigger engine would be totally worth the fun.

My eyes were on the facelifted E class, but I still had the Jaguar XF,BMW 530D and the Audi A6 in my mind.
The A6 and the 5 were out because my cousins already had them in the 2.0TDI and the 525D avatar and I wanted to get something different from the cars already there at home.
Left were the XF and the E.

Called up the JLR dealership here in Calcutta, Lexus Motors. They have really nice and co-operative staff, knowing a few people there from before helped enhance the experience.Upon inquiring about the XF, they told me that the 3.0litre diesel's production had been stopped and they had last delivered a 3.0litre diesel 3 months back. They were also not knowing when the production would resume and deliveries would start. They were able to offer me only the XF 2.2Litre diesel. I was not very keen on the 2.2litre because of the smaller engine size, the smaller wheels and the few more features which were missing. I still had a look at it and drove it around. I found the car fun to drive, the car was a looker and managed to turn quite some heads. But the space inside was limited and the back seat was not as comfortable as the E which the most important priority for me,also my head kept hitting the rear ceiling so it was quite annoying.

In the mean while on the E scene, I had requested my known sales manager, Sumit at Benchmark Interkrafts to let me keep me updated with all the facelifted E details they get and the date when the bookings start.

My mind was set, I wanted an E class only and in its 350CDI avatar.
Sometime during may end, it got revealed that the facelifted E would be launching on the 25th June.
The sales managers of the Mercedes dealership were also supposed to be sent to Pune plant for training for the new E.

Post training we got to know the following:
Two engines to be launched, E200CGI and the E250CDI.
Two trims to be out, the Avantgarde and a special Launch Edition.

The Launch edition would be a complete CBU, limited to 100 pieces. It would be out with the E250 CDI engine only. The Launch edition would be out in the following colors, silver, white and brown. It would sport 18" wheels, Panaromic Sunroof, Nappa Leather with Piping, Command Online with remote, Bigger Display Screen, Reverse Camera, Drilled Brake Discs, Mercedes Benz badged Brake Calipers and Aluminum Interior Trims.

The E would be be priced at approximately 45-50 lakhs.

I was extremely thrilled with the feature laden facelifted E class but was saddened on hearing that only the 250CDI would be launched and not the 350CDI.
This meant that if I wanted a diesel, I had to settle for a 250CDI only.
The exact pricing for the car was to be announced on the day of the launch of the car, 25th June, so the booking had to be postponed till then.

[cityvic]

25th June

I receive a call from Sumit saying that the pricing of the facelifted E is out and the bookings have begun.

On Road Prices Calcutta
E200CGI: 46L
E250CDI Avantgarde: 51L
E250CDI Launch Edition: 56L

So now its a debate whether to get the standard Avantgarde or the Launch Edition.
There was a five lakh rupee difference among both of them.

The launch edition had the following which the avantgarde did not.
18" Wheels
Panaromic Sunroof
Nappa Leather
Aluminum trims
Command Online
Bigger Display Screen
Reverse Camera
Drilled Brake Discs
Mercedes Benz badged Brake Calipers
CBU, so slightly better built quality than the standard CKD's

So with the above additional goodies all worth the difference of the five lakh, we decided on getting the Launch edition only.

Color
With the trend of black cars at home, was saddened that Mercedes had not offered it as an option for the launch edition.
Brown was out.
So it was either Silver or White.
I initially wanted White but said no later on, as I got to know that the White had beige interiors and hence it would not have gone with the aluminum trims.
So finally Silver it was.Nothing can ever go wrong with a silver color car with all back interiors.
It would definitely look hott!!

So the booking and the payment was made the next day for a Silver E250CDI launch edition with black interiors.
Fortunately my booking was the first for the facelifted E in Calcutta and I was promised delivery by the 20th of July. My E would also be the first facelift in the city

Insurance
Mercedes Benz Secure by the Benchmark group. This was zero depreciation bumper to bumper insurance which includes the tires too.

Extended Warranty
I have also opted for a 2 year extended warranty. I hope this would be a wise decision. The car now has standard warranty for 2 years and extended warranty for the other 2 years.

Freebies
Carpet footmats
E keychain.

In the mean while, I also got to know that cal was alloted 5 launch editions, 2 silvers, 2 whites and 1 brown. The other cars were also booked and done
with in the next 2-3 days by their respective owners. Out of these 5 launch editions, only 2 were supposed to stay in Calcutta and the rest were being delivered to customers in other cities.
So my silver launch edition would be quite exclusive for sometime along with the other white one which was supposed to stay in Cal.

Now the wait begins.

[cityvic]

July First Week

I receive a call from Sumit saying that my allotted E has been dispatched from the Chakkan Plant and should be reaching Calcutta in a week.
He also gives me the VIN no of my car.I go online and decode it, seeing that its a 2013 make car, iridium silver on the outside, black nappa leather in the inside and a complete CBU made in Germany.

July 15th

I get a call from Sumit, this time saying that my car has arrived at their stockyard and that PDI would be done that day.The car's registration would be done the next day and the delivery the day after.

In the mean while I get the entire payment of the car made and go to their stockyard to check out the car.
And, what a scene it was!!I was lovestruck.

I also asked them to get the car a one month valid temporary registration. In this kind of registration one would have the tax token and all the other documents.
One would also be free to use the car after 5.30pm as generally cops catch cars running on TC plates in the evening.







July 17th

Beaming with excitement and a sleepless previous night, I go to take delivery of the vehicle in the afternoon with my cousin.
Checked out the car properly, got a demo of the features, completed the paperwork and drove off.

A few pics of the car taken during delivery
In the second picture, one can also see the White W212 post facelift Avantgarde demo car.





The next post is on the car.

[cityvic]

Now on the car

Exteriors
So with the facelift, gone is the uncle image of the car.
The front end of the car looks much more edgier and sporty than the prefacelift W212. The facelift has been made to be suited to the likings of the younger generation.

The Iridium Silver on my car really makes the car stand out from the other E's in the crowd.Silver E's have hardly sold in Calcutta, limiting them to 4-5 pieces in the prefacelift avatar. Mine is the first and will be the only silver W212 facelift for sometime in Cal.

The Panoramic Roof in Gloss Black finish goes well with the silver giving it an all Silver and Black look.
The 18" wheels on the launch edition totally change the stance of the car.
With the facelift, the car gets all LED headlights and tailights on the car making the car a complete looker.

Interiors
The interiors are drapped in Black Nappa leather, again this a launch edition special. The seats also have a grey piping done on the them and the aluminum interior trims really jell well with the black leather. The panoramic sunroof really helps in making the cabin feel airy, specially since my car has black interiors.

The car also has a 3 spoke sport steering which is a launch edition special than the standard 4 spoke avantgarde steering. The memory seats in the front is something which I find really useful too. They have been preset according to my driving position and the two chauffeurs who know how to drive it.
The interior mood lighting can be changed to three colors via the command system, they are blue, yellow and white. This is another feature which I keep using often.

The car can comfortably seat four with the front seats pushed all the way to the back, I am 5' 11 and that is how I keep it to my settings. The front seats have great padding and gives one a proper snug fit. The rear seats on the facelift have been worked upon too, they now offer much better under thigh support. Having the 5 and the A6 in the family, one thing I can assure you is that none come close to the comfort offered by the E. Though the back seat is best suited for 2 as there is a huge hump in the middle. Generally, when chauffeur driven and no-one is sitting on the front passenger seat, it is pushed all the way upfront to offer the best legroom.

Engine
The engine feels a nice upgrade from the 1.5L's and the 1.8L's, I use to drive in the past. It manages to put a smile on my face everytime I drive it.
Its an Inline 4 cylinder engine of 2143cc.It manages to churn out 204 BHP and 500NM of torque.
The claimed 0-100 acceleration of the car is 7.5 seconds.

The car completed 1500kms in its first month of ownership itself. Post the run in period, I feel the car to be becoming much more quicker and the throttle response to be better.

Transmission
My car has the 7G Tronic Plus transmission.The 7G is a vast improvement over the previous 5G which the E250CDI had earlier.
The E250CDI has become quicker and much more fun to drive with the upgraded transmission.
The previous 5G transmission would run out of air really fast.

Ride & Handling
The car is shod on a staggered wheel setup.
They are Continental Premium Contact 3 tires 245/40/R18 upfront and 265/35/R18 on the rear.
As I remember someone saying, wheels make or break a car, I personally feel the launch edition looks really brilliant with those 18's and really makes it stand out on the road compared to the other E's or premiums.
The ride with 18's is surprisingly very good and way better than what I had thought it to be or was told it would be.

I just hope these contis last a few years on the terrible Calcutta roads. I will be changing the tyres to Michelin Supersport or Pirelli Pzero once the car completes 25,000kms.

Build
The build quality on this car is absolutely brilliant. This must be because my car is a CBU from Germany.
I did not like the quality of interiors and driving experience of the demo car to much compared to my car, maybe because it was an Avantgarde CKD unit and the quality of products used must be varying.

The quality of stuff on my car is pretty similar to my cousin's 2005 W211 E200 Kompressor. It is also way better than his 2010 Prefacelift W212 E250 Petrol, this shows that Mercedes is trying to go back to its excellent build quality of the 90's.

Driving Experience
The experience of driving this car is pretty good. Yes, it is not as fun to drive as a F10 525D but the extra comfort makes up for it.
The 7G gearbox is a delight to use both in the city and on the highway. Driving an automatic in back to back traffic makes life so much more easier.

The E has two driving modes, sport and comfort. In comfort the gear shifts are slower and the throttle is a little lesser responsive, in sport the shifts become much quicker thus making the car much more fun to drive.
Bhpian, Anish9000 found my car to be really fun to drive and also said that it felt much quicker than the prefacelift E250CDI 7G transmission. He too said that the upgrade from the 5speed to the 7speed gearbox has totally changed the way this car drives.

Driving the car in Sport mode with the ESP off is brutal and something which I really look forward to doing when I find the roads empty.

Features
For Safety the car has the following.
Attention Assist.
Collision Prevention Assist.
Adaptive Brake Assist.
Pre Safe.
8 Airbags.
Intelligent Light System.
Adaptive High Beam Assist.

In times of a crash, the following will happen due to a feature called the SRS (Supplemental Restraint System)
Airbags deployed selectively.
NeckPro deployed.
Tensions Seatbelts.
Switches off engine and heating.
Unlocks all doors.
Lowers side windows by 50mm.
Activates hazard lights.
Triggers pyrofuse in fusebox.
Activates crash responsive emergency lighting.

Auto Park
So when one wants to parallel park the car between two cars or park the car vertically between two pillars or cars, the car has the feature to park itself too.
All one has to do to activate the Auto Park is to turn the indicator on for the side wanting to park on, stop the car, shift to reverse, auto park option comes up on the screen, click yes on that, start accelerating slightly and the steering starts turning on its own and puts the car into the desired parking position with the help of the reverse camera and 8 parking sensors on the car.

Eco Start/Stop
So to make the car environmentally friendly and to save more fuel this feature has been added. While stationary for more than 10 seconds at N or D with the foot on the brake, the engine shuts down, running the car on an extra battery given in the boot. This does becomes irritating at sometimes if the jam is for longer as the AC stops cooling enough after 30 seconds in power save mode.

Infotainment System
The new E class has a much more improved version of the Command system. I have used earlier command systems and this one is generations ahead of them. It is much more easier and convenient to use this one. The screen on the launch edition is slightly bigger than the one on the standard car.

The infotainment system in my car has the following features.
10 speaker setup which sounds brilliant to my ears even after having the Rainbow/Gladen/Digitaldesigns setup on my type 2. The dealer says that the launch edition has a Harman Kardon music system.
6 DVD changer.
Dual USB/Aux/SD card.
Navigation, which actually works.
Command Online.
The Bluetooth feature on the system pairs up perfectly with mobiles. It is really convenient to make/receive calls, browse contacts, play music via the phone.
Vehicle details such on the brakes, service intervals, issues ,etc.
The settings of the exterior/interior lights and locks can also be changed via the command system.

Things I miss
A 3.0 litre engine.
Push Start/Stop.
Better tyres.
A proper stepney rather than a donut wheel.
I guess thats it, love the car otherwise.

Accessories
Kagu 3D Footmats.
Llumar Steel 35 tints.
USA Style Amber Reflectors.
AMG Lip Spoiler.
AMG Roof Spoiler.
AMG Sport Pedals.

To Sum It Up
Loving the car to the bits. I waited for over 10 months for it to launch and made sure that I got the first piece in the city when it did.
And no I am not regretting not buying a 5 or an A6 or an XF instead.

The E in its new avatar looks brilliant. It manages to put a smile on everyone sitting in it and even turn a few heads on the road.
Putting the car in sport mode, switching off the esp and driving it is the best thing for me on the car so far.

[cityvic]

Dealer Experience

Interkrafts has been the sole dealer for Mercedes Benz in Calcutta since over a decade. They were recently taken over partly by the Benchmark Group, this has changed things at the dealership for the better. There has now been a huge change in the ethics of the dealership, there has been a change in management and staff too. They are also building a bigger showroom somewhere in the city and the huge ancient service centre is going through some massive renovation.

My sales manager, Sumit Kumar is one the best in this field. He made sure that the total purchase experience right from the pre booking saga to post delivery queries was absolutely smooth and perfect. He himself is really into cars so he knows a lot about them, he was really well informed about all the features and specs of the Mercedes line up. Pratap Singh, another sales manager from the dealership is also among the best of the sales team. He also helped me immensely by answering queries and giving suggestions along with Sumit. Mr Edwin Aviet, who has been at the dealership since its very beginning was immensely helpful and also made sure that things were done as promised. He is the oldest in the Calcutta sales scene and knows Mercedes Benz's inside out. He made sure that I was informed when the bookings of the new E started and that I got the first piece in my choice. He himself has been really influential during the W211 purchase in 2005 and the W212 purchase in 2010.
A big thank you to all three of them for making sure that dealership experience was brilliant. I look forward to dealing with them in the future too.

[cityvic]

Exterior shots






















Interior Shots

Black Leather + Aluminum trims = What a combo


View from the drivers seat


Analogue Clock


Navigation


Command Online

[cityvic]

Some nice pictures of the car taken so far.

















Poor attempt of catching the fancy headlights with the Iphone5 camera.





Posing with the famous Candy Mercedes.



With a XJ Supersport and Cadillac Seville behind.



Posing with Anish9000's daily drive, the silver avatar of 9399 which makes them Silver Twins on 18's.







Posing with another friend's E250CDI brand shaper, they have many common features but are totally different on the outside and inside.



With a friend's F10 BMW520D.



F10/ W212/ F30



With my cousin's BMW 525D F10.



With the premiums of the family.
W212 Maroon E, E60 Golden 5 and White A6 not in the picture.
Note, my car on its donut wheel.

[cityvic]

A photoshoot with a friend's BMW 320D Sportline.
W212 & F30.

[cityvic]

Ze Germans!!

[cityvic]

The story so far

Apologies for so much delay in the completion of the thread, it should have been up running by mid august.
I was completely tied up since the last two months as I was busy moving into a different country for my further studies.

While I am here at Philadelphia, the E is doing its daily duty back home. It has been over 3 months since we have had the car.
It has run around 3000 kms now. The running decreased for a bit during September as both my parents were out of town too for a few weeks.

The first free checkup of the car was completed 2 weeks back, the car is now giving an FE of around 9 kmpl after the engine has opened up completely and the car has completed its run in period. Touchwood, the car is giving no problems and is running with a breeze.

In the meanwhile, I cant wait to head back home in december to lay my hands on the car.
It feels pretty weird having not driven a car since over a month.
I shall also click and post some detailed pictures of the accessories and interiors once I am back home in december for a vacation.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownership Section. Thanks for sharing!

[karan561]

Originally Posted by cityvic

To Sum It Up
[/b]Loving the car to the bits. I waited for over 10 months for it to launch and made sure that I got the first piece in the city when it did.
And no I am not regretting not buying a 5 or an A6 or an XF instead.

The E in its new avatar looks brilliant. It manages to put a smile on everyone sitting in it and even turn a few heads on the road.
Putting the car in sport mode, switching off the esp and driving it is the best thing for me on the car so far.

Hey Cityvic,

Congratulations on owning the " Launch edition " E Class, it indeed is a beauty especially love the rims & the stance of this model

BTW, bad timing to move out of India bro

[cityvic]

Originally Posted by karan561

Hey Cityvic,

Congratulations on owning the " Launch edition " E Class, it indeed is a beauty especially love the rims & the stance of this model

BTW, bad timing to move out of India bro

Haha thanks Karan.

Well, USA is just four years in store then back to India. I guess I shall come back to experience even better cars at home.

[planet_rocker]

Congrats Rohin - Beautiful Mercedes Take care of the car in the same way you take care of the Old Honda City

Wish you happy miles ahead - i mean only when you are in Kolkata.

Need a small demo of the Auto parking thingy in person.

All the best for your studies!

[PapaBravo]

Congrats Rohin. The E looks lovely. It must be really painful buying a car with so much planning and anticipation & then not being able to drive it.

Anyway, Come back soon in December. Should plan a meet then.