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22/05/2009
By EWAN KENNEDY in Stuttgart
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Mercedes' E-Class coupe is quite simply the most aerodynamic mass-production car you can buy. An exceptional amount of work has gone into the design to ensure this sleek body slips through the air more easily than any other car. Boasting a drag co-efficient of just 0.24, the big coupe produces fewer emissions because it uses less power to drive it. As a real bonus it has so little wind noise in its cabin it almost sounds as though it's stationary even in cruise mode at 150 km/h on German motorways.
 While the exterior of the E-Class coupe is obviously shaped to work to maximum effect, you have to look underneath it to get a true picture of the shape of the car. The floor is almost as sleek underneath as above. And while you're at your local Mercedes' dealer checking out the car in July, when it goes on sale in Australia, you may also care to run your hands over the door mirrors to feel how they, too, have been sculpted to slip through the air. Sounds kinky! Perhaps, but it really draws the attention to detail that characterises the car.
The new E-Class coupe is an all-new model in the ever expanding range from the prestigious German marque and displaces the Mercedes CLK-Class in the four-seat sports lineup.
Note that this coupe is being introduced to Australia only two months after its international launch. The local importers are working extremely hard to have new models reach us with a minimum of delay and even dream of the time when we will get the latest virtually simultaneously with the Europeans.
Though we have described the new E-Class coupe as being a four-seater, the headroom in the back isn't the best, and is further hampered by the panoramic glass sunroof fitted to some models. Children, even long-legged ones, will be fine, but adults may care to avoid the area for anything other than short trips. Access by way of Merc’s ‘Easy Entry’ system is good and this sporting Merc will be able to double as a family machine for quite a few buyers.
 Inside, the looks are just as appealing as the outer skin. Attention to detail is everywhere in the way the controls are shaped and laid out. So the sporting Merc remains as intuitive to drive as the models that precede it. Mercedes-Benz owners are notorious demanding in this respect and insist they should be able to find and operate everything with only a few minutes practice in the car. And woe betide the designer who doesn’t come up with the correct formula.
Two engines will be offered to Australia buyers at the July launch. Both are familiar to us in their capacities, but one, the 350 V6 powerplant is now an all-new design featuring direct petrol injection (CGI in Mercedes' speak) for the first time. This not only produces more power, at 215 kW than in the superseded 350, but also uses 14 per cent less fuel than the outgoing model when measured to European standards. Australian numbers are likely to be close to the German ones.
The V8 500 unit with 285 kW is an improved variant of the current engine rather than an all-new design as in the smaller powerplants.
Coming to Australia later in the year, probably in August, is a fascinating pair of engines carrying a nametag of 250. One is a new design of turbo-diesel displacing 2.1 litres (forget about any logic in Mercedes' model numbers these days!) producing 150 kW, and a big 500 Newton metres between 1600 and 1800 revs. This new engine’s fuel consumption in manual-gearbox format is a mere 5.1 litres per hundred kilometres in Europe. This equates to a carbon dioxide output of only 135 grams per kilometre.
 However, this engine will have to be retuned slightly when it comes to Australia as our diesel fuel isn't to quite the high standards of European diesel. This results in a consumption of 5.3 litres instead of 5.1, still a most impressive number. As mentioned, that super-economy 250 CDI diesel sits in front of a manual gearbox. Australian imports will usually have an automatic transmission, but a manual can be imported on special order for those keen on squeezing the maximum amount of energy out of the fuel.
The final engine coming to Australia is an interesting 1.8-litre supercharged four-cylinder petrol unit. Called the 250 CGI in Australia it produces 150 kW, with 310 Nm all the way from 2000 to 4300 rpm.
Mercedes in Australia is keen to promote the diesel engine so will retail the 250 CGI petrol and 250 CDI diesel for the same price. A price that won't be announced until closer to the date of introduction.
The new Mercedes-Benz E-Class coupe is a great looking car. It's pleasant to drive and travel in thanks to the high levels of refinement. As a real bonus for those who care for the planet its sleek aerodynamics make it slip through the air with a minimum of fuel usage and emission output. |
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