R O A D    T E S T

Don't tell anyone, but this Mercedes has a dark secret.  Beneath its dignified-sedan clothes lurk the engine and chassis of a highly-capable sports car.  The face may intend to look aggressive, but instead comes out as mildly startled...even somewhat nerdy.  Well, it can't strip off the glasses to reveal the superhero, but a few days with the E is enough to convince that there's more to it than meets the eye.

The E320 is the embodiment of what a Mercedes should be: roomy, powerful and as solid as a bank vault.  It shouldn’t look like a bank vault, as some previous models have, notably the previous S-class.  Mercedes surprised the world with the E’s four round headlamps in 1995.  It was the first Merc sedan to go for the sporty look, and here the attempt is not quite successful.  The headlamps and curved fenders do have a Porsche look to them, but they conflict with the upright profile and angular rear.  The 2001 model, with a lowered hood and slanted back headlamps, looks much better. 

Another first for Mercedes is the 3.2 liter engine, the first V6 from the company.   Merc replaced its famous inline-6s with V6s because of the more compact layout of the V6, which improves the cars’ crash safety.  The V angle between the cylinder banks is optimized for a V8 but counter-rotating balance shafts help quell any vibration.  There’s a single camshaft for each bank of cylinders, actuating 2 intake and 1 exhaust valve per cylinder.  That valvetrain layout was chosen to help reduce emissions and fuel consumption.  Two sparkplugs per cylinder fire in sequence, helping the fuel burn more completely, too.   

This engine appears in nearly the whole lineup of cars, from C, E, CLK, SLK, M, to the S.  For good reason, too.  The torque delivery is quite adequate for any of those cars, and in the E it delivers 215 bhp and 315 Nm.  That torque stays at its peak all the way from 3000 to 4800 rpm, and propels the car from 0-100 km/h in 7.9 seconds, according to company data.  Twist the infrared key and the engine comes to life with a subdued rumble.  The engine is whisper-quiet throughout the rev range, too, matching Nissan’s VQ for silence.  When it comes to sound quality, however, the VQ growl at high revs still can’t be topped for spine-tingling noises. 

We didn’t have much chance to test the E’s 0-100 times, but we did drive it through long stretches of Los Angeles suburbia, even on a trip to the “Happiest Place on Earth.”  (No, not Las Vegas!) We didn’t doubt that the Merc could deliver on its claimed 7.9 seconds, as it easily overtook big V8-engined cars and SUVs on the freeway.  The 3.2 may be more subtle than Nissan’s VQ, a kind of Mika Hakkinen to the VQ’s more vocal Juan Pablo Montoya, but like Mika, it’s just as effective.

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