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One of the joys of owning a series of Mercs (or, in our case, driving a series of them) is feeling at home even through several model changes, because the major controls stay the same. When I plopped myself on the reather—er, leather-covered driver’s seat, I faced a classic Benz cockpit layout. The three instrument groupings with familiar fonts for fuel and coolant status; central speedometer; and engine revs. The analog clock is gone, replaced by a digital display. A meaty four-spoked steering wheel has just the right rim thickness, and thankfully is not as large in diameter as these things used to be. Some ergonomics are still not as intuitive as a typical Japanese layout. The exterior light switch on the left side of the dash and window switches at the center console are not quite where they should be. The four toggle switches flanking the hazard switch are confusing similar. Also, all of those don’t quite have the sharp-click damping that the best Japanese switches have. Below that is the excellent push button heat/vent/aircon control, with split settings for driver and front passenger, then the stereo system. Front legroom is a bit tight for a car of this size (4810 mm length). The dash and center console intruded into the front space for a snug feel. The front seats are adequately bolstered, and are controlled by a headrest-seatback-seat switch on the door panel. The pictogram is intuitive and very efficient, and there are even 3 user settings for both driver and passenger. In contrast, the rear is roomy. Legroom and seat support are generous. The rear bench is good for three, and indeed there are three headrests and 3-point belts in the back. The trunk, too, has adequate volume. The trunk lid “arms” are even enclosed so that they won’t crush your bags—this does reduce the space, though. Of note, even the trunk lid has an “expensive” feel to it: it pops fully open quickly and decisively. There’s a wide range of E’s available, differentiated mainly by their engines, from the 2.2 CDI (diesel) just introduced here, to several displacements of V6 all the way to the V8s. The wagon version also makes a good case for itself in sheer space, if not quite in good looks. So there we were, thundering down the freeway, with the view ahead underlined by those 911-fenders and three-pointed star in the middle. Evidently the E would be at home on any autobahn, autostrada, or EDSA, with its capacious interior, powerful engine and unflappable chassis. Which begs the question, why would anyone not want one? Price, for one. At $48,000 it’s worth several copies of equal-sized, though admittedly less-capable cars. Also, its little brother the C class looks a lot sportier. As an introduction to the rewards of driving a Mercedes, though, there’s no better place to start than the E320. |
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