 While the C-class has always racked up sales for Mercedes, it’s the E-class that’s always been the centre piece of Merc lore – the car that set’s the bar so that the S-Class can raise it. Question is, can the new E-Class do this? OverDrive (Oct. ’09) finds out...
The new car is longer, bigger and better proportioned than the older one and is more aerodynamically inclined than the previous one. The interiors sport straight lines, simple elegance and luxury. The shifter is now mounted on the steering column as on the S-Class and ML-Class and this liberates space in the centre console for bottle holders.
It’s the engine that’s the story. The E 350 CGI uses a new direct petrol injection V6 displacing 3.5 litres to make 271PS at 6000rpm and 350Nm from 2400-5000rpm. But it’s claimed to be 15 per cent more fuel efficient.
CGI stands for Stratified Charged Gasoline Injection and is the first petrol engine to habe piezo-electric direct injection and spray-guided combustion. The centre piece is stratified operating mode, in which the engine runs with a lot of extra air, offering excellent economy. Basically this system can inject fuel many times, fractions of a second apart within each compression stroke, extending the operating mode to higher engine speeds as well as loads. For instance, the 350CGI motor can use the mode at speeds in excess of 120kmph – highway speeds.
The new Mercedes is expected to be on sale shortly, slotting in roughly Rs. 5 lakh higher than the W211.
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