The most important thing about the W124 is that it was conceived and designed by Mercedes after the company’s introduction of the smaller 190-Series (what would eventually become the C-Class) for 1984. That, for the first time, meant the company was selling passenger cars smaller than the E’s progenitors — the midsize Mercedes was now actually in the middle of the range.
Everything about the new Mercedes W124 was new and everything about it looked new — more 1990s than mid-1980s. The structure was completely revised and, through the use of high-strength steel and other construction methods, was significantly stiffer and lighter. The front suspension still utilized double wishbones but incorporated anti-dive technology; and the rear suspension was now a multilink system, which rode better and improved wheel location throughout its travel. The front grille sloped back for better aerodynamics and there was but a single windshield wiper that, using an eccentric cam, was able to clear that big piece of steeply raked glass all by itself. Even the engines were new. In the history of Mercedes sedans, there’s never been one more completely revised than the 1986 300E and 300D.
For 1987, a 260E sedan joined the W124 model mix in the U.S., powered by a 2.6-liter version of the 300E’s straight six rated at 158 horsepower. Also new that year was a station wagon that came only in 300TD turbodiesel form.
The 1988 model lineup included a new, crisply styled 300CE coupe, and a five-speed manual transmission was now offered on 260E and 300E. Considering that just a few years earlier diesels had made up over three-quarters of all Mercedes sold in the United States, the disappearance of diesels from Mercedes’ 1988 lineup may have been a surprise. But increasingly severe particulate emissions standards left the company little choice. This also meant that Mercedes was finally selling a gasoline-powered wagon here as a 300TE.
The 1989 model range was virtually unchanged except that the five-speed manual transmission (few of which were ordered anyhow) was gone from the lineup again and a passenger-side front airbag was a new option.
A diesel returned to the 1990 W124 line with the introduction of an all-new 2.5-liter turbocharged inline five aboard the awkwardly named 300D 2.5. The 260E was also inelegantly renamed the 300E 2.6 for no apparent reason. By stealing the DOHC, 24-valve cylinder head from that year’s new 300SL roadster, the 300CE’s 3.0-liter straight six now made a healthy 217 horsepower. Beyond that, if you wanted Mercedes’ 4Matic all-wheel-drive system on your 300E sedan or 300TE wagon, you could get it.
For fans of traction control, 1991 was a big year as Mercedes’ ASR system became optional on the 300E, 300TE and 300CE.
Much bigger news came with the 1992 models and the introduction of V8 power to the midsize Mercedes. The new, mainstream 400E sedan had the 268-horsepower, 4.2-liter, DOHC V8 from the larger S-Class sedan under its hood. Meanwhile, the glorious limited-production Porsche-built 500E was also introduced with the 500SL’s 5.0-liter, DOHC V8 between its specially flared fenders. With 322 horsepower on board, the 500E was easily the most powerful midsize Mercedes ever and the quickest sedan of any size the company had ever built.
Dual front airbags were standard across Mercedes’ 1993 line and new engines were installed in the W124. The 300E 2.6 became the 300E 2.8 as the engine grew to 2.8 liters and now wore a DOHC head with four valves per cylinder. And all 300E “3.0″ models (except the wagon and 4Matic sedan) had their 3.0-liter engines upgraded. Now at 3.2 liters and sporting DOHC, 24-valve architecture, this engine produced 217 horsepower. This year also saw the debut of the 300CE Cabriolet.
Finally for 1994, the E-Class officially came to be, as Mercedes reengineered its naming system by putting the “E” before the number and rationalizing the numbers in line with displacement. So the returning lineup consisted of E320 sedan, wagon and coupe, E420 sedan and E500 sedan. We guess “E” no longer stood for “einspritz.” To celebrate their new name, the W124s got new grilles, headlights and taillights for ‘94. At midyear, an E300D diesel arrived with a normally aspirated 3.0-liter straight six making 134 horsepower. Also, the 4Matic versions were dropped this year.
With a new E-Class due for ‘96, the only substantial change to the ‘95 line was the elimination of the limited-production E500. After 2,212,025 W124s, Mercedes was ready for a new E-Class.
Tags: Arrives, E320 sedan, Mercedes-Benz E-Class
