2001 Mercedes-Benz S-Class

Introduction
Mercedes-Benz has completely redesigned its top-of-the-line S-Class sedans for 2000. The S430 is powered by a 4.3-liter V8, while the S500 uses a 5.0-liter V8. The two S-Class models sport a striking coupe-like profile and a unique face reminiscent of the company’s oval-headlight models.

They aren’t as long overall as the previous generation of S-Class cars, but they are roomier, faster, lighter, more efficient and far more sophisticated.

The S-Class earned the ”Best of Show” award at the most recent Paris Motor Show. Mercedes cars are vastly improved from where they were nearly a decade ago: When the last-generation S-Class debuted, it became an object of derision. It was a masterpiece of engineering, but it became a symbol of an era that had come and gone. It was too heavy, ostentatious and expensive and it guzzled gas.

The shortcomings of the S-Class made it clear the automaker needed to break with its smug tradition. It was time to listen to the customer and watch the competition–particularly a newcomer called Lexus.
interior

The old S-Class interior was luxurious, functional, comfortable, yet cold and forbidding, like the home of a rich widowed aunt where children are firmly reminded to remain on their best behavior. The 2000 S500’s cabin is warmer and more inviting. There’s an almost Mediterranean influence in the way Mercedes designers have melded wood, metal and leather. You feel like you could stretch your feet out and relax on the sofa.

The new S500 has a cockpit-like feel and a formidable array of electronic features.

The most notable is the Distronic Active Cruise Control system. Set your desired speed, and it uses a radar system to scan the road ahead. If you come upon slower traffic, or someone unexpectedly pulls into your lane, Distronic will back off the throttle, downshift, even apply up to 20 percent of the car’s braking force in order to maintain a safe distance. You can set a following distance of between 1 to 2 seconds behind the car ahead. The idea of handing control of your car over to a computer might seem a little bit disconcerting, but we found Distronic a near-miracle on wheels, requiring us to touch the pedals only once while driving a crowded, 30-mile stretch of Autobahn outside Zurich. The setting you choose for Distronic can be displayed on a neat little video display mounted just below the car’s speedometer

Driving Impression
Bigger-is-better” seems to be the automotive mantra in the age of the full-size sport-utility vehicle. The old S-Class proved the fallacy of that logic. The new S500 is just big enough, and the result is a modestly downsized sedan that’s markedly more nimble and aggressive, as we discovered driving a looping route through the foothills of the Swiss Alps.

The 2000 S500 is powered by a 5.0-liter V8 pumping out 302 horsepower. That’s slightly less muscle than the old car, but you’re not likely to notice. Stomp on the accelerator, and you feel an extra kick, the most immediate payoff of trimming the car’s weight. And it’s more than just throttle feel. Steering is more precise, with far more road feel than the last-generation S-Class, a car that seemed numb by comparison. The suspension is firmer, but certainly not harsh. Setting the transmission into S, or Sports, mode, yielded crisp, aggressive shifts, and there’s a new Tiptronic-style mode. In manual mode, you tip the shift lever left or right to downshift or upshift, or simply leave it in ”D” for fully automatic operation.

2007 Mercedes-Benz E-Class

For more than 20 years, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class has been one of the

most successful and popular midsize luxury sedans. For many North

American consumers, it represents the ideal middle ground between what

could be seen as the plebian C-Class and the overly visible and

expensive S-Class. Indeed, the current E-Class, which was last

redesigned in 2003, has found about a million buyers worldwide. Such

popularity in an increasingly arduous world market also makes it one of

those rare cars that seems to be valued as much by those who purchase

it as by the company profiting from its sale.

For the 2007 Mercedes-Benz E-Class, a number of changes have been made

to keep it fully competitive. Last year’s E500 has been replaced by the

new E550. Featuring the new 32-valve, 5.5-liter V8 from the redesigned

S-Class, the E550 makes 382 hp, which is a considerable 80 hp more than

the E500’s output. It’s connected to a new seven-speed automatic

transmission. The E55 AMG performance model, meanwhile, has stepped

aside for the E63 AMG. The E63 features an all-new 6.3-liter 507-hp V8

developed specifically by AMG engineers. Impressively, this power comes

about without the help of supercharging or turbocharging.

For those interested more in fuel economy, Mercedes-Benz will be

offering an improved version of the diesel-fueled E320 later in the

year. Now called the E320 Bluetec (instead of CDI), this model has an

all-new V6 in lieu of the previous inline six-cylinder. Though power

output and fuel economy are similar, the Bluetec engine takes advantage

of the U.S. government’s new low-sulfur diesel fuel requirement. New

technologies allow the 2007 E320 to produce fewer tailpipe emissions.

In spite of those efforts, however, the E320 Bluetec is still a

“45-state” car, meaning it didn’t pass the very stringent emissions

tests required in Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, New York and

California.

The E-Class is not without fault. For one, it’s expensive — not

S-Class expensive, but still dear, especially when compared to

competitors from Japan. Nor can it match the handling athleticism of

its chief rival, the BMW 5 Series. All told, the 2007 Mercedes-Benz

E-Class is a dramatically appealing luxury car and maintains its

position as one of the most capable, most luxurious and safest vehicles

on the road.
Body Styles, Trim Levels, and Options

The 2007 Mercedes-Benz E-Class is available as a midsize luxury sedan

or wagon. Available trim levels include the E350 (sedan and wagon),

E550 (sedan only) and E63 AMG (sedan and wagon). On the entry-level

E350 you’ll find standard luxury features such as a sunroof, a power

liftgate (wagons only), dual-zone automatic climate control, leather

seating, 10-way power front seats, memory settings for three different

drivers, interior wood trim and the COMAND (Cockpit Management and

Data) interface. Also standard is a Harman Kardon surround-sound audio

system with an in-dash six-disc CD changer and an auxiliary jack input.

Safety

All E-Class models come with stability control, antilock brakes with

brake assist, front and rear side airbags, full-length side curtain

airbags and the TeleAid emergency system. A new feature for ‘07 is

PreSafe; if the system anticipates an imminent crash, it automatically

takes measures to better secure occupants. Whiplash-reducing front head

restraints are also new this year. In government crash tests, the 2007

Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedan earned four stars (out of five) for frontal

impacts and a perfect five stars for side impacts. In IIHS frontal

offset crash testing, the midsize Benz earned the top rating of “Good.”

Powertrains and Performance

The Mercedes E350 has a 3.5-liter V6 that produces 268 hp and 258 lb-ft

of torque. The E550 features a 5.5-liter V8 capable of 382 hp and 391

lb-ft of torque. Both models send their power to the rear wheels

through a seven-speed automatic transmission. All-wheel-drive versions,

called 4Matic, are also available for those models — they have

five-speed automatics. The top-line E63 AMG has a 6.3-liter V8

developing 507 hp and 465 lb-ft of torque and an AMG-tuned seven-speed

automatic that routes all that torque to the rear wheels. Acceleration

from either V8 model is exemplary; in testing, we found that the E550

hit 60 mph in 5.2 seconds. Expect about a second less for the E63 AMG.

Interior Design and Special Features

The five-passenger E-Class sedan provides an airy two-tone cabin, where

supple leather seats and coordinating soft-touch surfaces are

complemented by wood inlays, chrome accents and gathered sections of

leather on the door panels. The attractive analog instrumentation is

generally easy to read, but functions associated with the COMAND system

take awhile to figure out. Rear-seat room is adequate for two adults.

The wagon, a frequent top pick in our Editors Most Wanted awards, has a

rear-facing, two-passenger third-row seat. Fold it and the 60/40-split

second-row seat down and you’ll have 69 cubic feet of cargo room

available.

Driving Impressions

While certainly adequate in terms of handling performance, the 2007

Mercedes-Benz E-Class isn’t a willing partner like a 5 Series can be.

Pushed hard, the E-Class displays noticeable body roll, and the brake

pedal’s soft feel doesn’t inspire confidence. That the car is better

used for cruising city streets and highways probably doesn’t come as

much of a surprise. For going in a straight line, the new powertrains

(new V6 last year, new V8s this year, new seven-speed transmissions)

provide the E-Class with impressive amounts of power and refinement.

The E550 and E63 can dust off most sports cars, while the E350 delivers

acceptable acceleration and decent fuel economy.

Mercedes-Benz E-Class:(W120: 1953-1962)

The Ponton (W120: 1953-1962)

The 1953 Mercedes 180 was the company’s announcement that it could build and compete in the world’s contemporary automotive market. With bulbous fenders integrated into its body design, the W120 (its name inside Mercedes) was the company’s first car to feature the “envelope” styling that was the defining element of modern post-war design (the ‘49 Ford helped establish the style). Those bulbous fenders also gave rise to the 180’s nickname: the “Pontoon” or, the German spelling, “Ponton” Mercedes.

Also unlike previous Mercedes, the W120’s body was actually part of the car’s structure, though it wasn’t quite yet what would be considered a “unibody” today. The front of the car consisted of a separate subframe to which was bolted a double-wishbone independent front suspension. The rear suspension used the wicked swing arm system with which Mercedes was infatuated at the time.

The big advantage of the Ponton body style was that it was exceptionally large inside for a car of only modest size on the outside (the original 1953 180’s 104.3-inch wheelbase and 176-inch overall length are nearly identical to those of a 2003 Honda Civic). But what held that first 180 back was the engine; a 1.8-liter four scavenged from the old 170 model with an L-head, a 6.5-to-1 compression ratio and an output of just 52 horsepower. Stirring the column-shifted four-speed manual transmission for all it was worth, the 2,700-pound 180 had performance between slow and agonizingly slow. And if agonizingly slow wasn’t slow enough, in 1954 buyers could get the 180D, powered by a 1.8-liter diesel four rated at only 40 horsepower.

W120s may have been slow, but they were wonderfully rugged. European and developing countries would soon adopt the car (particularly the diesel) as their taxicab of choice. Even today, a full 50 years after the W120 was introduced, they’re still used as taxis in countries like Syria.

For 1955, Mercedes put the 190SL roadster into production, basing most of its chassis and running gear on the W120. But the 190SL also introduced a new overhead cam, 1.9-liter four. This thoroughly modern (by 1950s standards) power plant made a credible 120 horsepower while breathing through two carburetors in the roadster, and it was inevitable that it would find its way into the sedan. In 1956, it made that migration and the 190 sedan was born with 75 horsepower available through its single carburetor 1.9-liter four. In ‘57 the 180 also got a version of the new engine, this time rated at 65 horsepower. Then, in October 1958, a dieselized version of the 190 power plant was introduced in the new 190D, making 50 horsepower. Finally for the 1959 model year, a 190b model was introduced that got 90 horsepower from its four.

Outwardly, there were few differences among the W120s that accounted for an astounding 62 percent of Mercedes’ production during its run. Their intrinsic solidity made them so important in building Mercedes’ reputation for quality, not their rakish lack of style. By the beginning of the 1960s, the W120 was exhausted.