E-Class ***Wimmer spots the new E-Class Coupe on the road!***

[Gullwing]

The caption photos would be great for Curbzone so we get more people over there. I think most people don't want them to stop, just maybe place them in a more controled area

 

[sfbayfan]

I thought it was well done, silly and fun. Of course I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, and everyone knows we are a bit whacked!!

 

[Verbier]

E-Class Coupe Test Drives and Reviews

Well in order to try and get this thread back on track (and to save poor Wimmer from all the flaming he has unjustifiably been receiving) I would like to put out a request that fellow members remember to post any new Test Drives or Reviews of the E-Class Coupe they see to the relevant thread.

It's been quite I while since the last review was posted (by me) and it would be good to see more.

It appears to me that around 70% of the reviews (at least the ones I have read) have been quite negative so it would be nice to see if more positive reviews are out there.

Since more and more E-Coupe's are also now in the hands of lucky owners it would be fantastic to see what they think of their new toys.

Wimmer... keep your chin up dude

 

[Human]

This is from the heart as a BMW fanatic....Absolutely BEAUTIFUL car!
Merc did the job very, very well!

 

[tennmb]

Drove the new E-coupe home last night.

Great driving car. But it will not be mistaken for the E-sedan. But, at the same time, there is enough detail that labeling it a CLK doesn't seem just either. The audio and climate units are identical to the E. The materials trim is comparable to the sedan. Very nice plastics, plenty of wood, and several nice detail elements that are not in the C. But, you can't help but notice the C elements in regards to wheelbase and interior space, and layout.

For example, when you lift up the spare tire cover, it is identical to the floor pan that is in the C. The interior space is C. The materials are much nicer, but it is still obviously a C-class in terms of its underpinnings.

I took a long ride in the new sedan as well, and there is no mistaking the two, in my mind.

Now don't misunderstand. The E-coupe is fabulous. Quiet and absolutely solid in every way. much, much nicer than the CLK it replaces.

I just think the name could cause some criticism.

Looks wise, I like the sedan better overall. Which was not the case prior to seeing in person.
The front of the coupe is better. It is knife life. The hood, the headlamps, grille, just look so good. However, the rear arch is huge in the coupe, and the version we have does not have sport. The arch looks very good from certain angles, from others, a major distraction. In person, you just don't notice it much on the sedan. I think the arch in the coupe favors nothing less than 18" wheels.

The double fogs are not as bad in person, but seem ridiculous in function. Why couldn't day time lamps and fogs operate out of the same lens, since they don't operate simultaneously? I don't get it.

Anyways, both the sedan and coupe are best when driven. There is a new element that I have not previously felt in MB. This new suspension seems able to retain the best of MB comfort, but add a level of performance that wasn't previously there. The steering is much more direct, particularly in the sport sedan. The car speaks to you instantly that something special is going on here. The bar has been raised. The fit and finish, the attention to detail, the feel, etc. Wonderful.

 

[cawimmer430]

Sense of humor? I think of sense of humor as joking around with your friends. Not posting pictures of random people you dont even know on the internet with what you think are witty comments bubbled in, hoping to get the "oh youre so funny" from the occasional poster. Especially with a thread you made about a CAR, all those photos with people in them are unnecessary in a thread about a CAR.

You take amazing photos Wimmer, and when I see you post any picture thread, I get excited to see your photos of automobiles, not random people. You have more photos in this thread focused on strangers with your captions then you do with the actual car as the focal point.

Please tell me I didn't overdo it in this thread. I think the speechbubble comments were quite "tame" by my usual standards.

Besides, I noticed that random people were noticing the car and their facial expressions fascinated me. I thought the speechbubbles might "cheer things up" here...

 

[cawimmer430]

Cawimmer, while I do think the captions to the people were funny, they were a little overdone, and this sounds a bit farfetched but if any of those people were to find the photos...I'm not saying that this could ever happen, but you did post them on the internet and anybody can see them. However, they were funny.

Well, at least you thought they were funny.

 

[Shining Star]

Exactly! A good laugh never hurt anybody! I'd just be a little carful, seeing how most anybody can view these...But I'm overreacting..they were funny!

 

[HighestOfHigh]

This is the second E-Class Coupe I've seen on the road but the only one I was able to photograph. The pictures don't do it justice. It looks a little one-dimensional in the photos but when you see the car up close the nicely shaped proportions really stand out.

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Lol...Considering how shaken up the camera was I can tell you were excited to see it too.

Nice photos as well!

 

[Verbier]

Amazing

I finaly got to see my car for the first time earlier this evening. It was sitting at the back of the Mercedes Dealer compound still with the delivery stickers and some protective covering. The dealer didn't have the keys so I could not sit in. Interior was still heavily covered in protective plastic and cardboard.

Since this was the first time since the Geneva show many months ago I had seen an AMG spec car in real life I was most pleasantly suprised. If it drives anywhere near as well as it looks I'll be more than happy.

Collection date has been set for 8am on Saturday 20th June so still som time away yet.

Oh well... at least I have the photo's of my baby to look at between now and then

 

[Leech]

congrats mate ..

this is one on the best looking merc's :|

 

[Merc1]

Interesting thread....I'll take the sedan please. Same as before with the W211 and the C209 CLK.


M

 

[Shining Star]

Love the sedan and coupe. Verbier, great looking car, very striking in silver with AMG pack!.

 

[cawimmer430]

Lol...Considering how shaken up the camera was I can tell you were excited to see it too.

Nice photos as well!

The Nikon D90 takes videos in frame mode. I can hold the camera reasonably still but any small movement will look like the camera is shaking somewhat. I was also walking around and that means camera shake is inevitable.

 

[HighestOfHigh]

The Nikon D90 takes videos in frame mode. I can hold the camera reasonably still but any small movement will look like the camera is shaking somewhat. I was also walking around and that means camera shake is inevitable.

Lol Oh ok...I was wondering. Thanks for the video!

 

[alejandro]

I finaly got to see my car for the first time earlier this evening. It was sitting at the back of the Mercedes Dealer compound still with the delivery stickers and some protective covering. The dealer didn't have the keys so I could not sit in. Interior was still heavily covered in protective plastic and cardboard.

Since this was the first time since the Geneva show many months ago I had seen an AMG spec car in real life I was most pleasantly suprised. If it drives anywhere near as well as it looks I'll be more than happy.

Collection date has been set for 8am on Saturday 20th June so still som time away yet.

Oh well... at least I have the photo's of my baby to look at between now and then

Please, TELL ME YOU ORDERED A CGI INSTEAD OF CDI, because label shows clearly CGI...

In all your posts you have been talking about a 350 CDI version, haven't you?

 

[Verbier]

Please, TELL ME YOU ORDERED A CGI INSTEAD OF CDI, because label shows clearly CGI...

In all your posts you have been talking about a 350 CDI version, haven't you?

It is for sure a CDI so will be drinking from the black pumps. The pictures I took with my iPhone, which as we all know does not have a very good quality camera. I've re-checked the photo's and to me it's actualy not clear if it says CGI or CDI. I think there is a refelection across the D which may make the letter look like a G instead of a D. Since I did not get to look under the hood or see the rev counter I have no other reference points apart from the badge which I actualy did not pay attention to when wandering around the car.

Hopefully late on Saturday or sometime on Sunday (bearing in mind it's F1 GB weekend so there will be other distractions... come on Button in your Mercedes) I'll be able to post some photo's and the first driving impressions... of the 350 CDI.

 

[alejandro]

It is for sure a CDI so will be drinking from the black pumps. The pictures I took with my iPhone, which as we all know does not have a very good quality camera. I've re-checked the photo's and to me it's actualy not clear if it says CGI or CDI. I think there is a refelection across the D which may make the letter look like a G instead of a D. Since I did not get to look under the hood or see the rev counter I have no other reference points apart from the badge which I actualy did not pay attention to when wandering around the car.

Hopefully late on Saturday or sometime on Sunday (bearing in mind it's F1 GB weekend so there will be other distractions... come on Button in your Mercedes) I'll be able to post some photo's and the first driving impressions... of the 350 CDI.

Have you already collected you car? Can't wait for your impressions...

 

[Verbier]

Have you already collected you car? Can't wait for your impressions...

I did indeed collect the car on Saturday and have covered 350km over the last 3 days. The weather has been pretty bad here with rain and high winds so not had much dry weather driving and haven't realy been able to take any good outdoor photo's. I'll post some photo's of the car in my parking garage but they are not the best quality. The weather is scheduled to be better next weekend so I'll post some outdoor photo's then along with an update of the ownership experience after one week.

Apart from the limited amount of time I've had with the car, another thing to remember when reading my below impressions is the car is in it's 1500km running in phase. I've been told not to use more than half throttle during this period and not to rev the engine more than 3000rpm. For this reason I don't have any imprssions of the outright acceleration for example as I've been keeping the car in Comfort mode and treating it very gently. I hope you understand : )

Anyway... down to business. First the good impressions. The car in Silver AMG spec looks amazing and judging by the amount of attention it's had from bystanders and other drivers it certainly doesn't fly under the radar. If you want to drive incognito then buy an A5... this car isn't for you. The look of the lights at nightime is particularly impressive, especially the rear LED's with their 3D floating effect which works realy well. Also, the front direction indicator lamps somehow light up the whole light unit. Not sure how, maybe using some internal reflectors or something.

The interior of the car is first rate. The materials don't feel any better than those in my Audi A3 (which I've upgraded from) though. Makes you realise how good Audi are having interiors of a similar or better quality than cars two and three times the price. The seats are fantastic and adjustable in so many different ways. Being able to adjust the side bolsters to pinch you into the seat is particularly good when your about to tackle a twisty road. At the flick of a finger they then release you for some less secure motorway driving. Nice touch.

The engine, even under the part loads I've experienced to date seems hugely strong. I've managed some realy rapid overtaking manouveres when only using small amounts of throttle opening so it certainly bodes well for when the engine is fully run in. The brakes I haven't tried in anger yet but they are nicely progressive (unlike the over servoed Audi brakes) and can be modulated nicely. The 7G-TRONIC is a peach. Shifts between the first couple of gears you can feel with a little drive train shunt but as speed increases it's almost impossible to feel the shifts, very impressive. The 'M' mode as I had hoped does provide for a fast response to manual shift inputs, however, at low speed the car does not respond to all manual gear inputs if it does not think the gear is correct for the speed. For this reason I think manual mode should only be used when you want to push the car when driving at higher velocities. When taking things slower, leave it in 'C' is my recommendation.

As for the handling and steering... well the ride is firmer than I expected which for me is a good thing and the Sports Parameter steering (part of the AMG pack) is a revalation. Only the tightest of hairpin bends require you to take your hands off the wheel to feed in more lock. All other medium and tight bends can be taken without having to move your hands from their orginal position on the steering wheel rim.

The space in the rear is limited as you would expect. The seats are great but somebody of average height will have very little head and legroom. Not a problem for me but if it is a problem then the suggestion is buy something else.

Since there is no spare tyre in my car there is a huge amount of extra storage space under the trunk floor. The trunk is already huge so this car can carry a serious amount of luggage.

The interior ambient lighting is nice but not as bright as I would like and the intensity can't be adjusted. Strangely there is ambient lighting in the driver and passenger footwells. I can only assume this is to help see the foot operated parking brake at night.

I've only had a few minutes of night driving with the intelligent lights and high beam assist seems to work very well. The cornering lights appear to be halogen so have a warm yellow colour whereas the driving lights being BiXenon have a cold white colour. It's therefore very noticable when the cornering lights come on as they have this different colour creating a bit of light tapestry as you drive. Quite entertaining to watch. High Bean Assist works well, however, since the camera needs to see the lights of the other car before it reduces the beam then this seems to invariably result in you being flashed by the other driver just as the lighting system is about to do it's job and reduce the beam. If the system ever gets confused or doesn't react quick enough then the other driver flashing his lights certainly makes sure the camera picks him up and nocks the main beam off so not realy a problem.

Well, so much to say so I'll try and keep this post short so now time for the negatives.

During the installation drive I took with my dealer before accepting the car I noticed a quite significant electrical problem. When indicating to turn left instead of the rear yellow (which in reality appear somewhere between yellow and green) LED's dlashing the brake lights flash instead. This only happens on the rear left of the car. Since it was a Saturday non of the workshop staff were on site so the car has been scheduled to go into the workshop for a fix on Tuesday. The car is apparently still legal to drive so no problems there. After all that's how most American cars signal a direction change by flashing the brake lights I believe.

There also seems to be a problem with the rear windows. The one touch lowering works but one touch raising does not. I can't believe this is normal so I'll be getting MB to check this also.

Unlike my old Audi A3, when moving the front seats forward to allow access to the rear, the Coupe's seats do not remember there original position which means the driver then has to go about re-finding his original driving position. Very inconvenient on a car of this price.

One of the biggest disappointments to date is the Harman/Kardan Logic 7 system. The BOSE system in my A3 sounded much better and more consistent. In the A3 all CD's sounded good. In the Coupe every CD needs to have the Base and Treble adjusted otherwise on some it is to harsh and others insuffucient. It seems the rearmost speakers in the Coupe are also not of a good quality which means that the sound is very forward biased and certainly not 'Suround Sound'. Additional to that the installation seems quite poorly done with what appears like secondary vibrations through the cars trim during base heavy tracks. This kind of thing should simply not be there in a so called Premium system. Before my A3 I had an A6 for a short while and the basic non BOSE system on that car sounded better than the Premium Harman/Kardan on the Coupe. Maybe my expectations were to high for this system, I don't know. I must admist it's a little strange that I've read a huge amount of reviews of the A5 Bang and Olufsen system but I hadn't found a single review to date of the Coupe's Harman system. I wonder why? Are MB removing them off the web

Well I could keep talking about this car forever so I won't.

If anybody has any questions then feel free to ask and any questions I can't answer I promise to do my best to find an answer.

The photo's I've posted are of the car parked in it's unfeasibly small and tight parking bay. Believe me, the parking sensors don't help here at all. Only luck and extreme skill on my part t-hands have prevented scratches and scuffs in the first three days of ownership. Hence the reason for all the bubble wrap on the walls

For those of you with a keen eye this is the same car as in my earlier posts. I asked when ordering that the car be delivered de-badged. A request that MB very nicely ignored. So I had the 'Blueefficiency', 'E 350' and 'CDI' badges removed from the fenders and trunk respectivly and an 'AMG' badge added to the trunk on the right hand side. It's now not possible to tell externaly if this is a benzine or diesel car.

OK. Thanks to those of you who took the time to read this long post.

Cheers and Goodnight!!!

 

[ree]

Thanks for this great review and first impressions of your new car!

With the first pics, I would like to move your post over here then:

http://www.germancarforum.com/my-car-owner-galleries/