|
By EWAN KENNEDY
8 March 2010
Mercedes
has surprised many by producing its new 2010 E-Class cabriolet as
a soft-top, rather than using a folding hardtop. The latter has
almost become the norm in open-top cars in recent years. Indeed,
Mercedes itself brought the hardtop back to the automotive scene
in the early 1990s when they introduced it in the new SLK.
This time around Benz has opted for a soft-top because it lets
others know you have a convertible even with the roof is up.
That's because a folding hardtop can easily be mistaken for a
fixed-head coupe when the roof is closed and, let's be honest
here, that's almost all of the time.
Mercedes’ engineers have come up with an interesting new idea
with the E-Class cabriolet. Called an ‘Aircap’, it alters
windscreen aerodynamics by forcing the air to move higher above
the car when the top is down. This is achieved by raising the
height of the windscreen header. Working in conjunction with an
air blocker between the rear seats, it reduces buffeting inside,
this is noticed chiefly in the rear seats, though there are some
benefits to the occupants of the front seats as well.
Mercedes is promoting this new Aircap system as letting the car be
used in all four seasons, as well as by four people. We have yet
to sample it in cold weather, but see no reason to doubt its
claims.
This new E-Class variant replaces the CLK-Class Mercedes cabriolet
and has seating for four people. It's best that the two in the
rear are children in their pre-teen years, though we did manage to
get four adults in the car without too much squeezing in the back
seat. That required some compromise of legroom by the front seat
occupants, but we have met cars that are far worse than the
Mercedes in this respect.
The styling of the new Mercedes open car works exceptionally well.
The squared off lines of the latest E-Class work nicely with the
overall shape, even more so than with the sedan and coupe we have
already admired on the Australian market. We attended the
international launch of the cabriolet on the Spanish island of
Majorca in late February, the first imports will reach Australia
in late April.
Rigidity is most impressive, all the more when you realise that
the need for a large cabin in a four-seater convertible makes body
strength particularly difficult to achieve. We liked not only the
comfort and quietness offered by this strong body, but also the
good handling dynamics it provides. We found the cabriolet
remarkably sure footed for a large machine that can provide
open-top cruising with so much elegance.
Initial imports to Australia will be fitted with a 3.5-litre
petrol V6 engine or a 5.5-litre petrol V8. These engines are the
latest developments of units we have admired in Mercedes in recent
years and now feature lower emissions and fuel consumption, but at
the same time have more power and torque than in their previous
iterations. Even cleaner and more economical V6 engines are also
being built for this car. But at this stage they require petrol
with lower sulphur levels than is available in Australia. This
situation may change in the midterm future.
Seven-speed automatic transmissions are installed behind both
engines and have sequential selections should you feel the need
for some do-it-yourself gear selecting. This is achieved by either
paddles behind the steering wheel, or the floor-shift lever.
We road tested both the V6 and V8 engines during a drive program
organised by Mercedes-Benz out of Majorca as part of the
international launch. We came away impressed with the way they
responded virtually instantly to throttle response and were happy
to work hard throughout their rev bands.
Though the 3.5 engine is likely to suit the great majority of
buyers, as petrol heads we loved not only the extra urge provided
by the big V8, but also the very sporting exhaust note it puts
out.
Coming later are other engines, including four-cylinder
turbo-petrol and turbo-diesel units. We will attend the Australian
launch of the vehicles and provide more information on these
engines immediately afterwards.
Ride comfort is good and the solid feel of the body is most
impressive when you consider the size of the cabin. Yet the
engineers have been able to achieve this strength with little
addition to the weight of the body.
Mercedes-Benz Australia hasn't finalised the exact specifications
of the new E-Class cabriolets coming to our market, but levels are
anticipated to be high. The usual Ambiance, Avantgarde and
Elegance models will certainly appear. However, pricing has been
announced, with the E350 cabriolet beginning at $139,950 and the
E550 having a tag of $186,950. These are manufacturer’s list
prices and government and dealer charges have to be added.
© Copyright
Marque Publishing Company
|
|
