Took the new E Class (the saloon - the estate isn't yet available) for a 2-hour spin yesterday thanks to Merc Swindon.

There are only 2 engines available (for now), both diesels 220d and 350d (2 and 3 litre, I guess). I drove the 220d with 197bhp (10 down on my current 250cdi) - I'm struggling to find torque figures.

The box is a 9 speed and apparently has the ability to jump gears like 5-7-9

Unlike the last model which got the fabulous Merc COMAND infotainment system, the new E only gets a Garmin Sat Nav as standard. There's an option (utterly imperative in my mind) of a wide-screen digital dash and COMAND system. Merc have also changed a lot of the input controls including 2 Blackberry-style scrolling buttons on the wheel.

Apparently Merc want to make the E Class more like the S Class.

I've got to say that I was disappointed. The car handles pretty well and has 5 performance modes (economy, comfort, sport, sport+, and Individual) but the 2-litre diesel just felt like it lacked the grunt of a diesel. That said, this demonstrator had done over 1000 miles and was averaging 53mpg which is pretty good for a big German saloon. In Sport+, it felt quite lively, but that 9-sp box was jumping around like a crazed loon and so it was rather irritating. Persuading it to go into 9th was pretty hard too and it felt like an overdrive and the engine felt quite harsh and unrefined in it.

The Garmin sat Nav is dire in the car. It looked crappier than the Garmin unit I bought from Halfords and it just talks over the radio (rather than semi-muting the radio) - really cheap-feeling. The controls for the systems were generally poor by Merc standards - you get used to them I suppose and the ventilation system - a large bank of round ports across the middle of the dash - were quite intrusive and not at all subtle blowing loads of cold air onto my bare arms in auto mode.

The seats are a big improvement over my W212 but not as comfortable as my W211.

To cut a long story short, I've now got the salesman looking for the last of the W212 which apparently have big discounts. I need to swap mine in Aug and the new estate isn't out until Oct. I will also try the E350d but it's a big hike in price.

I think Merc have gone in the wrong direction with this car. I've had a W210, 2x W211 (including current tow car) and now the W212 but I'm really not sure My fifth will be the W213.

Interesting post, MRS. Might you end up outside the MB family...?

There is a good chance of that, Jim, which has really surprised me.

That said, we may get a cheap Golf or similar whilst Hughie learns to drive and just not have a big car in Scotland. Then, once we're moved down, we can use the old one I have and get something completely different.

I'm just a bit surprised that Merc has
a. Launched a car with no petrol versions (excluding the AMG V8)
b. Made a bit of a hash of the design.

I'll certainly take a look at what BMW are offering and possibly Volvo

Well...I'm kinda pleased and not surprised...it's a long time ago tendency to make the latest E like the penultimate S class, same does Bmw with the 5er and 7er. And all those commercial frauds of selling the same engine, iirc, they were selling 1995ccm cdi under four different abbreviations and power figures, after all this is still small engine for something like an E class intended for comfort travelling with luggage. As for the design/quality I personally think they are throwing more energy in the newest exotic big coupes/suv/hi-lux saloons than in the "common" well-known single letter -classes. And just like any other big name manufacturer, lost the price-quality-reliability game more than a decade ago...having said that still think the latest 5er F10/11 has a bit more to offer...It's a never ending rivalry