Mercedes-Benz is a brand that has been associated with firsts throughout its long history which of course began with the very first car, Karl Benz’s 1886 Patent Motorwagen. Along the way, Mercedes has launched gasoline direct-fuel injection, anti-lock brakes and many other technologies including the compression ignition cycle developed by Dr. Rudolph Diesel. As we approach the 80th anniversary of the 1936 260D, Mercedes-Benz currently offers diesel engines in several of its current U.S.-market models including the midsize E-class sedan. I recently spent a week with the diesel-powered E250 BlueTec AWD just before the news broke about the big Volkswagen diesel emissions cheating scandal.
Traditionally, the E-Class has been Mercedes’ best-selling nameplate in the U.S. market although sales are off substantially in 2015 as the current-generation approaches the end of its lifecycle. An all-new E-Class has been spotted tested and will likely debut at either the Detroit or Geneva auto show in early 2016. While that new model will likely go on sale in Europe by next spring, it might be late summer or fall before American dealers have any in stock.
The E-class is the last of Mercedes’ car models that hasn’t been reworked in the style inspired by CLS four-door coupe and has a decidedly more conservative look than its current stablemates. Even the next generation model doesn’t look as swoopy as other contemporary Mercedes models and that probably has something to do with the role it plays in its home market. While Americans think of Mercedes-Benz almost exclusively as a purveyor of luxury sedans, coupes and SUVs, parent-company Daimler is the world’s largest producer of commercial vehicles and the E-Class is almost the German equivalent of the defunct Ford Crown Victoria. Visit any city in Germany as well as numerous other European countries and you’ll see huge fleets of E-Class sedans in taxi and police liveries. While not as cheap as the classic Crown Vic, the E-Class share’s the Ford’s reputation for durability in sustained operation.
The E-Class got a substantive refresh a couple of years ago eliminated the four separate headlamps that have distinguished the midsize Mercedes sedan since the mid-1990s. Instead, slim LED running lamp strips surround the now standard LED main lamps within integrated modules. All of the exterior lighting is now provided by LEDs that provide exceptionally bright white light without the glare often associated by HID lamps. My test car also had the optional active lighting that tips the lights into corners as you turn.
Inside the E250 had the optional leather linings in place of the standard faux-leatherette. Mercedes’ artificial hides have always been considered high quality and the leather used in all but the highest end models is usually not as plush as you’ll find in some competitors. The E250 is no exception, the leather is even, comfortable and looks durable, but not exceptionally luxurious.
After a week with the E250, I’m increasingly of the opinion that I much prefer multi-function control knobs like Mercedes’ COMAND or BMW’s iDrive over touch interfaces. Control is vastly more precise than what can be achieved while tapping a screen and moving down the road at the same time. The current Mercedes-Benz infotainment interface is definitely getting long in the tooth and clunky but that will hopefully change soon with the addition of both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. In the meantime, there are some decidedly non-intuitive aspects of the navigation system such as muting audio guidance. On most vehicles, this is found in the navigation options menu, but on the E250, you just tap the mute button on the steering wheel while a voice prompt is active. This will keep those prompts quiet until you tap the button again or restart the car. I didn’t try this at first because this typically mutes all audio, but if you do it during a prompt it only silences the navigation. Voice recognition works ok, but like other embedded navigation systems, the point of interest database is far more limited than what you will have access to once you can use CarPlay or Android.
The E-class is available with a full suite of driver assist systems including adaptive cruise control, pedestrian detection and cross-traffic alert but this wasn’t included on the test car. What I did have was blindspot assist and and the lane departure warning that vibrates the steering wheel when you drift out of the lane without a turn signal. The collision prevention assist uses the forward looking camera to automatically activate braking if you are closing too fast on another vehicle.
Active parking assist was included which automates parallel parking. Unlike most similar systems from other companies, Mercedes-Benz doesn’t require you to press a button to activate it. Simply slow to below 20 mph as you drive past spaces and the ultrasonic sensors will automatically measure whether there is enough space. When a sufficiently long space is found, an alert pops up in the instrument cluster to let you know and then you just shift to reverse and manage the brake and accelerator as the system steers the car into place.
Under the hood, the E250 is powered by a 2.1-liter turbodiesel four-cylinder that generates 195-horsepower and 369 lb.-ft. of torque. As it happened, I returned the Mercedes the day before news about Volkswagen cheating on diesel emission controls broke. Unlike the affected VWs, all modern Mercedes-Benz diesels use a urea-injection system to reduce emissions of NOx and so far these systems have not been shown to have any issues.
The diesel is paired with Mercedes’ seven-speed automatic transmission and sends torque to all four wheels via the 4Matic system. Like most other modern Mercedes-Benz models, the E250 has an automatic stop-start system that shuts off the engine when the car comes to a stop and then restarts it when the brake pedal is released. Compared to most of the other similar systems I’ve tried recently, this one isn’t nearly as seamless. While the diesel four is relatively smooth when running, it does exhibit more shake when starting and stopping. The vibration isn’t particularly objectionable but it is noticeable and the system can be turned off if you don’t like it.
Click here to compare the E250 to some of its main competitors
Like other contemporary diesel engines, the Mercedes-Benz four exhibits a pleasant growl under acceleration. The E250 won’t be challenging the E63 AMG in any drag races but its performance is more than acceptable in all normal driving with Mercedes quoting a 0-60 mph time of 8.2 seconds. It has the strong low-end torque characteristic of all compression ignition engines which means it moves off smartly and has no issues keeping up with any normal traffic.
Compared to many other newer designs, the ride quality of the E250 was noticeably less supple when traversing Michigan roads that had been paved more than a few weeks earlier. It wasn’t harsh or terribly uncomfortable, but the contours of the pavement could be felt. How much of this is due to the extra 200-pounds of the 4Matic all-wheel-drive system isn’t clear since I haven’t tried the latest rear-driver for comparison but it likely is a factor.
The EPA rates the E250 4Matic at 27 mpg city, 38 mpg highway and 31 mpg combined. In my week with the car, I saw an average of 34 mpg which is impressive for a car of this size and mass without electrification. Of course being a Mercedes-Benz, it doesn’t come cheap. As delivered, the bottom line was $66,960 with a base MSRP of $54,300. If you’re looking for a roomy, fuel-efficient midsize luxury sedan, the E250 is definitely worth a look and if you don’t live somewhere where winter weather is an issue you can save a couple of thousand dollars by opting for the rear-drive variant.
Click here for full specs of the 2015 Mercedes-Benz E-Class
