"Houston, we have a problem." That was my thought when the Mercedes E250 CDI I was driving spluttered into "limp mode" and wouldn't go faster than 30km/h - just two days after another E250 CDI had done exactly the same.
A limping car is no picnic when you're sharing busy roads with impatient drivers, take my word for it.
Cutting a long story short, Mercedes-Benz SA has identified a batch of faulty piezo-electric fuel injectors in this diesel model and has reportedly now fixed things at the factory. There's no official recall but any defective injectors will be exchanged under warranty (if your diesel Merc has been or becomes affected, let us know by emailing [email protected]).
The third car we received had no problems and we were finally able to get to the nitty-gritty of the road test.
The E250 CDI BlueEfficiency five-speed auto, selling for R517 000, was recently added to South Africa's E-Class range as an economical but decently powered middle model for those whose budgets don't quite stretch to the diesel flagship, the E350 CDI at R632 000.
Despite what the 250 badge implies, the engine's actually a 2.1-litre, four-cylinder helped along by two turbochargers to develop 150kW and a hefty 500Nm. That's a very impressive Nm figure and matches that of much larger engines such as the three-litre turbodiesel of the Jaguar XF.
When the fuel injectors are healthy, this engine pulls with meaningful vigour.
However it falls short of being a sports sedan with its 0-100km/h time of 8.5sec but its strength lies in its easy cruising muscle. There's just a touch of turbo lag on pull-off but after that it hauls strong and smooth, effortlessly gobbling distance and has the potential for 240km/h.
BlueEfficiency means reduced fuel consumption in Mercedes-speak and our test car achieved 8.9 litres/100km - not too bad for such a large car though way short of Merc's six litres/100 claim.
Diesel engines are becoming ever more refined and this Merc's is as smooth as a James Bond pick-up line. It's so hushed and unvibratious that you can barely tell it from a petrol. It adds to the whole upper-class experience of driving a big Benz and that special sense of occasion you get when peering over the three-pointed star perched on the end of the bonnet, experiencing the car's rock-solid build quality.
To this you can add ride quality as the ability to soothe out scarred roads is one of the highlights of the new E-Class. It would, however, feel even better with its standard 17" footwear instead of the optional low-profile (35's rear; 40's front) 18" tyres fitted to our test car. I'm wondering why anyone would want to fit such race-spec rubber to a family sedan?
STAY SAFE ON FREEWAYS
Safety is a big deal in the new E-Class which comes with a barrage of electrickery to save drivers from themselves: blind-spot warning (if you try to change lanes with a car in your blind spot a light will flash in the appropriate side mirror accompanied by a warning beep); lane change warning (the steering wheel vibrates when you stray across a lane line without indicating); and a drowsiness detector (which flashes a coffee cup in the instrument display when it senses you're getting sleepy).
There's also Distronic Plus cruise control which uses radar to maintain a safe distance from the car ahead. I regularly played with this feature in heavy traffic and it's very effective. Even when cars ahead came to a complete halt the Benz managed throttle and brakes all by itself - all I had to do was steer. The danger, I suppose, is that you could become too dependent on this auto pilot and become a lazy, inattentive driver.
Styling being subjective, I won't go into great detail except to say that after my initially ambiguity about the lines of the new E-Class it's grown on me and I think it looks more elegant than its predecessor.
In the cabin the perceived quality is all that you expect of the three-pointed star, executed with more restraint than other German brands. Even in the sportier Avantgarde spec of our test car, understated sobriety was the name of the game.
HAVE A MASSAGE
There's a vast array of bells and whistles too long to list in full so I'll stick to my heroes and zeroes. Merc gets a gold star for the comfortable but supportive front seats which are not only electrically adjustable but also have bolsters that automatically inflate as you negotiate bends in the road to provide extra lateral support.
They also have a massage function for tired backs on long journeys.
The feature I wasn't too impressed with was the puny thin screen of the electric sunroof which allowed too much brightness through the roof when closed.
VERDICT
Any car can suffer mechanical gremlins but it was an unhappy coincidence that two E250 CDI test cars broke down on us in one week. I hope Merc has sorted out the problem as promised and it's all systems go because I think this could become one of the most popular sellers in the E-Class range thanks to its combination of power, price and fuel economy. - INL Motoring