Mercedes-Benz E280 - Incremental Progress

With a unique seven-speed automatic transmission and an even bigger than before compliment of electronic safety systems, the E280 is a veritable technological tour de force. But does it manage to push the envelope significantly further, when it comes to the actual driving experience? We find out ...

Story: Sameer Kumar Photography: Kunal Khadse

Conspicuous consumption - that's the name of the game. Anyone who believes that the old E240 was 'perfectly adequate for India,' and that Mercedes didn't have to bring in this new E280 at all, is missing the point entirely. You see, it's not about being adequate. It's about being bigger, better, glitzier, more expensive and more exclusive. It's the age-old need to be one up on everybody else. It's why you'd buy a Vertu mobile phone rather than a Nokia. Or why you'd choose a Girard-Perregaux watch over a Titan. And why you'd wear a pair of John Lobb brogues rather than slip on some Bata loafers. Like the aforementioned baubles, the E280 is for men who want to be noticed and who can afford to pay for the privilege. Mercedes-Benz cars have always been more than mere four-wheeled transport, and in our country at least, being driven in an E280 will guarantee that you get the full-on, privileged VIP treatment at five-star hotel and airport entrances, chic restaurants and boutiques, and parking lots everywhere. Fellow men will look up to you in awe and wonderment, women, among other things, will want to ride in your car, and envious neighbours will turn a very vivid shade of green every time they see you passing by. There are automobiles that can make you feel you're 20 feet tall, and the Mercedes-Benz E280 is one of them. Get inside one and you're closer to God than you'd be in the Siddhivinayak temple.

"PROD THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL AND THE THREE-LITRE V6 TAKES AN INSTANT TO GATHER ITS FORCES, AND BLOWS YOU DOWN THE ROAD AFTER THAT..."

With cell phones (that Vertu Signature 2006...), most men are happy claiming 'mine's smaller (and slimmer) than yours,' but when they talk about what's under the hood, it still has to be 'mine's bigger!' And with a displacement of 2997cc, the E280's V6 is 400cc bigger than the E240's. And where the older car had 167PS on tap, the E280's is a rather more respectable 234PS, which is available at 6300rpm. Compared with the E240's DOHC, 18-valve V6, the E280's DOHC, 24-valve V6 is definitely more advanced. It features continuous intake and exhaust camshaft adjustment, which, claim Mercedes, optimises combustion efficiency, reduces friction losses, improves thermal management in the coolant circuit and optimises oil and water pump drive efficiency. In plain English, all of that translates into one powerful and creamy-smooth six-cylinder engine that has the potential to waft you from one continent to the next, without disturbing your afternoon siesta. And the performance won't put you to sleep either. Prod the accelerator pedal and the three-litre V6 takes an instant to gather its forces, and blows you down the road after that. Nought to sixty comes up in 4.29 seconds, while zero to 100km/h takes 9.16 seconds. Given that a V8-powered E55 AMG will get from zero to 100km/h in less than six seconds, the E280 certainly isn't a runaway rocket. But to its credit, the E280's V6 stays extremely smooth all the way to its 6500rpm redline and never sounds stressed. Whether you're trundling along at 80km/h or loading down the Expressway at 233km/h (which is what we saw on the speedo before sanity prevailed and the red mist lifted...), it all sounds and feels about the same. Sure, the scenery flashes past faster at 233, but... er, that's about it. Deep into triple digit speed zone, the big E remains calm, confident and totally unruffled. Like the CEO in the back seat, who knows how to keep his cool in heated corporate battles and can hold his own against smart and ruthless opponents, and who knows how to come out on top in dog-eat-dog scraps in the boardroom, the E280 can take all that you throw at it and shrug it off with complete nonchalance.

Source: Car India April 2006.