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Walkaround
Big wheels are the rage in automotive design, and Mercedes is not immune to the trend. The 2006 E-Class now comes standard with 17-inch wheels (big by any measure just five years ago). It's a trend we like, from an appearance standpoint, though the stiffer-sidewall tires required for the bigger wheels can in some cases effect ride quality.
The current E-Class design introduced many innovations that are not necessarily apparent to the eye. This was the first Mercedes sedan to use aluminum body components extensively, starting with the hood, front fenders, trunk lid, front crossmember and front subframe. Aluminum is lighter and stronger but more expensive than steel. Aluminum amounts to 10 percent of the body's weight. About 37 percent of the total is modern high-strength steel alloys. From the aerodynamic perspective, the E-Class is one of the slipperiest sedans extant. Its 0.27 coefficient of drag is a benchmark for sedans, and helps minimize wind noise and maximize fuel economy.
Before the launch of the gorgeous CLS sedan/coupe, the E-Class was widely considered to be the most successful design among Mercedes' current sedans. The four-headlight theme introduced on the previous-generation E-Class, now the company standard, has been refined in this car. Its front end is lower and its long hood appears to be steeply raked. The E-Class sedan still looks fresh and youthful, yet elegant.
The E-Class wagons will never be mistaken for anything but a wagon. Nonetheless, they are impressively sleek, and some critics find the tear-drop taper of the rear roof more aesthetically pleasing than the trunk deck on the sedans. The wagon's added cargo-passenger flexibility is welcome, and the if E-Class wagons still implies a bit too much stodginess for your taste, there's always the new-for-2006, 469-hp E55 AMG wagon.
The E55 AMG looks meaner than the other E-Class models. With its lower body cladding and huge, 18-inch wheels, the E55 is clearly the raciest and most aggressive-looking E-Class. That said, those body add-ons add slightly more drag, if you can call a 0.28 cd more drag. For those who like the E55 look but not the $80,000-plus price tag, Mercedes offers a couple of body packages that give other E-Class sedans more aggressive tone, including a full AMG sport appearance package. (It might be interesting to have it the other way around, all the AMG performance bits with the standard bodywork.)
Interior Features
We really enjoy the E-Class interior. Like its exterior styling, we consider the E-Class cabin to be some of Mercedes' best design work, with a very successful mix of attributes. The E-Class sedan delivers plenty of passenger space, yet it maintains some level of intimacy. It's luxurious, yet functional, and loaded with features without being excessive. E-Class has all the traditional Mercedes interior cues, starting with standard dark stained burl walnut trim. It's conservative in some respects, daring in others, and impressively executed throughout.
The dashboard sweeps from each side and blends into the doors and center console. The wood trim is complemented by splashes of chrome. Plastic panels are generally rich in appearance, thanks to a new soft-touch finishing process. All are sprayed with a polyurethane coating that delivers impressively consistent color.
The instrument cluster uses black script on white gauges with LED lighting, framed by a three-spoke steering wheel. There's a big speedometer in the middle, with a menu-operated display for diagnostics, feature selection, ambient temperature, date and other information in its center. To the left sits a large analog clock, to the right the tachometer. On either end of the cluster are neat bar gauges that resemble thermometers, displaying fuel level and coolant temperature.
A cluster of switches between the visors on the headliner controls cabin lighting and the Tele-Aid SOS call button. The panel also includes a switch to operate the sunroof. HomeLink buttons are located on the bottom of the rearview mirror and can be programmed to control garage doors, house lighting, gates, etc. Redundant controls on the steering wheel hub operate the phone, radio and information display.
A single row of switches at the bottom of the center stack operates door locks, flashers and seat heaters. The main audio, telephone and navigation controls are located in a COMAND module, spread around a 16:9 ratio LCD display screen. The system is a big improvement over Mercedes' previous control center, and while it still requires some learning, it probably takes less time to master than the menu/joystick system in many E-Class competitors.
Mercedes is learning that people who drive cars carry stuff with them. This E-Class has less storage space than some of its competitors, but acres more than any Mercedes did five or 10 years ago. The center console has a funky pop-up cupholder and a large storage bin (two bins if you don't order the telephone package). Storage bins are also located in each door along with map pockets on the front seatbacks.
The nine-way adjustable front bucket seats are firm enough for good support when driving fast, but not hard on the back when cruising. They grip bodies of various sizes nicely, and there's more than enough adjustment via Mercedes' patented door-mounted seat controls to accommodate just about everyone. The sport seats have enough bolstering to keep a bronze bust in place. But if you don't dive into corners like Stirling Moss, you probably don't need them. They make getting in and out a little more difficult.
Gripes? The outside mirrors are small, no doubt in deference to sharp styling and good aerodynamics, and they limit the driver's field of view. More significant is the cruise control. Mercedes' system is managed with a stalk on the left side of the steering column, above the turn signals. On the new E-Class, the cruise stalk may be even closer to the turn signals than before, and at some point, no matter how long you've driven the car, you are going to hit the cruise control when you intend to turn on the blinker. Mercedes engineers insist that theirs is the most effective cruise-control operation going. We've yet to meet anyone who prefers it.
The E-Class was one of the first cars to feature ambient cabin lighting. These strips of soft, low-level lighting in the headliner
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