E-Class (W211) 2003-2009

E500 Test Drive

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Old Feb 2, 2004 | 04:24 PM
  #1  
Leveraged's Avatar
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E500 Test Drive

Hello,

I posted here a while back on initial impressions of my inlaws E500.

Well, I finally got to drive it w/no one in the car. My mother in law was with us last time.

Of course this report won't be any surprise to those that own one. Might help those considering a purchase though.

I'm a car fanatic and looking to replace our VW Passat in a yr or so.

The 1.8L turbo engine in our car is currently being rebuilt due to major malfunctioning at 57,000 miles. Have already replaced: Oil and water pump. This car has become a major pain in the a$$.

On with it:

They have a black/black 2003 E500 sport. (My pic is 60kb , If someone wants to post somewhere I can email it)

This car has tons of torque and power.

Throttle is more sensitve than the only E I drove in the past, a 91 E260. With that car you really had to lay into the throttle to get it to move. Not this baby.

This car is sooo easy to power slide into a turn. Even from a standstill making a right turn, load up on accerator and feel the rear end sneak out. It was alot of fun. I can't imagine having all-season Contintentals..that must really be tricky.

My only pet peeve is that the steering is a little light in effort for my taste. Other than that this car is sweet. The interior and exterior are so much more cohesive and luxurious in design than the new 5, which I have sat it but not driven.

RWD cars are soo much better at all around handling and performance. The balance was incredible when taking it on curves. No understeer or plowing like the Passat. I pushed the car pretty hard but probably was nowhere near its limits.

One thing is for sure, I will never buy another FWD car again. Its nice to see the E500 comes w/4Matic now. We drive to Ski in the winter.. Anyone have a 4matic? I would hate to lose the fun factor of the 2wd tail slides!

In a year or so my wife and I will definitely look into a used one. 2004 sounds nice w/the 7 spd and larger nav screen from what I've read here. The V8 is a no brainer to me!

Great board, keep it up.

____________________

2001.5 Passat 1.8T
1995 Acura Integra
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Old Feb 2, 2004 | 11:28 PM
  #2  
grt62's Avatar
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From: new hartford, ny
I picked up my e500 4matic on 1/15. It's snowed here almost every day, so I haven't gotten to really check out the cornering. The car's at 967 miles, so I'll be able to test the car's real power in the next few days (expecting 6-9" snow Tuesday night-Wednesday morning) once the roads clear again. Overall, the car's been awesome in the snow/slush/ice, even with the Conti's that came with it. Even lightly hitting the accelerator has shown amazing power; very smooth as well. I'm looking forward to really checking out what this car can do.
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