SteveE400

Well, yesterday, Gonzo earned his 1,000 mile badge. His prize? Another 1,000 RPM's to play with. For the first 1,000 miles I have followed the MB guidance to keep the engine to 2/3 or less of redline, with no full-throttle starts. That means easy from the lights (yeah. . . ) and no more than 4,000-4,500 RPM.


Well, that torture is finished. I am "allowing" us to go to 5,000 RPM now, and all I can say is WOW! This car is seriously quick! Especially for a 3.0L engine. Torque like a diesel, power like a hot-rod, and nearly invisible to the police. Just what the doctor ordered.


I haven't punched it and just let it run yet, but the few times I gave Gonzo like 3/4 throttle and up to 5,000 RPM, I was most favorable surprised. Passing from 50 to "whatever" is even more fun than it was with my 290HP V-8 Lexus.


I can see that I am going to have to be careful not to attract too much unwanted attention. . .


Any other E400 TT owners willing to admit to that big grin on their faces?

beejAMG

good to know you're enjoying your new toy mate. just not too much if you know what i mean.

MBSebas87

what do you mean by "invisible to the police"??

beejAMG

sleeper?

Munich77

Congrats - twin turbo engines are awesome like that - total sleepers. I so need to test drive an E400. I am curious how it compares to my beast - the E550.

SteveE400

Munich - From what I've read of the Car and Driver Instrumented tests, the E400 is about 0.5 sec slower in both 0 to 60 MPH and the quarter mile. IIRC, their test showed the E400 to do 0 to 60 MPH in 5.0 sec, with their quarter mile results at 13.6 sec, 104 MPH through the traps. Pretty impressive for a 3.0L V-6.


The E400 is definitely a sleeper. Unless you get too close from behind, you cannot tell it from a "normal" E350 Sport, which seems to rarely excite the local police. I further complete the "sleeper" image by being a grey-haired dude in his late 60's. I wouldn't drive that way, would I?


I definitely respect this car too much to just go out and thrash it at 1,000 miles. I just feel a bit less constrained, and am using the drive train a bit more fully. Still no full-throttle activity, and keeping revs down to 4,500 or 5,000 for another bunch of miles. Just getting used to the car and how to use it properly is new to me. The 7-speed transmission and turbos require a bit of finesse on the throttle to keep acceleration smooth and not rear-end the car ahead of me in traffic.


The E-Class feels lighter than my old LS430, but in fact their weights are quite similar. The LS was more responsive to throttle inputs, but that could be either the turbo lag or my inexperience with the car. The E400 is very definitely faster - at least the bit I've exercised it.


I'll keep you posted, but I am also interested in other owners' experiences with the 3.0L twin turbo engine, especially in the E-class.

bob2011

Haha the title made me bust out laughing! Glad you are enjoying your car!

Munich77

I totally agree - glad to see someone is having fun with their new car . I wonder if the car has been driven with the tranny in the S mode.

Diamond White W212

Glad to see you are enjoying it.

MBSebas87

Gotcha! I totally agree with you. I have def been caught speeding by local police and I know it because my V1 goes crazy every time I drive by them and for whatever reason they don't pull me over....I even have tints and they do nothing about it lol It's like they assume I know somebody or something

SteveE400

Munich77 - What would make you think that I missed the "S" button? Doesn't that "S" stand for stupid. . . for that great big stupid grin it pastes on your face when you push it?


Of course I've tried it. It is like a completely different car, and I LOVE it! I haven't really romped on it yet, but I can tell that it makes a huge difference on the 400. I plan to try it on the wife's GLK350 to see if the effect is more pronounced on the 400 (as I expect). In Sport mode, the car seems to always be in exactly the proper gear for fast and aggressive throttle response and if you practice "lifting and shifting" - inducing shifts by letting off the throttle, it sounds and feels like my old manual trans autocross car.


There are going to be a lot of surprised kids in their Mustangs the way this car launches.


I had a chance to drive a 2015 E63 S last Saturday. Although that car is really a beast, I actually think the E400 is going to be more fun on a day-to-day basis. I can actually use the E400. With the big AMG you either flog it or park it.

Jeffy

I have and had a few 550s they are still a leap over the couple 400s that I have driven. The 400 3.0L BT is an awesome replacement and step up from the NA 3.5L 350s but the 400s can't touch the 550s in terms of acceleration, sound and feel. I think anyone going from a 550 to a 400 will be impressed at the little 3.0L but will always be aware that it doesn't match the 4.6L V8.

bob2011

How do you guys think the E400 compares to the 5.5 E550?

SteveE400

I think the E400 compares more favorably with the E500 than the 550. In Car and Driver's Instrumented Test article (August 15, 2015, web access only) they state that the E400 is about 0.5 sec slower than the E500 they tested in both the 0-60 sprint and the 1/4 mile. They timed the E400 at 5.0 sec 0 to 60, and 13.6 sec for the 1/4 mile, with trap speed of 104 MPH.


I don't think the E400 is trying to be an exact replacement for the 550 (especially after driving an E 63 AMG last weekend), but it is the highest performance E-Class below the AMG's.


In most "normal" situations, the performance that one can actually use, especially in urban US traffic, the cars will perform almost the same. The E400 is quite fast, compared to the sea of grocery-getters out there. It is not meant to be a competition car (my opinion, of course), but is definitely a more enthusiastic ride than the 350.


I originally wanted an E550, but missed the last of the new ones in the model changes. I am not willing to go to the AMG, and after having driven it last weekend, I would not enjoy it for a daily driver. I think the E400 is a good fit for drivers like myself -- those who want the quality of the MB but do not want/need the all-out performance version of the AMG series. Yes, I would have chosen a V-8 had one been available, but I was not interested in going to BMW to get one.


P.S. My garage is too narrow to have room for coupe doors, so the coupe and cabrio were out of consideration from the start.

thefisch

I'd expect they would be pretty close as the tests for the NA V8 were about 5 seconds to 60.

Munich77

I figured that - the E400 should have replaced the E350. I wanted a V8 - hence the E550.

SteveE400

. . . And, when I went back and looked at the BMW option for a V8 in current production, the 550ix is about it -- and it really isn't any faster than the E550, so only marginally faster than the E400. I'm better off with the MB.

threeMBs

Could not agree more (that's what MB did in Canada). At least they should have used the same engine output parameters as C450 (which costs about the same as E400, but is much quicker). So we would have E450 3.0 TT which is similar to power and performance of pre-2012 E550 V8 NA.

Munich77

That would be perfect. I suspect that the E450 will be the top of the line of the non-AMG E-classes for the next generation E-class.

SteveE400

Well, maybe. . . but I'd bet that the "new" E450 would have to include more standard equipment than the E400, since the HP/Torque boost would be available with just software mods to an E400. They might have to include some of the things standard in the E63. But at that rate, I'm not sure I would buy one, as the E400 has more than enough guts for almost anywhere I can go.


If it is bragging rights one is after, then one must go full-on AMG, methinks.