mjoines

Highs: Positively silly amounts of power, stability slightly greater than that of the earth.
Lows:An M5 is more fun. Electronics actually drive the car.
Artificial brake and steering feel.

0-60 4.5sec
0-100 9.8
1/4 mile 12.7 @ 117
70-0 175 ft (~20ft longer than M5)
300ft skipad .83 g
14mpg C/D observed

They list the price as $74,000 and comment " This is one of those rare cars that are simply not overpriced, even at $74,000"

JAYCL600

That is by far the fastest times that I have read on this car so far, I cant freakin wait, look at that trap speed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

mikE55

Wow, 0-100 in 9.8! No question the car is seriously fast.

But I'm not too thrilled about the skidpad and 70-0 numbers. The W210 E55 did better. March 2000 C&D tested the W210 E55 at .90g and 161 ft (70-0). March 2000 R&T also got .90g, and the E55 (122 ft) was better than the M5 (129 ft) in braking in 60-0. The W210 E55 was a better balanced car vs. the M5 (too much understeer) in R&T's opinion. I'm not sure if the new E55 has improved in the handling and braking departments.

Expected the comment about the M5 coming from C&D, they've got BMW on their brain or are on BMW's payroll. Rare to see anything beat a BMW in any of their comparison tests.

amg55

Thus far I've read nothing to support the notion that the new electrohydaulic braking system is an improvement. I've seen several track tests now which all indicate it's adequate but not setting the curve by any means.
Testing on the SL55 and E55 has been consistent (same sytem, of course).

JackStraw

My understanding is that there are advantages to the system beyond stopping distance.

pocholin

Cool, thanks for the info mjoines, and welcome

1115

but when the fly by wire brake system is really handy is in emergency stops...it'll almost instantly grab the brakes unlike traditional ones...where there is a slight delay...and u never know when u might need that extra whatever tenths of a second to stop from hitting something...so i guess mercedes always puts saftey in front of sports in any regard

Marky

A swedish magazine (Auto motor and sport) tested the new E55. 0-100 kmh (0-62 mph) in 4,6 s and 0-140 kmh (0-87 mph) in 7,7 s.
The positive remarks where the powerful engine, the tranny, the drivers invironment, the sound of the engine wich they compared to a NASCAR. The bad things where the fuel consumption. But at the end they said that the combination of the engine and the chassie gave the E55 the lead in the class of the superlimos!

E55 KEV

FLY BY WIRE! Mercedes are not airplanes. I too have heard Mercedes Reps refer to this new system as Fly-By-Wire. It is Drive- by-Wire or Brake-By-Wire.

Fly-By-Wire was a term and aspect used by General Dynamics to describe the internal flight control systems on the USAF F-16 Fighter Jet when introduced back in the late 70's. Cars don't fly so Mecedes has 'coined' the wrong term.

alz

!!!!

1115

arrrhh.....sorry everyone for the fly by wire confusion....its brake by wire.....thanx e55 kev

Mr Johnson

Obviously not. In the braking tests conducted by various magazines you pound on the brake. The amount of distance to stop is measured from the point of pounding on the brake. The wonderful electrohydraulic brakes didn't help for squat in this test. Marketing... That's what they are doing 8 piston, elctrohyrdraulic, brake-by-wire, keep my pads dry... blah blah blah..

In the end... they take longer to stop from the point of pedal application.

alz

In the magazine tests, they know when they are going to hit the brakes And hit them hard. -- the intelligent braking system is for the everyday (non-test) driver who may not react as quickly and as decisively as one would in a test situation. Thus, the brake system "anticipates" an emergency situation and reacts with full braking. There is some obvious trade-off but in the end, a much better system for everyday driving.

Pierre32///AMG

The new E55 geoes FAST

Mr Johnson

Believe me I didn't miss the point. I understand what you're trying to say but to me it translates to this:

People are stupid so we are giving you a system that is less responsive when used to it's full capabilities because.... well, people are stupid. Not to mention that they'll fall for the marketing BS we'll use in promoting it. Bigger is better!

They should require folks to learn how to control their vehicles rather than the poor excuse for drivers exams and this would not be an issue. Honestly, I'm surprised this performance "trade-off" flies in the European market. Doubly so because this is the "high performance" AMG model. Don't give me watered down junk for the "average" drivers, give me the real deal!

BTW: There does not have to be a trade-off. You can still have excellent brakes and let the computer give you full braking under certain circumstances. In this case we get a system that isn't as capable as before but "trades-off" with marketing BS.

Ian

I checked the March copy of Car and Driver at my local Barnes and Noble, it had no mention of the E55

Was this an advanced copy of the April issue you are referring to?

99ML430

It was Car and Driver Television, TiVo grabbed it for me, very cool. Guy was a schmuck but the car is hot. And I think that fly-by-wire is appropriate for a 4200lb sedan that can hit 60 in 4.5 seconds. IMHO. I have to agree that the braking issue is a bit odd, but I'm not planning on taking this car to the track. If I wanted a track car I'd opt for a 911 or an M3. I just want to put the fear of god into my wife and children.

alz

The reporter was a weiner, but the report was cool.

oktane

Any chance of you digitizing your Tivo show and distributing it to us?

Thanks

awiner

Here you go:

https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...threadid=29270

rbramstedt

Nice power, wow. I have to disagree with a previous post in this thread. The old E55 (w210) was in no way a better balanced car than the E39 M5. In every comparison test I have seen published, the M5 would win. The main point in the decision was that the M5 was better balanced, whatever that means. I like Mercedes and would consider the E55. The straight line results and subtle looks are great, the handling and braking are a bit disappointing though.

E55 KEV

The same system is on the E320 - does it fly? Don't think so.

M104-AMG

The results seem similar to the Kleeman supercharged CLK 55 AMG.

Wonder if it would be cheaper to find an early model W210 E55AMG and then add the Kleeman Supercharger . . .

:-) neil
1988 360TE AMG
1993 500E

E55 KEV

If you are comparing dollars that would be the cheapest route. I have seen 1999 E55's go under $40k and then add the Kleemann for $18k.