1999 Mercedes-Benz E-Class E55 AMG 5.5 V8 from UK and Ireland

Summary:

The best rocket-powered auto saloon bar none

Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong as such, however, the steering wheel is slightly left-hand-down and the shoulder of the nearside front tyre is smoother by the hour. Something ain't quite right here.

Also, the car is extremely prone to stone-chipping; this may be because the front of the E-Class is very slab like; it could also be because the quality of the paint and finish is below par. Hard to say.

General Comments:

Basically a standard E430 Avantgarde on steroids, the E55 AMG pumps out more torque than a BMW M5 and gets to 60mph in about the same time. In terms of performance, it's on a par with most modern supercars, although is limited to 155mph.

The ride is a little too rough at times, being somewhat at odds with the Mercedes badge and the comforting, cosseting ride everyone associates with it. Down bumpy backlanes or around broken, urban roads you'll wince at crashes and jarring from the horse and cart AMG suspension.

The gearbox is extremely smooth, and seems fully capable of dishing out all that torque, but on hot summer days and after long runs it becomes prone to slipping. A number of times I've lost forward thrust altogether, and have had to coast gently to the side of the road, saw the transmission selector up and down its gate a few times, and pray for Drive to wake up again.

The interior, while accommodating, airy and pleasant, is not quite up to the standard of BMW, and the silver/black leather, although unique and striking, is actually rather crude (the Nappa option in the 5- and 7-series is a world away in terms of quality).

Other than that, it's a teenager in grandfather's clothing: it barks like a NASCAR winner and spins its tyres in second and first gear -- no mean feat for a large, automatic saloon -- and at 100mph the shove in your kidneys is really rather addictive. 120mph arrives only a few moments later; the limiter is reach soon after that.

Bottom line: sure, it has its faults, as does any car, but it's an all-round superb rocket ship with nothing else to rival it (the M5 is not automatic and has a less than desirable image). I can't think of another vehicle that's large, low-key, comfortable, well made, automatic, has four doors plus a large boot, and sprints to 60mph in less than five seconds. All wrapped up in an unassuming bodyshell without the nasty bad-boy extras on rival BMW M-sport cars. Definitely worth more than a glance if you're in the market for an ubersaloon!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 4th July, 2001

3rd Aug 2001, 14:18

You raised two of my personal beef's with Mercedes Benz.

Paint chipping and leather quality.

I work for a Mercedes dealership and I continually see 2 month old Benzes covered in paint chips - and then you go and look in the yard at 5 year old Benzes with none at all, and yet these 5 year old Benzes have 70k's on the clock. So I'm starting to think Mercedes have totally gone downhill on their quality.

As for the leather, it's crap. Unless you specify the Comfort leather which equals the standard BMW leather, you'll end up with this holey crap that tends to rip or just look really bad.

So from now on I'm not going to consider buying a Mercedes, Go for a BMW, they haven't diluted their values.

1999 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Avantgarde 3.0 turbo diesel from UK and Ireland

Faults:

Clonking noise from suspension over speed ramps. Dealer failed to spot the noise (don't they always?)

General Comments:

Feels like it will last forever. Avantgarde suspension makes for a slightly hard ride. Performance still surprising after 6 months. For the money the equipment is rather mean and the aircon is feeble. A great car though - hard to believe that the new 320CDI is any better!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 2nd November, 1999

24th Jan 2001, 14:17

The clonking noise is not from your suspension. It's your mud guard scrubbing the floor. HOW COULD YOU FAULT THE MERC 300'S SUSPENSION!!!??? :)

1st Apr 2001, 14:57

It is easy to fault the 320E's suspension. On very smooth roads it is firm and very good. On rough city streets it is very harsh and really quite uncomfortable. Look elsewhere if you drive rough city streets!!!