The 1998 Mercedes-Benz E320 Sedan & Wagon

Courtesy of mbusa.com

The E-Class has always sold well for Mercedes, but never as well as this year. The E320 sedan and wagon are the biggest sellers in the E-Class line, and rightfully so. With a new, more efficient V-6 this year, fresh styling that is as sporty as it is elegant, one of the most comfortable rides and interiors ever made, handling that is unusual for a luxury car, and the name Mercedes-Benz, don't expect these great Germans to be around long in the showrooms!

The Design The 1996 complete make-over of the E-Class turned many heads. With a completely different retro style, slick body, and of course those headlights, it made all of the E-Class's competition look old and dated. The redesign signaled a new direction for Mercedes, one that is more fun, less expensive, and more consumer aware. Road and Track sums it up ,"The car's nose is crisp, fun-looking, and its oval headlamp treatment is irresistibly fetching". What attracts me to this new E-Class the most is the attractice C-Pillar on the sedans. It adds elegance to a sporty look. The E-Class sedan glides through the windtunnel with a low .29 coefficient of drag, and the wagon achieves an impressive .31 coefficient.

Performance New for 1998 is a new 3.2 liter V-6 which replace the legendary inline-sixes. The new V-6 provides 221 horses @ 5500 rpm and 232 lb-ft of torque. Along with this improved power, the V-6 delivers an 11% economy gain. A 5-Speed Automatic that adapts to the driver's style of driving controls the up and downshifts. With this new engine, the sedan sprints to 60 mph in 7.1 seconds, very impressive for a 3500 pound luxury car. The station wagon beats the pants off of the entire wagon industry with a 7.8 second run to 60 mph. Both vehicles are limited to a wimpy 130 mph, just because of the H rated tires. The E320's could easily achieve 145 mph. The 1998 E-Class features Brake Assist, which shortens emergency stops by applying full pressure where an ordinary driver might hesitate to really step on it. Braking comes from big four wheel discs, and enables the sedan to stop in 165 feet from 70 mph (Standard ABS).

Handling The E320 Wagon has all the handling characteristics of other the other E-Class models, which are excellent. The previous generation E-Class had excellent high speed handling, but around town at slow speeds it felt like the steering was lubricated with molasses. In the current E-Class, the steering is a new rack & pinion system with variable power assist, and it provides the E with excellent high speed handling and gives the car a new-found around town crispness. Body roll is controlled and grip is great without sacrificing any comfort. Where the E has always shined is on bad roads, where its bank-vault solid body structure and controlled but compliant suspension handle the potholes with authority. This is made possible by the independent suspension with triangular lower control arms in the front and an independent 5 arm multilink suspension in the rear. The E320 duo is available with a sophisticated All Wheel Drive system. This option costs $2790, and makes the sedan and wagon even more surefooted.

Comfort German automakers' biggest strength is combining a luxurious ride with good handling characteristics. The E-Class is the prime example of this quality. The E-Class has been praised for its ride by almost every car magazine and rightly so. The seats were described by Car & Driver as, "...the best in the business". The E320 Sedan is swathed in rich leather (The E320 Wagon comes standard with Mercedes' durable MB-Tex, leather is optional). Excellent isolation from wind and road noise make the sedan and wagon some of the quitest cars in the business. With as much as 82.6 cubic feet of cargo capacity, you can bring all the stuff you want in the wagon, while still driving a luxurious, stylish E-Class.

Courtesy of mbusa.com

Courtesy of mbusa.com

Click Here to See How The E-Class Performs in Crash Tests QuickTime Movie

For more info on the E320 Wagon and Sedan, please email me at [email protected].

For all the specs on the E320 , click here

For all the specs on the E320 Wagon, click here

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