2003 Mercedes Benz E320
Base price: $46,950
Price as tested: $51,915
EPA mileage: 19 city/ 27 highway
2003 Mercedes Benz E500
Base price: $54,850	
Price as tested: $59,545
EPA mileage: 16 city/  23 highway
By Des Toups
"Viscous-dampened everything," my friend murmured, releasing the rear-seat 
grab handle of the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class to a satisfying, controlled 
"thunk." It's that kind of car, as buttoned-down as any wearing the 
three-pointed star. But the bumper-to-bumper remake leaves Mercedes' 
bread-and-butter sedan with something equally as satisfying: soul.
The new E-Class is the most graceful-looking Mercedes-Benz sedan ever to 
hit a driveway, and it is the most graceful-feeling Mercedes sedan ever to 
attack a curvy road. It’s less upright, less uptight, more joyful. It’s 
even cheaper.
In fact, the improvements abound in every direction but one – but it’s a 
big one.
Only the engines remained untouched as Mercedes massaged every corner and 
every system in the E-Class. Underneath the svelte new lines that bring the 
E-Class look in line with other Mercedes sedans (but maintaining the 
E-Class’s round-eyed “face”), there’s a more compliant suspension, a 
better-designed, richer interior, more room and more toys. Computer 
wizardry now controls virtually every dynamic function: acceleration, 
braking, handling.
Through it all, there’s an energy and verve all but unknown to Mercedes 
sedans, which have tended to be remarkably solid cars that go, stop and 
turn stiffly, almost grudgingly. Not so the E-Class, even in its basic E320 
form. Steering has heft, not heaviness, and the driver never has the sense 
he’s asking the car to do something it’s not made for. What's remarkable is 
that this aggressive new feel transcends ambitious electronic tampering 
with gas pedal, brake pedal and suspension.
Take the accelerator, which looks like any old accelerator but in fact is 
merely a way to send impulses to the computer controlling the throttle, for 
it, like the brake pedal, lacks any direct mechanical connection to the 
components it controls.  The trademark Mercedes accelerator-pedal delay is 
still there, but it’s a half-beat quicker and less abrupt than before. And 
the thrust that follows, even in the smaller, 221-horsepower V-6 models, is 
energetic enough to erase any negative thoughts from your head. So far, so 
good.
The new Airmatic suspension (it replaces the standard coil springs with air 
bladders and is standard on the E500, optional on theE320) is remarkable 
for the ways it allows a driver to control the car. There’s a discernable 
difference from setting to setting, the softest filtering out clatter and 
small bumps, the firmest harshening ride but limited body roll and bob. The 
system also allows a moderate ride-height adjustment for a little extra 
clearance on, say, an unplowed road (movement is almost unnoticeable unless 
you’re stopped and watching the horizon rise or fall). And, unasked, the 
suspension senses aggressive cornering and firms up the appropriate side 
and automatically levels the car when a heavy load is placed in the trunk.
Backing up the smart suspension is the Electronic Stability Program, which 
compares the angle of the steering wheel with the car’s direction and steps 
in if things are out of whack.
All the Rube Goldberg suspension technology is useful mainly at the fringes 
-- in emergencies, vicious turns and the like -- but the improvement in 
basic handling is evident even on the way to Kmart. Steering is lighter and 
more sensitive, and the E-Class feels pliable in a way it never has before, 
handling transitions from freeway to cloverleaf seamlessly. That feeling of 
a very heavy car settling on an overly stiff suspension is long gone.
Small things, but they’ve long been the difference between a Mercedes and a 
BMW. The E-Class even responds well to an enthusiastic thrashing; turn off 
the electronics and it’s easy enough, especially in the V-8 powered E500, 
to provoke power oversteer (fishtailing). The five-speed automatic 
transmission allows manual shifting, and it’s quick enough on downshifts to 
be a willing partner on a winding road, if not as much fun as a true stick. 
Massive, 17-inch wheels wearing low-profile rubber (standard on the E500, 
optional on the E320) don’t hurt ride quality (not with the adjustable 
suspension) but immensely sharpen the car’s reflexes.
And then there are the brakes, which in the end do provide the massive 
stopping power promised, but not without some frustration. Mercedes brags 
that the electronics are always busy, doing things like lightly squeegeeing 
the brake shoes on a rainy day or deciding whether or not you're trying a 
panic stop. In practice, all this electronic second-guessing makes 
something as simple as pulling into a parking spot a lurching, grabby, 
uncomfortable task. It's almost impossible to creep forward smoothly using 
the brakes. In routine, stop-and-go traffic, the brakes feel as if the car 
isn't stopping quickly enough, so you apply a bit more pressure, then feel 
the brakes grab and slow the car too much.. Perhaps time will allow owners 
to properly gauge the amount of pressure needed and render this annoyance 
inconsequential. I drove two E-Classes for two weeks and never got used to it.
(One nice feature is that the brakes electronically "release" just before 
the car is fully stopped, keeping nosedive to a minimum. Good thing, too, 
because otherwise the E-Class would appear to the outside world to be 
piloted by a rogue 10-year-old.)
The stern interior of previous E-Classes has given way to a softer, more 
organic look and feel. A strip of wood -- the expensive-looking sweep of 
black maple in our E500 was especially nice -- swoops across the two-tone 
dashboard, leading the eyes and hands to a simpler, easier-to-use center 
console. The leather, wood and chrome of course are rich-looking and 
well-finished, but one change previous owners will appreciate even more is 
the much-improved quality of the plastics throughout the interior. The 
plastic covers for under-seat storage, for example, were flimsy and 
cheap-feeling; now they’re substantial and close with a solid-sounding click.
Controls for the stereo are still, unfortunately, hidden behind the 
hideously complex COMAND system, but volume and station can be changed 
using the steering-wheel controls. At least now the compact disc changer is 
in the dash, behind a wood-paneled door, and rises to meet your hand once 
the door is pressed. Better than rooting through the trunk, as in E-Classes 
past.
Starting well under $50,000, the E-Class seems a good value for its class. 
A comparable BMW 5-series is a little less expensive, for example, but it's 
arguably not as good-looking and its interior substantially more 
downmarket. Of course, the sticker soars if you take Mercedes up on the 
gee-whiz toys: Distronic cruise control ($2,950), which uses radar to 
maintain a set distance from the car in front of you; or the Panorama 
sunroof ($1,500), which adds a spectacular all-glass roof; or Keyless Go 
($1,015), which lets you open and start the car without a key, as long as 
you keep a credit-card-sized gizmo somewhere on your person. Most 
intriguing, perhaps, are seats that can warm and cool the driver and, 
sensing hard cornering, pump up the appropriate places to keep you 
well-planted. That’ll be $2,350, please.
At least leather is standard, and a nice grade of it to boot.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety hasn’t crash-tested a 2003 
E-Class, but previous model years garnered a “best pick” designation. The 
federal National Highway Safety Traffic Administration hasn’t crash-tested 
any E-Class or rated it for rollover resistance. Antilock brakes, traction 
control and head and side airbags (front and rear) are standard.
Both E-Class models qualify as Ultra Low-Emissions Vehicles and rate a 7 
out of 10 on the EPA’s air pollution scoring system (about average for 
midsize sedans; a Toyota Prius rates a 10, a big GMC Sierra pickup a 1). 
The E320’s EPA ratings of 19 mpg city and 27 highway are average; we got 20 
mph. The E500’s 16/23 is thirsty for this class; we saw 16 mpg. Both 
require premium fuel.
Des Toups is a Seattle free-lance writer whose work has appeared in 
AutoWorld magazine, The Seattle Times and newspapers nationwide.