Post by Roadrunner on Aug 2, 2020 14:43:55 GMT
…or to give it its full name (deep breath): Mercedes-Benz E350 Bluetec AMG Night Edition Premium Plus Estate. Five years old, but with only 17,700 miles on the clock when I collected it, it is finished in Designo Hyacinth Red, with Porcelain Nappa Leather trim.
Powered by an updated version of the 3.0 V6 turbo diesel, it develops 254 BHP and 457 lbs/ft torque, which makes it noticeably faster than my previous 2008 320 cdi model. This also has the updated 9G transmission, compared to the earlier 7G and changes are imperceptible. With the transmission in comfort mode (called Eco now) a flex of my big toe is enough for the car to drop a gear or two and easily gather pace, while kickdown has me giggling like a loon, as we are catapulted towards the horizon. The 0-60 time is officially quoted as 6.6 seconds and it feels every bit as quick as that. Put it into Sport mode and it will generally stay at least a gear lower much of the time and be far more sensitive to my big toe. The engine is all but inaudible most of the time, emitting a delicious, almost V8-like growl when exploring the upper half of the rev counter.
The Airmatic suspension now has two settings instead of the previous three. The 320 had Comfort, Sport 1 and Sport 2 settings, with Comfort being what I called ‘Silver Shadow Mode’. This was wonderfully pillowy around town and on quiet country lane bumbles, but far to wallowy the rest of the time. The 350 has Comfort and Sport, with Comfort now being similar to the old Sport 1 and this will be my daily setting. Sport will lower and firm up the ride and is the one to use for a B road blast. Overall, this car has a much more sharp feel to it than the old one, but we have to remember that the old one had clocked up nearly 125,000 miles, while this one is just run in. It still retains the function to raise the air suspension to ‘Allroad’ height which is ideal for bumpy farm tracks or driving through floods.
The interior is lush and very much my choice, although perhaps less than ideally practical for a family car. The seats, like the 320, are supremely comfortable with my two-hour drive causing absolutely no aches or pains at all. My only criticism would be that the steering wheel rim obscures the top of the speedo if I have everything in my usual default position, but lowering the seat has solved this. The adjustable side bolsters and extending front cushion just add to the ‘made to measure’ fit of the seat.
The car is knee deep in gadgets, with Distronic voodoo cruise control, lane keeping assist, blind spot assist, road sign recognition, intelligent LED headlights, 360˚ cameras and Parktronic Plus, with a self parking feature. The Distronic cruise is a God-send for driving on our crowded motorways and I wouldn’t be without it now and the others all help to make life easier, although I can’t see me ever using the self park feature. Needless to say, the Harman/Kardon sound system is superb.
All in all it has turned out to be something of a lucky find and will almost certainly be my forever car.
Powered by an updated version of the 3.0 V6 turbo diesel, it develops 254 BHP and 457 lbs/ft torque, which makes it noticeably faster than my previous 2008 320 cdi model. This also has the updated 9G transmission, compared to the earlier 7G and changes are imperceptible. With the transmission in comfort mode (called Eco now) a flex of my big toe is enough for the car to drop a gear or two and easily gather pace, while kickdown has me giggling like a loon, as we are catapulted towards the horizon. The 0-60 time is officially quoted as 6.6 seconds and it feels every bit as quick as that. Put it into Sport mode and it will generally stay at least a gear lower much of the time and be far more sensitive to my big toe. The engine is all but inaudible most of the time, emitting a delicious, almost V8-like growl when exploring the upper half of the rev counter.
The Airmatic suspension now has two settings instead of the previous three. The 320 had Comfort, Sport 1 and Sport 2 settings, with Comfort being what I called ‘Silver Shadow Mode’. This was wonderfully pillowy around town and on quiet country lane bumbles, but far to wallowy the rest of the time. The 350 has Comfort and Sport, with Comfort now being similar to the old Sport 1 and this will be my daily setting. Sport will lower and firm up the ride and is the one to use for a B road blast. Overall, this car has a much more sharp feel to it than the old one, but we have to remember that the old one had clocked up nearly 125,000 miles, while this one is just run in. It still retains the function to raise the air suspension to ‘Allroad’ height which is ideal for bumpy farm tracks or driving through floods.
The interior is lush and very much my choice, although perhaps less than ideally practical for a family car. The seats, like the 320, are supremely comfortable with my two-hour drive causing absolutely no aches or pains at all. My only criticism would be that the steering wheel rim obscures the top of the speedo if I have everything in my usual default position, but lowering the seat has solved this. The adjustable side bolsters and extending front cushion just add to the ‘made to measure’ fit of the seat.
The car is knee deep in gadgets, with Distronic voodoo cruise control, lane keeping assist, blind spot assist, road sign recognition, intelligent LED headlights, 360˚ cameras and Parktronic Plus, with a self parking feature. The Distronic cruise is a God-send for driving on our crowded motorways and I wouldn’t be without it now and the others all help to make life easier, although I can’t see me ever using the self park feature. Needless to say, the Harman/Kardon sound system is superb.
All in all it has turned out to be something of a lucky find and will almost certainly be my forever car.
