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 Nobody
likes riding in the back of a four-seat coupe. The rear seats are, with
rare exception, tight with little legroom, the roofline is imposing and
there's a general feeling of inescapability should you be unfortunate
enough to be involved in a smash-up. Ride in the back? No thank you.
It is then curious to take in the gorgeous new Mercedes-Benz E350C, a
2010 model that at least one well-healed on-looker mistook for a $100k+
ride. "What's that cost, $110,000? $120,000?" The disappointment
was palpable when told this car stickers at a measly (in relative terms)
$54,245, and nicely loaded at that, too.
What the E350C is, though, is a comfortable two-door, two-seater that
happens to have a lot of room behind the front seats-enough, in fact,
for two generously accommodated rear seats with loads of leg and head
room plus a center storage cubby console.
Wow, the only thing really missing is two rear doors to allow easy ingress
and egress from that great big seating area.
Unfortunately, what Mercedes-Benz delivers is a sliver of space that
uncomfortably and embarrassingly forces rear seat occupants to contort
themselves in order to nestle into the back. Forget elderly passengers
getting in or out of there; it's not going to happen.
So what's the point of having such a large rear seating area if, even
with the front seat all the way up and seat back released forward there's
no easy way to get in or out? Hmm, we're wondering that, too. We'll get
back to you after the next redesign.
Intended to replace the CLK coupe, which too offered meager rear-seat
access but at least had meager rear seat accommodations to match, the
E-Class coupe replacement is more attractive and more practical-at least
from a manufacturing perspective. One less platform to create equals cost
savings, a critical component in today's difficult automotive climate.
Inside, this coupe is pure Mercedes-Benz, offering the expected high
level or fit and finish, exemplary luxury and enjoyable driving dynamics.
It's extremely solid and exudes the feeling of being buttoned down, ready
for triple digit autobahn cruising for hours on end or simply offering
a bit of relief from the day's grind while on the way home from work.
The E350C carries over Mercedes-Benz stalwart 268-horsepower 3.5-liter
24-valve aluminum V6 from its four-door cousin (and offered in almost
every other U.S. Mercedes-Benz vehicle except the line-topping premium
models). It's down in power a bit from what seemingly everyone else gets
from their V6 (even Hyundai gets more than 300-hp out of their V6), but
it's no slouch and feels more powerful than its rating. It also returns
a respectable an EPA-rated 17 mpg city and impressive 26 mpg highway.
In a week's worth of mixed driving we observed 25 mpg, a superb return
given our constant heavy application of the go pedal.
The E350C's driving dynamics are typical for a Mercedes-Benz sedan. Buttoned
down control but not overly sporting, at its best when ticking off lots
of freeway miles at a steady clip. It does fine working through traffic
and has no problem getting up to freeway speed from an on-ramp. If pushing
through corners is your pleasure don't opt for the base model; there are
plenty of add-ons to help with handling.
The E-Class coupe is also available with a 32-valve 5.5-liter V8 that
delivers 382 hp and 391 lb.-ft. of torque.
As usual, Mercedes-Benz offers a host of upgrades, including an Appearance
Package that provides drilled brake discs with painted calipers, 18-inch
AMG wheels, multi-contour seats, stainless steel pedals with rubber studs,
black gearshift paddles and a sport suspension.
Our test E350C came with the $3,950 Premium Package that included a 40GB
hard drive GPS navigation system, 6GB music hard drive, surround sound
system, satellite radio, heated front seats, power rear window shade and
rear view backup camera. Included standard are a litany of safety and
technology features including the multi-function COMMAND control knob
as well as ABS, stability control, traction control plus front side, front
pelvic, side curtain and driver knee airbags.
Checking in with a base price of just over $48,000, this sensuously styled
Mercedes-Benz offers great value in a luxury coupe. If it only had better
rear-seat access it would be an unqualified winner.
Mercedes-Benz E350 Coupe bonus photos...
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