1992 500e

[blackmercedes]

Let me tell you about my cousin. She's my Dad's brother's daughter. My uncle John (namesake) died thirty years ago, and left a little something to each of his kids. Not much, but enough to make sure they got their young adult lives off to a decent start.

Jan is a fifty-something elementary school teacher. She wears sensible shoes and an outfit from Eddie Bauer is pretty avant-garde.

She bought a 1981 Honda Accord new in 1981, and just replaced it this fall, with a 1992 500E. She lives in Calgary and bought this silver/black beast from a private owner for the stunning price of $26,000. It's got 175,000 kilometers, and a reasonable service history, but needed work. She's brought the car back to excellent shape, though it's value won't ever be the same as a pristine original 500E. A repaint is the main reason.

However, the car looks good now, and drives like new. Lots of new bushings, a new steering box, new tires and brakes all around, and new timing chain and tubes make it a real runner.

I had the wonderful opportunity to spend an hour behind the wheel this morning.

Lat's begin with the stuff I don't like. That way all you 500E owners will have extra time to bang those flaming e-mails off.

I like the interior materials. The wood looks real (of course it is!) and the leather is heavy and of high quality. The dash plastics are beefy and the four seat configuration is attractive. The doors close with a heavy thunk. Now, the ACC controls really date the interior. The old wheel style temp set looks 1980's, but works well. The dash angles are also beginning to look aged. The front lit gauges are also "old-fashioned" but in usual MB fashion, clear and informative.

Many people call this the "four door Porsche." No! Not a chance! Not even close! Stop it! I know Porsche had a hand in the car, and it makes no difference. Has anyone owned/driven a Porsche from this era?

The 500E has superb ergonomics. Porsche? Hahahaha! The 500E has a competent HVAC system. Porsche? C'mon. The 500E can be driven fast by someone with a fairly low skill level, moderate understeer defeated only by a really heavy foot. Porsche? They don't care about low skilled drivers. The 500E has superb build quality. Take a look at a similar vintage 911. Not even close.

Been to a service department with a 500E? It's just a W124 with an M119 V-8. Some parts are pricey, but overall care and feeding of a 500E is like any other MB V-8 sedan. Porsche? Bring the title to your house bud. And don't you DARE make your own diagnosis comments.

Okay, now that we've got that settled, let's talk about driving this car.

It's great. It leaps. It roars. It rips. It howls.

The car does not handle as well as a W210 chassis, but pretty close. Just a little less precise. The one area it excels in for us MB diehards is in steering at speed. I love the old RB steering systems, and nothing has better high speed stability.

The V-8 has no mechanical rasping or giant induction roar, but a terrific snarl from the pipes. It could have a little more edge, but it would be out of character in this Q-ship.

The brakes are great, but that's pretty much the norm for a Mercedes. Pedal feel is good for a car of this age, but I would think about a new master cylinder some time. The car can still hammer you into the seatbelts, and the brakes are fade free on the road. A racetrack might bring them to boil, but only the most abusive and illegal road driving would hurt them.

The off-line performance is disappointing. The car is NOT a stop light racer. It can hold it's own, no doubt, but this car needs to be moving for it's true abilities to shine. Roll on is vicious and only some serious late model artillery can handle it.

Overall, it's like driving a 300E that is hiding an athlete's body under it's suit.

No wonder all the auto journalists ran out of superlatives when this car was new.