Speak German? Can you translate this, Porsche 944 vs 190E 2.3-16v - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

pentoman · #1 03-01-2004, 07:04 PM

http://www.po944.de/SPAU_1.htm

dtf · #2 03-01-2004, 10:15 PM

Interesting - I didn't think the 190E was even close to being in the same league as the 944 but judging by the 0-100km/hr times it does well!

pentoman · #3 03-02-2004, 09:51 AM

You think the 16v really weighs only 1220Kg?

Note the 2.3 has a fair bit more torque than the 2.5 in the 944 - albeit higher up the rev range. And it's lower compression.

Eberhard Weilke · #4 03-04-2004, 12:02 PM

...pardon my bad english, I hope you still get the meaning:

Star Wars

Porsche is unquestionable the shining star in sportscar-heaven. Is the fourvalve-Mercedes able compete?

It looks like german sportdrivers were always craving for a Porsche made by Mercedes. The production of the fourvalve-Mercedes is sold out until the end of 1985. Even Porsche admits, that quite a few of the persons who ordered a 190 were taking the 944 into consideration.

Daimler-Benz also looks carefull at the successful competitor from Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen: Alongside some powerful sedans from BMW there is also a white 944 in the benchmark-fleet in Untertürkheim.

The marketing-people at Mercedes in fact see the 944 as the only serious competitor, for the combination for performance and fuel economy. Reason enough for “Sport Auto”-magazin to stage the suebian-suebian competition.

Naturally, the first aspect to look at would be performance. That’s where the new one (about 20 hp stronger and only slightly heavier) sets the standard. He will outrun the Porsche only on an empty autobahn, but comparing the fuel economy shows, that the Mercedes need less effort to reach a given cruising speed. Compared to the remarkable efficient 2.5 liter of the Porsche the more sophisticated 2.3 liter of the Mercedes uses even less fuel.

Developed with the help of Cosworth the fourvalve engine, due to the remarkable lack of vibrations, allows to be used at high rpm, which apparently has no bad effect on the consumption. We encounter an expensive, but brilliant powerplant, which at that time on the fourcylindermarket only might find a competitor in the fourvalve-engine by Oettinger (which was offered for the Golf GTI )
Without parallels you will find the performance of the chassis of the Untertürkheimer. The chassis cradles the driver with a feeling of safety, that after hard cornering he get the idea, that he might have done this corner slightly faster.
This needs no special action at the leather steering wheel. The car neither tends to over- under understeer on country roads, the car simply rolls into the direction the driver wants to have her. The other side of the coin is that car does not deliver a lot of “Fahrfreude”, after a period of astonishment you reach a level of casualness. Sportive driving doesn’t necessarly has something to do with speed. The ambitious driver might prefer the Porsche, which does give more the feeling to be the driver, not the passenger. The driver in the Porsche has to catch an oversteering car, has to prove his driving ability. The 944 is a forgiving partner for such enterprises, since she always gives enough time for reaction. If the ergonomic position of the steering wheel would have been sufficiently solved, the Porsche would be the winner in the category “Fahrspass”. When turning the steering wheel fast the driver will hit his legs and thanks to the low position of the wheel he has to sit with spread out legs anyway. The ergonomic guys at Porsche already have taken notice of this flaw: The next generation will get a general makeup of the cockpit.
Hopefully they will also get rid of the cheap kitsch colored instruments. At this time, the Mercedes cockpit does not only show more function, but also looks more tastefull.

There is nothing to complain about controls of both Stuttgart competitors. Function is more important than effect. The gear lever could be a little smoother at the Mercedes, the Porsche could use shorter travel of the shifter.

“Typical sportscar” and “typical family sedan”, that’s how the seating postion of both cars could be described. The driver in the deep position of the 944 will automaticaly find a lay down driving position, and the driver of the 190 E will get a serious, upright position – and will most definitly see more of the road and his vehicle.

Still the seats of the Porsche are better for long distance driving. They give comfortable support at the right spots, are wider give better support sideways. The leather upholstery in the Mercedes will cause pain in the back at long distances.

Although comfort is not a big issue for “Sport Auto”-readers, we don’t want to neglect it totally. For a good reason: The Mercedes shows surprising flaws, especially with short intermittend joints on the road the car will shutter. On the other side, the fine tuning gave the Porsche a suspension, which can be compared with the Mercedes. Sportive driving is nothing for masochists.

Finally we come to the big question: Is the fourvalve-Mercedes better than the Porsche? The answer: principally yes.

On the other hand, these cars are not bought by brain, but by the guts. This brings us to the alternative question: Is the Mercedes more attracitve than the Porsche: principally no.

pentoman · #5 03-04-2004, 02:32 PM

Thanks for doing that! It's a very interesting article, you learn a lot more reading it than just looking at the pictures and tables

thanks again

Rusty

manny · #6 03-04-2004, 07:52 PM

Eberhard Weilke

Bravo, das hast Du gut hingebracht junge.