Well, today I found a R&T magazine from april 1986 in almost mint condition in a Church garage sale. It has the road test of the 300E under the title "MERCEDES-BENZ 300E, Superb performance and handling, controversial styling". It has all the GOOD typical information provided by R & T in their road tests.
CONTROVERSIAL STYLING? I would say ahead of its time!
What do you guys think?

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J.H.
'86 300E

If I remember, they tested a euro spec model that seemed to have much better performance than what we ended up getting stateside. Would be interested in BHP rating and 0-60 times. Seems like this was one of the fastest sedans tested at that time (with euro setup).

If you compare this car to the others out there back in 1986, this was quite a departure, but like with most mercedes, the changes often seem startling at first and quickly become seemingly classic once they grow on you.

If you have a scanner I'm sure some of the 300E enthusiasts on this site would love to see a copy of this article.

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2008 GL320CDI 6K
1970 280SL 112K
1982 240D 210K (Sold)
1973 220D 220K (Sold)
1967 200D 160K (Sold)
1992 400E 139K (Sold)
1988 300E 148K (Sold)
1987 300D 257K (Sold)
1991 300E 108K (Sold)
1987 300E 131K (Sold)
1978 300D TMU (Sold)
1980 300D TMU (Sold)
MBCA Member

I would have to say that when I first saw a 300E, I felt that 'homely' was a charitable description . It took a number of years (and the styling failures of competitors) for me to get used to and then finally really appreciate the style. It has aged very well. Not the first slowness on my part - when the Olds Toronado first came out in the 60s, to me it was the ugliest thing on wheels. It likewise aged well, and looks positively handsome on it's own merits, and more so when compared to many current models from other manufacturers.

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John

2003 Firemist Red/grey leather SL 500
2015 Palladium Silver/black mbtex GLK 350
1987 Smoke Silver/burgundy mbtex 300E Sportline (SOLD)

Click to see 87 300E

CarolinaMBZ,
They did test a euro model at an earlier date. It is mentioned in the article (I do not have the magazine with me at this moment) I may have to look for that magazine too. There were a lot of R & T from different years, most of them almost mint. I do not have a scanner.
The article is about 3-4 pages long but the pictures are black and white .
I am very happy with my purchase.

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J.H.
'86 300E

I have a copy of this article in a hardback that has a number of reprinted MB articles covering about ten years. The car tested was NOT a Euro model, it was a US model, and they raved about it. They tested a manual transmission car and it led me to go on a search for a manual transmission 124, and I ultimately found one. Fabulous automobile.

Have a great day,

Larry, you are right!
One thing that I forgot to mention was the price of the car. Around $35,000...that was 15 year ago. You can buy a C class for that amount now. BTW, Larry how do you like your new C? Any problems?

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J.H.
'86 300E

If the W124 styling was considered controversial, then what more of the W201, which came before the W124?

when the W201 was compared with the Honda Accord of that time in one of those test articles, the adjective used to describe the W201 styling was "bold".

the W201 introduced the pinched-up tail design which the W124 continued. It borrowed styling cues from the C111 experimental vehicle, evident from the horizontal "streamline" character lines, which give the car an "extruded" look, and the high tail.

around 1983 when the W201 was introduced, there was also a new BMW 3-series. Put side-by-side, the Bimmer looked more handsome and mainstream, and the W201 looked weird, especially when viewed from the rear. Now, you put both model year cars side by side, and the Bimmer positively looks very old. The Benz's styling is simply timeless.

the W124 has softer lines than a W201, but it introduced that low lift-over trunklid, with the aggressive (angry?)-looking taillamps. Maybe that was the "controversial" part.

I find the 1994-1995 W124s one of the more beautiful sedans around.

i also read an old article about how the 300e came to be.

apparently, a number of Benz engineers needed to get a message across to their management, and they did it this way: They told management that they had an experimental engine in one of the Benz test cars and invited them to drive the car, on the condition that they do not open the hood.

the engine proved very smooth, tractable and powerful, and the managers came away from the test drives positively impressed. They now demanded to know what engine modifications the engineers had introduced, and the engineers obliged.

They opened the hood to reveal ... a BMW inline-6 engine.

blackmercedes,

The only trouble I've had with my new car has been a shock on the right rear that began rattling. I'm lucky enough that my tech at the dealer where I bought the car is a friend of 25 years and a very thorough mechanic.

I went to Switzerland for a week in April and left the car at the dealer. This dealer is very near the airport. John, my friend, met me there on a Saturday and drove me to the airport, on the way we drove down his favorite rough road that he uses to test for such problems. He said he was pretty sure it was a shock. He then took me to the airport.

When I returned to Dallas, I called the dealer and they sent a courtesy car to the airport for me. I got there and visited with John for a few minutes. He had done an A service on the car at the same time and he told me everything he did including the right rear shock, balance and rotated the tires, changed oil and filter using Mobil One, and a bunch of other things I don't remember. They also SCRUBBED the car inside and out, it was as thorough as any detailing you ever paid for. The car was absolutely filthy when I left it. The bill for all this was: $0.00.

Parking at DFW airport costs $12.00 per day, so this saved me(at least the company) about $84.00.

When I bought my 210 car in '96, it was from a different dealer and I went through total H&++ with that dealer. They are very close to my office and they have a very good parts guy there who I have known and bought parts from for about 15 years. Except for an occasional parts sale, they don't get any of my money any more.

Also, the price of the 124 cars in the late eighties was expensive in the US because the DMark was at about DM1.30 to the dollar. I have the window sticker for my '88 300E, and the price was well over $40,000. Yes, these cars were EXPENSIVE by anyones measurement, then or now.

Sorry for the rambling.

BobbyV,

I wonder which BMW salesmen dreamed up that urban legend?

Have a great day,

I have a copy of that article too. The W124 is my favourite car from the '80's, number two would be the '89 BMW 5 series.

I've never heard of the BMW inline 6 story, but it might be true. I mean BMW and MB watch each other very closely. A good example is MB's introduction of the W201 in response to the 3 series dominance of the entry level market. BMW held the title of world's best inline 6 before and after the M103, M104 engines came and went. BMW didn't have any 8 cylinder engines until the introduction of the V8's in '93 or '94. This means BMW's success in the 1980's was powered entirely by inline 4's and 6's.

Mercedes-Benz's 2.8 liter DOHC inline 6 was a big disappointment in the US when used in the W116's and W123's. MB was not very successful at adding on the equipment needed to meet US emissions. While a Euro 280E had 177 hp, the US 280E was heavier and had 142 hp in federal trim (137 hp in California). MB dropped the 208E in the US for 1982, which left all US w123's diesel powered. The odds of MB having an all diesel E class in the US again are about as good as the odds of the Detroit Lions winning the SuperBowl anytime soon! So MB developed a 3.0 liter SOHC inline 6 that was universally better then it's predecessor. It was even physically smaller despite have a larger displacement.