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2005 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Review
Mercedes expands its best-selling model line.
2005 E-Class Review Summary & Specifications
The Mercedes-Benz E-Class has always been a benchmark among luxury cars. It's a fine car in a competitive class, with a combination of safety, luxury, practicality, sportiness, status, and cost of operation that's difficult match.For 2005, the E-Class offers a wide range of choices, from a frugal, excellent-performing diesel engine to well-behaved, utilitarian station wagons to the ultra high-performance E55 AMG. All-wheel-drive is available with a choice of engines in both sedans and wagons. And the E500 has an industry-leading seven-speed automatic transmission. Our choice in this model line is the screaming E55 AMG, as long as someone else picks up the $80,000 tab. For our money, we'd buy the $55,045 E500 for its responsiveness and overall balance; the 5.0-liter engine really wakes this car up. The new E320 CDI diesel is the most frugal and, given the times, perhaps the best choice; we'd choose the diesel hands down over the similarly priced, gasoline-powered E320. J.P. Vettraino and Jim McCraw contributed to this report from Detroit.
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| Vehicle Category | Luxury Cars |
| Editor | Mitch McCullough |
| Model Lineup | Mercedes-Benz E320 ($49,220); E320 CDI ($49,795); E500 ($57,620); E320 wagon ($51,470); E500 wagon 4MATIC ($61,220); E55 AMG ($80,220) |
| Engines (standard) | 3.2-liter dohc 24-valve turbodiesel inline-6 |
| Engines (optional) | 221-hp 3.2-liter sohc 18-valve V6; 3.2-liter dohc 24-valve turbodiesel inline-6; 302-hp 5.0-liter sohc 24-valve V8; 469-hp 5.5-liter supercharged V8 |
| Transmissions (standard) | five-speed automatic with Touch Shift manual operation |
| Transmissions (optional) | 5-speed automatic; 7-speed automatic |
| Safety Equipment (standard) | antilock brakes (ABS); Electronic Stability Program (ESP), traction control; seatbelt pretensioners; dual-stage front airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, front and rear curtain-style head-protection airbags |
| Safety Equipment (optional) | none |
| Basic Warranty | 4 years/50,000 miles |
| Assembled In | Sindelfingen, Germany |
| Manufacturer Phone | 800-367-6372 |
| Manufacturer URL | www.mbusa.com |
| Base Price MSRP | 49220 |
| Model Tested MSRP | Mercedes-Benz E320 CDI sedan ($49,795) |
| Standard Equipment | automatic dual-zone climate control, power tilt and telescoping steering wheel with multifunction controls, power windows with express up and down, auto-dimming mirrors, rain-sensing windshield wipers, 10-way power driver and passenger seats with leather inserts and three-position memory, cruise control, walnut trim, nine-speaker stereo, Tele-aid emergency communication system |
| Destination Charge | 720 |
| Options as Tested (MSRP) | Pewter metallic paint with charcoal leather seat inserts ($600); power glass sunroof ($1260); heated front seats ($680); Premium sound system with CD changer ($970) |
| Gas Guzzler Tax | |
| Layout | rear-wheel drive |
| Price as Tested | 54085 |
| Horse Power | 201 @ 4200 |
| Torque | 369 @ 1800 |
| Fuel Economy | 27/37 |
| Wheelbase | 112.4 |
| Length/Width/Height | 189.7/71.3/57.2 |
| Track Front/Rear | |
| Turning Radius | 37.4 |
| Seating Capacity | 5 |
| Front Head/Hip/Leg room | 37.4/52.4/41.9 |
| Middle Head/Hip/Leg room | |
| Rear Head/Hip/Leg room | 37.7/53.8/35.6 |
| Trunk Volume | 15.9 |
| Payload | |
| Towing Capacity | |
| Front Suspension | independent with upper and lower control arms, coil springs, gas-charged shock absorbers and stabilizer bar |
| Rear Suspension | independent five link with coil springs, gas-charged shock absorbers and stabilizer bar |
| Ground Clearance | |
| Curb Weight | 3835 |
| Stock Tires | 225/55HR16 |
| Brakes Front/Rear | 11.6-in vented discs with four-piston floating calipers/11.8-in vented discs with two-piston fixed calipers; ABS, EBD, Brake Ass |
| Fuel Capacity | 21.1 |
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2005 Mercedes-Benz E-Class
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