Mercedes-Benz E350 CGI Car Review

Facts At A Glance
Car: Mercedes E350 CGI
Prices: £36,320-£37,820 - on the road
Insurance Group: 17
Emissions: 199g/km
Performance: 0-60mph 6.3s/ Max Speed 155mph
Fuel Consumption: (urban) 22.6mpg / (extra urban) 44.1mpg / (combined) 32.8mpg
Safety: Nine airbags, ABS, ESP, Brake Assist, PRE-SAFE.
Dimensions: Length/Width/Height (saloon), 4868/1854/1471mm

PETROL EMOTION

Our Rating: 7.6 / 10

Diesel may dominate in executive car land but the Mercedes E350 CGI petrol shouldn’t be discounted out of hand. Steve Walker reports.

The motor industry is overflowing with TLAs, that’s three letter acronyms to you and I. From official bodies to safety systems, engines and gearboxes, if it’s worthy of existence, or so the thinking must go, it’s worth condensing down to a nice neat TLA that will comprehensively flummox the general public. One TLA that might ring a bell to non-car geeks is CGI but we’re not talking about the ‘computer generated imagery’ that made Hollywood blockbusters like Toy Story possible and ruined Star Wars. CGI in car speak is Stratified Charged Gasoline Injection technology (Yes, I know). It’s been developed by those masters of the TLA at Mercedes Benz and it’s fitted to a range of models including the E350 CGI, at which point it becomes far easier to understand.

In case you were unaware, the E-Class is Mercedes’ entrant in the executive car class. It occupies a key position in the brand’s model range between the C-Class compact executive models and the S-Class luxury saloon. Each generation of the E is the subject of painstaking development work designed to give it an edge over its arch rivals, the BMW 5 Series and the Audi A6. There are other pretenders who would like to muscle in and play a more prominent role in the executive car market but these German offerings are tough nuts to crack. In the UK, it’s diesel engines that attract the biggest sales volumes but Mercedes will be hoping that its CGI technology can increase the relevance of petrol and help it put one over on the old enemies.

CGI is all about the way the petrol is delivered into the engine’s cylinders ready for combustion. It can get quite arcane but for these purposes, it’s enough to say that the CGI technology delivers the fuel in quantities, at timings and at a pressure that makes the most of every last microscopic droplet. The result is the best possible compromise between performance and economy which is kind of what we’d all like to be going on under our car bonnets. The E350’s V6 petrol engine develops 288bhp and can accelerate from 0-60mph in just 6.3s. Rather than straight line speed, it’s flexibility that really pays in an executive car because that’s what delivers the languid athleticism needed for powerful overtaking and motorway manoeuvres. To this end, the E350 CGI produces its maximum torque of 365Nm between 3,000 and 5,100rpm. That’s a good wide band for a normally-aspirated petrol engine but it means you have to rev the engine harder than with an equivalent diesel.

Past versions of the E-Class have often failed to hit the mark in terms of handling, allowing BMW to corner the market for sporty executive conveyances. The latest model seeks to retain the comfort levels that traditional customers expect form the E-Class while making in-roads into more dynamic territory. The steering is clearly more weighty and direct, lending confidence on twisting roads. The car also features Direct Control dampers which stiffen automatically when they detect that you’re wanting to have some fun and remain supple at cruising speeds. The E350 CGI’s engine is less dramatic than expected at normal speeds but slip the seven-speed automatic into sport mode and the gears are held longer. At higher revs, the engine finds its feet and displays an aggressive vocal range which is a bit unexpected in an E-Class.

Mercedes was never the manufacturer most likely to push the stylistic boat out and come up with a brave new design direction. Instead the E-Class is typically reserved, displaying many of the handsome squared-off elements seen on its smaller C-Class cousin. Inside, the S-Class luxury saloon is the inspiration with quality materials and switchgear in evidence. There’s plenty of space in the rear seats and a 540-litre boot should be sufficient for most eventualities.

The amount of technology shoehorned into the E-Class really is remarkable and the most eye-opening features are aimed at improving the car’s safety credentials. Mercedes likens the systems to an ‘intelligent partner’ who can detect and react to danger, which sounds like an automated back seat driver chiming in every time they think you’re going to fast or too close to the car in front. The reality is that the systems are designed to be as unobtrusive as possible until stronger intervention is absolutely necessary. Adaptive High Beam Assist uses a camera on the windscreen to detect approaching vehicles when you’re driving at night to modify the headlamps and give an optimum field of visi