Benz Faqs

When the 2004 Mercedes-Benz E500 was first introduced in October 2003 on the heels of a total redesign of the E320 it was clearly going for superlatives. Not only, thanks to its 302-horsepower V-8 engine, is it one of the fastest station wagons on the market, but thanks again to its V-8 engine, it is also the most expensive station wagon, with a MSRP of $59,950.

Aside from that, however, the E500 is identical to the $51,270 E320 in nearly every aspect. Each car has the same legroom, the same radio, the same cargo volume, same standard third-row seat, even the same exterior colors. The only difference besides price is the curb weight and gas mileage: The E500 weighs 4,320 pounds and gets 16 mpg in the city and 22 mpg highway, while the E320 weighs 3,966 pounds and gets 19 city and 27 highway.

What inspired Mercedes to introduce the E500 wagon in October 2003? Clearly, the execs at parent DaimlerChrysler probably thought they could sell a V-8 version for a premium price. Assuming there’s a market for the higher-priced car, such premium vehicles can be a gold mine.

Witness how Ford Motor easily turned its Crown Victoria into a Town Car and raked in fat margins with the Lincoln’s higher price. Converting the redesigned E320 would be easy and inexpensive, particularly as the V-8 powerplant is used in multiple Mercedes models.

The question, then, is whether people will find the E320 classy and powerful enough to suit them and consider the E500 a blatant stunt to separate them from their hard-earned cash. Aside from the fact that the E500 is as satisfying to drive as it is soothing to the ego, are there really enough people out there who are willing to spend $60,000-plus on a station wagon?

Because the E500 is identical in dimension and design to the E320, we won’t bang on too much about its interior or how comfortable its seats are, except to reiterate that it would be impossible to find a more ergonomically intelligent, spacious, elegant and, yes, still practical station wagon on the market.

What makes the E500 different from the E320, of course, is those extra 81 horses. That’s a sizable increase in giddy-up and makes the E500 a much more exciting ride. The 5.0-liter, 302-hp V-8 can launch from 0 to 60 in a sportscar-worthy 5.9 seconds.

Efficient engines equal better gas mileage. According to the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the 2004 E500 wagon would cost an average of $1,334 per year to fuel. The Volvo V70 R wagon, which uses the 300-hp five-cylinder, gets 18 city and 25 highway and costs $1,142 per year to fuel.

Compared to the E-wagon’s engine, the Volvo wagon’s engine puts out just as much power with half the displacement and three fewer cylinders and it saves you $200 a year in refueling. To someone spending over $60,000 for a car, however, $200 is lunch money.

How does this inefficiency translate to performance and speed? When you are merging into high-speed traffic, not at all. The E500 is as graceful as a gazelle and gloriously fast. After all, the only reason for buying this car, besides bragging rights, is for how fast that inefficient though still pretty darn sweet V-8 can race you down the highway.

However, according to Mercedes-Benz, sales perked up toward the end of the year when the new E320 and E500 hit the showrooms. It’s too early to tell how solid a year 2004 will be sales-wise, but considering the fact that the stock market is up, along with Wall Street bonuses, it’s a good bet that new E-wagons will be popping up in force in the most exclusive driveways and country club parking lots.

Whenever people buy a car, there is invariably a moment when they ask themselves if they are spending their money wisely. The terrific Audi S4 Avant is certainly worth considering. It has a 4.2-liter, 340-hp V-8 that is even faster than the E500’s it can go from 0 to 60 in 5.4 seconds and, with an MSRP of $46,650, is considerably easier on the wallet.

The two cars are about the same size in terms of interior space and cargo volume (the E500 is a little bigger). What the Audi doesn’t have, however, is a third-row seat, which can come in pretty handy if it’s your day to do drop-off at school.

In the case of the E500, what you may be asking yourself instead is, Do I need to spend this much? Of course not if all you want is a station wagon. Assuming you can afford it, if you want a blazing-fast status symbol exuding finesse, elegance, practicality and a whole laundry list of other attributes that define the E500, then hurry over to your local Mercedes dealer.