A Closer Look – 2010 Mercedes-Benz E-550

The 2010 Mercedes-Benz E-550 is a good-looking car.

There’s no denying it, the 2010 E-Class is sharp like good cheddar.  Its form-fitting coachwork brings to mind a custom suit, especially when compared to the previous generation, which looks like it’s wearing Salvation Army sweat pants three sizes too big.  With this redesign, the E-Class is now the best looking of the middleweight German luxury cars, beating Audi’s graceful but aging A6, and BMW’s robot-inspired 5 Series.

Open WIDE.Ewwww, goose-neck hinges.From a distance, the E550’s trunk is prodigious, offering enough room for a foursome of golf bags, or even a threesome when the rear seats are folded.  Access is easy thanks to a generously sized orifice and a low step-over lift-over height, but upon closer inspection a few cut-corners rear their ugly heads.  First, old-school goose-neck hinges intrude on the available space.  Talk about out of place!  It’s like finding a Monet at a garage sale, or clean sheets at Motel 8.  They have no place on a $68,000 Mercedes and are a design that should permanently fly south for the winter.  It doesn’t matter how nicely they’re trimmed or how fluidly they operate, the crudity of these pivots bring to mind a middle school science project rather than the best efforts of world-class engineers.

A power-closing decklid is a welcome feature, but like the hinges, its execution falls short.  The push of a button quickly motors the clamshell closed, but the *CA-CHUNK* sound it makes when latching shut brings to mind a dangerous piece of heavy machinery, something that OSHA should have outlawed during FDR’s third term.  Stand clear as the trunk closes, from the sound of it you could lose a hand.

Yep. That's German industrial design.

Mercedes gives you wood ... trim.

Inside, the industrial design is angular and attractive.  Bringing a little of the outside in, the bright trim on the  center stack mimics the shape of the grille.  For the most part, the interior is comfortable and well assembled.  The leather is rich and the burled wood furnishings are absolutely radiant, but the texture of the soft plastic on the dash and doors is a letdown.  It’s too glossy and the graining is clumsy.  Sadly, Volkswagen does better a better job at this – and for one-third the price.

Another minor annoyance inside is the design of the door handles.  Dipped in chrome, they look substantial, but like a cod piece they’re built to deceive. 

Slathered in shininess you expect them to be metal, but instead they’re made out of that ubiquitous stand-in for everything genuine – plastic, the inverse of which is a perfect analogy to sum up the new E-550.  It’s built on a rock-solid foundation and offers a stellar powertrain, but the luxury part of the equation feels like little more than a thin veneer.

- Craig

 

Comments

[Rich Henion]

Well done again, Sir Craig. Versed engagingly and accessibly. Your ode to a former favorite President "a dangerous piece of heavy machinery, something that OSHA should have outlawed during FDR’s third term." made me laugh. Surprised no inclusion of specs for this six-sides of fancy. Not that I care. I'd reformat the two spots with two pics. It looks quite crude.