Mercedes-Benz E200 CGI in Malaysian showrooms now!

Barely a couple of months after the E300 debut representing the saloon form of the all-new E-Class in Malaysia, the bread-&-butter E200 CGI has quietly crept into M-B showrooms locally.

Priced at a more realistic - but no less lofty - RM366,888 this is the E-Class that's set to push the bulk of the W212s to be sold officially (and not-so-officially a few years down the road). Not some fancy looking coupe that's more cramped internally - based on the W204 chassis - yet ridiculously overpriced, with a set of more Nissan Slyphy-ish rear lights.

The basic block of its 1.8l engine is carried over from the W211, displacing a remarkably similar 1796cc, reworked with a new top cam, pistons and con-rods to take up the higher stresses of direct gasoline injection plus turbocharging. Hence the acronym Charged Gasoline Injection (CGI).

Rated at astonishingly similar output of the last E200K's 184hp but with a higher maximum torque of 270Nm (+10Nm), initial drive has revealed a more punchier powerplant with perhaps the old school 5 A/T somewhat gagging the true potential of Daimler's reincarnated 4-pot modernised for the new decade.

With this in mind, perhaps the E250 CGI coming soon may not be the 'killer' E-Class that will snub out the real 2.5 V6 powered E230 W211 in drivetrain finesse seeing that the latter had 7G-Tronic, while the E250 CGI will make do with Merc's low cost (likely armortised, production cost-wise) 5 A/T. Once again, I am not referring to the silly E250 CGI Coupe. I'd be foolish not to consider the latest facelift Porsche Cayman 2.9 with PDK at that price segment.

Related posts:
New E-Class E200 CGI & E250 CGI
W212 E-Class launched in Malaysia
Mercedes E200K vs E200K!

Mercedes-Benz W212 E-Class launched in Malaysia

It's finally here, the all-new E-Class (W212) being launched by Mercedes-Benz Malaysia (MBM) at a glitzy evening function at the Palace of Golden Horses. To begin with only the E300 V6 will be available for sale immediately, priced at RM458,888.

The mass-market E200 CGI (estimated to retail about RM370k) will only be available sometime April 2010, along with the E250 CGI (circa RM410k) at about the same time. Both variants will have the same 1.8L lump in different state of tune and turbo-boost - along with direct injection - churning out 184hp/270Nm and 204hp/310Nm respectively. In contrast the E300 is powered by a naturally-aspirated 3.0L V6 pumping out a combo of 231hp/300Nm. Both the 4-cylinders E-Class only make do with 5 A/T 'box while the V6 will sport Merc's 7G-Tronic.

2010 W212 E-Class: E200 CGI and E250 CGI gets direct injection and turbocharging...finally!

Leaked scanned brochure images of Daimler AG's upcoming and all-important 2010 Mercedes-Benz E-Class are already splurged in the blogosphere. Here are some powertrain details for our Malaysian market siginificant petrol-powered E200 model(s), expected to be launched sometime Q4 2009.

Badged E200 CGI BlueEFFICIENCY and E250 CGI BlueEFFICIENCY, both these variants will be powered by that familiar 1796cc four-pot from M-B. However - in two different states of tune - these new E200 and E250 are capable of 181hp/270Nm and 201hp/310Nm respectively! Output figures that mirrors the current and outgoing W211 E200K and E230 (2.5 V6) quite closely, which the new E200 CGI and E250 CGI plans probably replace. It remains to be seen if the W212 will have an E280 with an improved direct-injection 3.0V6 (M272) N/A engine.

While it is clear that CGI denotes direct gasoline injection in Merc speak, it hasn't been confirmed (not at least from the German language brochure) that these new E-Classes boast a turbocharger in place of the clunky Kompressor, though the rather low-end fat torque delivery (which stays flat!) of 270Nm from 1,800 - 4200rpm and 310Nm from 2,000 - 4500 rpm arouse suspicions of turbodiesel technology, applied to Benz's trusty and frugal 1.8L petrol motor of course! Remember that 1.8L Mercedes-Benz DiesOtto engine capable of 238hp and 400Nm in that M-B F700 Concept?

Claimed performance figures are century sprint of 8.7secs and 7.9secs for the W212 E200 CGI and E250 CGI respectively while Vmax are 235km/h and 245 km/h.







Related post:
2009/2010 Mercedes-Benz E-Class (W212) undisguised!