Tried & Tested: Mercedes-Benz C250 CGI

In the blink of an eye it has been 3 years since the W204 C-Class debuted. While the mid-cycle facelift isn't due yet, Mercedes-Benz has chosen to go the way of turbocharging their C-Class along with the introduction of their new W212 E-Class with Charged Gasoline Injection (CGI). In Daimler speak, that's direct fuel injection + turbocharging.

Read all about the test drive of seemingly Golf GTI's power output vehicle with rear-wheel drive plus a boot. Or is it not so? The new C250 CGI after all punches out a maximum of 204hp/310Nm. Scroll down below for a review by someone dubbed recently as "Mr Stuttgart" (think: M-B/Porsche) of the motoring circle :)





Browsing through the Press Information supplied by Mercedes-Benz Malaysia (MBM) along with the tester you see above, the new C250 CGI BlueEFFICIENCY is touted as "the most efficient C-Class ever". With claimed fuel consumption of just 7.2 - 7.9 litres/100km in combined cycle.

As you all know and have experienced before, in the real world these figures are as good as striking it rich in the lottery. However and rather unexpectedly so, the best figure I got from the C250 was 8.2 l/100km while getting boxed-in during northbound traffic of the North-South highway - compulsorily doing speeds of 80 - 90km/h constantly. On the upper end of the scale, the computer was reading out 12.3 l/100km on other occasions of getting 'high' behind the wheel.
In retrospect, my last E200 Kompressor (W211) was returning rather similar range of fuel consumption figures in my 4 years of usage.



So I guess you could call it BlueEFFICIENCY after all, since 204hp/310Nm versus 163hp/240Nm with the same amount of fuel in indeed efficiency at work. That's the beauty of having a triple alphabets "DEH" suffix to M271 (engine code) I guess! But I don't see the need of getting the all 'Blue' over this. There is no AdBlue (ammonia consuming catalyst system) here for this petrol combusting 1.8-litre 4-pot. Hmmm...






Further into the Press Info, M-B claims a sprint timing of 7.4 seconds for their latest C250 CGI. Which is entirely believable, since 310 Nm is at your disposal from a low 2,000 rpm through to 4,000 rpm. It feels especially quick more so in 'SPORT' mode but not that manically rapid as say the 211 ps/280 Nm Mk6 Golf GTI because of its rear-drive configuration and probably 5A/T torque converter 'refining and filtering' things out a tad more. Typical of Mercedes-Benz, there is no lurch even as you slam the throttle aggressively at take-off. One of my "co-tester" even claimed the Toyota Vios is 'more powerful' due to its persistent lunging-forward kick of (initial) acceleration. Gosh! Must be a diehard Toyota fan despite the throttle-gate fiasco which seemed to have evaded Malaysia.




High speed stability wise, the new C250 is indeed better than the outgoing C230 2.5 V6. In 'normal' suspension setting, there is indeed less mushiness of the dampers resulting in less roll around corners. Even in 'Sport' the suspension isn't as hard or jarring as the last 6-potted C230. This is noticeable when I contrasted another C230 back-to-back. M-B engineers along with the Bilstein folks must have done some suspension tweaking over black coffee and some serious test track time.

Having said that, the new C250 is still a tad floaty at speed above 180 km/h despite having adaptive dampers. The steering while being weightier in Sport mode (the older C230's rack doesn't respond to Sport setting at all before) is still a tad numb at speed beyond 200 km/h. With a wee bit more choppiness than desired on poor undulating surfaces of certain highway stretches the C250's chassis can come across as jittery approaching its claimed Vmax of 240 km/h.
I guess M-B might still want to relegate such lofty task to the W212 which is way calmer and felt sturdier - possibly due a longer wheelbase and wider tracks.

Yet above it all, on B-roads the new C250 CGI is nicely agile and tracks corner like a dream with the steering ratio reduced from 14.5 in the C200 versus 13.5 in the C250. I would have preferred the 'Sport' button to be split into two separate level of actuation where the throttle 'Sportier' mapping is decided at the gear lever while the chassis/suspension tautness and steering weight/feel is activated by the regular switch on the centre console. Much like the Mk6 GTI where you can dial in a combo of 'Sport, Normal or Auto' suspension mode with either regular 'D' auto or 'S' auto drive mode.

Priced at RM287,888 the new C250 CGI is indeed a very promising Mercedes that is solid in performance yet retains M-B hallmark of comfort, albeit in a smaller package. The turbocharged C-Class (E-Class in a broader perspective) will be the range that will answer to MBM's profitability for their current financial year since the C250 CGI definitely cost less to make versus the C230 V6 of yore. The C250 CGI (as well as the C200 CGI) also address succinctly to the downsizing-cum-efficiency trend of current times, complying with EU5 emissions standard while being fun to point-and-shoot should you want more zippiness at a moment's notice. The Munich camp meanwhile has no emphatic answer to this with their aging E90 especially in regards to their asthmatic 320i and pricey, yet detuned 323i. However, the E90 320d makes a very compelling case and this shall be the closest competitor to this C250 CGI - in my books at least. Watch out for its review coming up next.




Related posts:

Mercedes-Benz C200 Kompressor (W204) tested in 2007
Parting shots of the W203 C200K Final Edition

New Mercedes-Benz V6 and V8 engines: lower emissions, lower fuel consumption & yet higher output!

Mercedes-Benz is setting previously unachievable efficiency standards in the premium segment with completely newly developed V6 and V8 engines. The new V8 engine has a displacement of 4663 cc and develops a maximum power output of 320 kW (435 hp), which is around 12 percent more than its predecessor despite approximately 800cc lesser in displacement. Torque has increased from 530 Nm to 700 Nm – i.e. by no less than 32 percent. Fuel consumption has however been reduced by 22 percent.

With the same 3499 cc displacement as its predecessor, the new V6 engine develops 225 kW (306 hp). Torque has increased from 350 Nm to 370 Nm. Here too, the improvement in fuel efficiency is remarkable. The S 350 with the new V6 engine consumes an economical 7.6 litres per 100 kilometres, a saving of 24 percent compared to its predecessor.

Mercedes-Benz has achieved this considerable leap in efficiency with the use of a start/stop function as standard and other features such as newly developed, third-generation direct petrol injection with spray-guided combustion, multiple injection and multi-spark ignition. With this new generation of V-engines, Mercedes-Benz is clearly demonstrating that with concerted further development, internal combustion engines still have a great deal of potential, and that V6 and V8 engines with their great running refinement can continue to be used to good effect in the future.

Tried & Tested: Mercedes-Benz E200 CGI (W212)

Click on all images to enlarge

How often have you noticed a burnt-out third brake light of the car in front of you? Or a pair or even all brake lights not functioning at all? More often than can be imagined right? So imagine the gall of the parliamentary lawmakers wanting to amend the Malaysian Road Transport Act 1987 to slap a maximum fine of RM1000 for road traffic offences currently capped at RM300. How often do you see people with malfunctioning brakes lights get pulled over? Not as often as for alleged speeding offences (speed trap) I bet.



Back to the subject of third brake lights, the all-new E-Class from Mercedes-Benz has had it migrating from the rear boot lip to the rear parcel shelf again...and in a very slim form. Neat. However, the rear end appears to be a rehashed W123's arse (think: white diesel taxis in the 70s) with angular theme and larger, horizontal tailamps. Altogether with an up-curved blistered arch that looks fussy and very much an after-thought. With such a disastrous looking butt - more so in solid-white - I seriously do not think the W212 leaves the W211 design for dead - unlike what the W211 did to the W210. It awed many - with its sleek n fluid design - in its movie debut "Men In Black 2". Remember that?



Aesthetic wise, the corner of the front headlamps where it meets the fender, bonnet and bumper is quite a disaster too - with surfacing and meeting of dissection lines grossly incongruent.




Cost cutting are abound almost everywhere in the new E200 CGI. Dash top material is B-class-esque rather than S-class aping. Of course, there are Artico-leather wrapping for the dashboard (Porsche's option style!) in the loftier E350, E500, E63 etc models in other markets but the base material is plain disappointing. So is the inner door rubber strip which is naked now. The premium fibred-fabric wrapping is gone: now a pale grained surface imprint serving to mimic the former. Rear seat are also disappointingly smaller with too much rounded edges, while the front seats bottom rounded sides translates to a noticeable lack of thigh support around the corners. What happened Mercedes-Benz?




For the base model E200 CGI too, there is now measly one-sided muffler at the rear, whereas the last E200K from the onset had a pair of mufflers - regardless of whether the exhaust tips are downturned or not. While the last W211 clearly had better differentiation at the steering wheel from the W203 C-Class, the new W212 compels you to steer gripping an item from a common parts bin. Does not convey a higher premium feel I must say. Not when you are asked to part with some RM366k in hard cash or hire-purchase for that matter.



Also, what's with this 3-zone Thermotronic (or is it called the lower-spec Thermatic) climate A/C now? It used to be twin-zone independent temperature control for the rear passengers, plus silent operation even at full cooling capacity. Now the centre console box mounted rear A/C blower just whirr and whine at its highest or near-maximum fan setting. No good.



While the A/C main control looked decidedly classier now, the cabin air-conditioner fiter(s) has lost its 'iconic' odour filtration finesse. Yes, you can smell diesel fumes and other noxious traffic odour(s) - albeit not excessively - once the A/C goes into fresh air intake mode. For the record, it's almost never insulting to your olfactory (nasal) bulbs in any of the previous W211 variants, unless you are in a diesel trucks and buses stationary convoy e.g. basement parked in KL's Puduraya bus complex.



Now, the good side of the new E200 CGI. The modified (read: recycled with turbocharger and direct injection cam-heads for the new dacade) M271 powerplant - 4-pot displacing 1.8L is now way more refined, NVH-wise than the clunky-cluttery Kompressor. So is the throttle response and engine pulling power, noting the 270Nm advantage over 250Nm previously for the final edition E200K. The 5 A/T 'box also seem better with the extra torque but a 6th cog (or 7-G Tronic?) would have been welcomed for calmer high-speed cruising at possible lower engine revs.


Steering feel, weight and feedback in the E200 CGI is way ahead the the "first gen" W211 E200K and felt like a superbly retuned and recalibrated version of the FL (new generation W211) E200K's rack - launched in 2007. It is very close to the E60 5-series in agility and hydraulic-resistance-feel now, minus the parking-speed "dead weight feel" of a typical BMW M-Sport rack.

Ride wise, it is undeniably firmer now in the E200 CGI. More so when you push the car harder and harder into corners. I reckoned it has got to do with some mumbo-jumbo regarding reactive dampers which closes some valves in the struts, thereby firming up damping rates, non-pneumatic nor electrical nor magnetic in execution of course. After all, this is the entry level W212. Tracking corners are sharper and quicker now, thus inspiring more confidence and smiles as you string up the bends, palpably better than the W211.

Rear passenger calm ride composure are still maintained mostly, even on busily winding B-roads, a classic, affable trait of M-B midsized execs accompanied by excellent incisive rebound damping i.e. no wallows whatsoever. The comfort "Benz" hallmark is not lost in the new E200 CGI, even in the pursuit of better handling and overall sportier drive here. High speed blasting stability still leaves the W204 C200K in the dust. An engineering input (or rather slightly lacking thereoff in the junior sibling) being intentional on M-B engineers part, as evident in W203 versus W211 of the previous decade.



With so much to love under the skin (drivetrain,chassis and suspension) and solid comfort of the new E200 CGI - the fronts seats are okay as you acclimatise to it (rear seats still have room for improvements) - it is sad that the external metal sheets of the new E-Class from C- pillar onwards right up to the butt lost its plot somewhat, somehow. Pity.



You might want to read this:
Mercedes-Benz E200K (FL) versus E200K (first gen)

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!

A pictorial history of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class by the top-guns of M-B Malaysia (MBM)

Though not truly a big fan of the top-brass guys (and gals) at Mercedes-Benz Malaysia (MBM) and especially the way they mistreat customers and potential customers alike (some Merc dealers too, as rumoured), I must admit the 3-D holographic-esque presentation at the launch of the new W212 E-Class was really something to be savoured as unique and classy among the many car launches we get annually in Malaysia. The free-flowing wine, champagne, cognac and beers were not too bad either! :)

Click on all pictures to get a bigger image of the W110 (Tailfin) right through to the W211 predecessors! I guessed my shutter would have missed one or two circa 2nd World War models, but what the heck...I reckon the Tailfin is what most will remember as one of the most iconic great great grandfather of the E-class!

Here's looking forward to perhaps owning a E200 GGI or E250 CGI - both turbocharged -sometime in 2010 or 2011?

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!