Vehicle: 2010 Mercedes E550 Coupe with AMG Sport Pkg and Premium Pkg
Price as tested: CDN$71900

Performance: Just like its sedan silibing, the E-Class Coupe is currently powered by 1 of 2 engines. The base E350 is powered by a 268hp 3.5 liter V6 or the uplevel V8 in our tester. As with the model designation, the E550 is sourced by a sweet 5.5 liter 32-valve V8 DOHC engine. Not only its sweet as a nut, with usual Mercedes refinement and flexability at every rev range. Its 382hp and 391 lb/ft of torque generate plenty of performance. Unlike the base V6, which feels somewhat gutless when pushed. This V8 doesn’t have the remedies associate with V6. The throttle response is quick and instant. 391 lb/ft of torque at 2800rpm plenty plenty of torque. On the other hand, 382hp provides excellent mid and upper range performance. Along with Mercedes’s hallmark 7-Gronic 7-speed manumatic gearbox, which have excellent ratios for top and bottom. The extra gear on top of 6th provides wonderful cruising high ratio as an Autobahn cruiser. That set, it moves 3891 lb of German lined luxury with authority. The low ratios on bottom gears provide peppy launch, which is a perfect match for V8 engine’s character. The paddle shifters on the steering actually encourage to shift’em yourself, which is a radical depature from Mercedes grand touring coupe of the past.

Handling: Unlike its sedan silibing, E-Class coupe is actually based on C-Class platform. But given Mercedes’s usual standards of engineered solid and rigid chassis, based a touring coupe on a lesser platform isn’t anything to ashamed about. Although Mercedes has claimed the new E-Class coupe already much more dynamic than its CLK predecessors, we still feel it isn’t very much a capable hander. At least its not as capable as the C-Class which its loosely based on. While the C-Class feels agile and nimble, the E-Coupe feels more cumbersome and grand touring. Even when we pushed the “sport” button, which in turns with sharper steering and throttle response. We still don’t feel as dynamic and sporty as what it is suggested. Yes, its a rear-driver with near ideal 50/50 perfect weight distribution. But certainly far from its V8 competition when it comes to dynamic abilities. While the suspension is comfortably complaint with nice handling and ride compromise, it just doesn’t zoom the edgy dynamics as its rival does when it comes to eating corners. The steering provides decent feel and feedback, with excellent response. It still has Mercedes’s usual numb off-center feel during turn-in, though. The ride comfort, on the other hand, exceeds on every pavements. It simply absorbs all those roughness and patholes with ease. Very firm and very supple, in turn, very Mercedes solidty. The ESP has stepped in quite abruptly when pushed hard into a corner. There are some understeer but oversteer is hard to detect, thanks to the instrusive ESP.

Brakes: With 4-wheel discs and standard ABS, the E-Coupe stops exceptionally well given its weight. The stopping distance is short and pedal is easily modulated. The brake pedal actually has some lives when it comes to the travel. ABS doesn’t step in unnecessarily.

Interior: At the back of the E-Coupe, the trunk opening is narrow and liftover is high. It doesn’t have split fold-down rear seats. It only got a ski pass through the center armrest.

For a grand touring coupe, the backseat of the E-Coupe feels rather cramped. There aren’t much legroom and headroom is at a premium.

In the front, however, it got all the spaces that you actually needed it. The leather seats are firm and supportive, as with Mercedes tradition. Instrumentation gauges are clear and analog. It got everything you expect from a Mercedes. The use of materials and fit-and-finish are of high standards. Both the climate control and stereo are easy to figure out

Conclusion: If you are in search of a coupe that has a sporty driving experience, the E-Coupe definitely not your cup of tea. On a contrary, if you are looking for a luxury cruiser with Mercedes ambience and cachet. The E-Coupe would suit both your needs and wants.

OVERALL VERDICT FOR 2010 Mercedes E550 Coupe
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Performance: 4.5/5
Handling and ride/fun-to-drive: 3/5
Interior/ergonomics/user-friendliness: 4/5
Fit-and-finish/build quality: 4/5
Cargo/accessibility/layout: 2/5
Value-for-money: 3/5

Overall rating: 3/5