1994 E60 TEST DRIVE

[ceed09]

Word got around here that I am in the market for an E60. The one that I am currently close to buying in Japan will have to wait until I get the necessary permit to import a used car to the Philippines. To much red tape in our country.

So I got a call from an agent yesterday that an E60 owner who has 2 identical ones wanted to sell one. The 94 E60 car is silver with Evo wheels. The car has 133,000 kms on the odometer and its not a very clean car inside and out. In fact, the interior needs some TLC to get it back to almost new condition and the engine needs a good clean-up and detailing to make it presentable.

Anyway, I still took the car for a spin and the minute I floored the throttle, the cars just took off at an alarming pace. The torque is awesome and I got it to 250KPH in no time. The car just love to accelerate hard.

The test drive really made me want an E60 all the more. I just got blown away at how hard the car accelerated. I can best describe it as brutal.

 

[need2speed]

Where are they located and what price?

 

[gsxr]

Your description makes me lust after a 6.0L even more! Some day... sigh...

 

[ceed09]

Where are they located and what price?

The car is in the Philippines and the owner wants $50K. Its expensive because of the stiff import tax that we have to pay to bring in a used vehicle.

I am told that the car is rarely driven by the owner and is normally used only to bring his Great Dane dog to the vet driven by his chauffeur! Lucky dog.

Anyway I am still reminded by the explosive acceleration of the E60 that almost gave me a whiplash. Mind blowing indeed.

 

[michel]

Anyway I am still reminded by the explosive acceleration of the E60 that almost gave me a whiplash. Mind blowing indeed.

The best comes from 100-200


[youtube]Qj_yXq0z88I[/youtube]

 

[195910]

The car is in the Philippines and the owner wants $50K. Its expensive because of the stiff import tax that we have to pay to bring in a used vehicle.

I am told that the car is rarely driven by the owner and is normally used only to bring his Great Dane dog to the vet driven by his chauffeur! Lucky dog.

Anyway I am still reminded by the explosive acceleration of the E60 that almost gave me a whiplash. Mind blowing indeed.

What! huge dogs in an E60! This is outrageous !!

Ceed09, why pay $50K for an E60 that a dog pooped in, Just have your car converted to 6.0L by one of the tuning House. MKB do it for 20K euro. Vath do it for even less.

This reminds me of Truimph the insult dog: Yes I think its a very good car...For me to poop on !!

 

[ceed09]

What! huge dogs in an E60! This is outrageous !!

Ceed09, why pay $50K for an E60 that a dog pooped in, Just have your car converted to 6.0L by one of the tuning House. MKB do it for 20K euro. Vath do it for even less.

This reminds me of Truimph the insult dog: Yes I think its a very good car...For me to poop on !!

Come to think of it, the E60's interior does smell like dog poop and the dog's hair is all over the place. I just feel bad for the car. Nevertheless, I did'nt notice the smell during the test drive cuz I was having so much fun blasting the E60 from 0-250 kph over and over again. Very addicting.

 

[195910]

Come to think of it, the E60's interior does smell like dog poop and the dog's hair is all over the place. I just feel bad for the car. Nevertheless, I did'nt notice the smell during the test drive cuz I was having so much fun blasting the E60 from 0-250 kph over and over again. Very addicting.

It is addictive, have a look at this:

[youtube]6owFtffVuZk[/youtube] ==> 523,624 views !!

[youtube]RXrt-Q3ARQQ[/youtube] ==>227,000 views !!

 

[Christian_K]

The test drive really made me want an E60 all the more. I just got blown away at how hard the car accelerated. I can best describe it as brutal.

Anyway I am still reminded by the explosive acceleration of the E60 that almost gave me a whiplash. Mind blowing indeed.

Haha, well thats nice to read. Where you already driving a 500E before or what car are you driving normally? (power-wise)
I'm just asking because of 2 things.

1. I know the direct comparison of good running 500Es to E420s (in W124) and despite the fact that the 500E "only" has 70-80NM more torque and ~50HP more than the E420, it feels for me at least twice of that Numbers.
Now the E60AMG's true power (around 400HP/600NM Torque) is around 120NM more torque and ~75HP more than the 500E and if that also feels twice that much, it would be already tremendous feeling, as the 500E is already much fun.

2. Unfortunately i never driven and/or co-driven any other M119 displacements than 4.2L and 5.0L and i even never driven/co-driven a V12 M120 6.0L, however some years ago as i was still driving a nice little Mercedes 190E 2.6L straight-six (160HP, 220NM Torque), i had the chance to co-drive a W211 E55AMG Kompressor and believe me or not, as i was reading your comments i quoted above, this experience instantly came back into my mind.
Brutal, Insane, Shocking and whatnot are the words i would still describe this beast as. Seriously 476HP and over 700NM of Torque or whatever numbers that machine has (people claim true numbers are over 500HP and 750NM, thats why MB later raised the numbers in other cars), were so shocking as if you have a car-crash, just in the moment as the driver was flooring the pedal.

It is impressive what a tremendous force is there, playing literally "car-toy" with this almost 2 Tonnes heavy car. So far this was the strongest car i was co-driving and still the most impressing.
If the Feeling of a 6L M119 in a W124 chassis is coming anywhere close to that feeling, i would be sold and a 6L displacement would be the next thing i would save my money for in the upcoming years.

 

[ceed09]

Haha, well thats nice to read. Where you already driving a 500E before or what car are you driving normally? (power-wise)
I'm just asking because of 2 things.

1. I know the direct comparison of good running 500Es to E420s (in W124) and despite the fact that the 500E "only" has 70-80NM more torque and ~50HP more than the E420, it feels for me at least twice of that Numbers.
Now the E60AMG's true power (around 400HP/600NM Torque) is around 120NM more torque and ~75HP more than the 500E and if that also feels twice that much, it would be already tremendous feeling, as the 500E is already much fun.

2. Unfortunately i never driven and/or co-driven any other M119 displacements than 4.2L and 5.0L and i even never driven/co-driven a V12 M120 6.0L, however some years ago as i was still driving a nice little Mercedes 190E 2.6L straight-six (160HP, 220NM Torque), i had the chance to co-drive a W211 E55AMG Kompressor and believe me or not, as i was reading your comments i quoted above, this experience instantly came back into my mind.
Brutal, Insane, Shocking and whatnot are the words i would still describe this beast as. Seriously 476HP and over 700NM of Torque or whatever numbers that machine has (people claim true numbers are over 500HP and 750NM, thats why MB later raised the numbers in other cars), were so shocking as if you have a car-crash, just in the moment as the driver was flooring the pedal.

It is impressive what a tremendous force is there, playing literally "car-toy" with this almost 2 Tonnes heavy car. So far this was the strongest car i was co-driving and still the most impressing.
If the Feeling of a 6L M119 in a W124 chassis is coming anywhere close to that feeling, i would be sold and a 6L displacement would be the next thing i would save my money for in the upcoming years.

I do have a 92 500e for comparison and likewise a 2000 E55. The E55 feels a bit quicker but the torque of the E60 is much better specially at slower speeds. There is no flat spot all the way to redline.

 

[Christian_K]

I do have a 92 500e for comparison and likewise a 2000 E55. The E55 feels a bit quicker but the torque of the E60 is much better specially at slower speeds. There is no flat spot all the way to redline.

Ok, so do i get it right that the E55 from 2000 (W210) feels quicker than the E60???

I can't believe that, i've saw Videos and i read a nice writing in some german MB-Forums where a guy has written a homage to the M119.
In this Homage he compared his proper maintained 500E to a E55 W210 and he told that the 500E goes "better" especially on higher RPM

Would you say the E60s feeling is tremendous different from a 500E?

 

[michel]

Compare the 100-200 time of my car to the E55 AMG of a friend of mine, also 0-100 mine is faster but we dont have a video. Also added a movie of a stock 500e.

E60
[youtube]Qj_yXq0z88I[/youtube]

500e
[youtube]d1MefJBnuEk[/youtube]

E55 W210
[youtube]N03vv-EVJ3w[/youtube]

 

[Christian_K]

Compare the 100-200 time of my car to the E55 AMG of a friend of mine, also 0-100 mine is faster but we dont have a video. Also added a movie of a stock 500e.

E60
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qj_yXq0z88I

500e
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1MefJBnuEk

E55 W210
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N03vv-EV ... r_embedded

Well... that depends always on the maintenance of the car and of course how its driven. Too many people for instance still don't know that with pressed kick-down, the car revs to 6300RPM and goes better! ;-)

The 500E in your second Video isn't the quickest one i would say, it takes ~23seconds to 200kph.
Other Videos i saw and 500Es that i had test-driven with new stock-tires, took around flat 20 Seconds to 200Kph (granted - fuel-tank was always pretty empty and i was driving alone).
Example see: [youtube]CBZLsEMth-Y[/youtube] (no its not me driving and neither its my car!)

To summarize:
- Your E60 takes ~10seconds from 100kph to 200kph
- The E55 W210 in your Video Takes ~10 seconds from 115kph to 200kph
- 500E takes 12-13 seconds from 100kph to 200kph

E60 is best, clearly.... But now the question is which one is better, 500E or E55AMG ?

 

[michel]

To summarize:
- Your E60 takes ~10seconds from 100kph to 200kph
- The E55 W210 in your Video Takes ~10 seconds from 115kph to 200kph
- 500E takes 12-13 seconds from 100kph to 200kph

E60 is best, clearly.... But now the question is which one is better, 500E or E55AMG ?

For me there no question about it the 500e is the better car in every means.

 

[ceed09]

ok, so do i get it right that the E55 from 2000 (W210) feels quicker than the E60???

I can't believe that, i've saw Videos and i read a nice writing in some german MB-Forums where a guy has written a homage to the M119.
In this Homage he compared his proper maintained 500E to a E55 W210 and he told that the 500E goes "better" especially on higher RPM

Would you say the E60s feeling is tremendous different from a 500E?

Maybe the E60 was a bit tired and needed a good tune-up. Torque wise its really hard to discern. However, the 500E and E60 feels more solid than the E55 which lacks the build quality compared to the W124s.

 

[PT10PDK]

I had a 1999 E55 and the build quality of the 500e is significantly better. Is the E55 faster than a 500e ... of course. I do believe a lot of this has to do with the transmission.

But if you want that solid build feel, there really is no comparison.

 

[DrP]

E60 is best, clearly.... But now the question is which one is better, 500E or E55AMG ?

As an owner of both E55/E500 I have to admit that those are really two different cars. The handling is different as is the subjective driving feeling. Accelerationwise in CA traffic there is not much of a difference althought the E55 is really limitless in regards to torque under normal driving circumstances. The E500 just lies better on the road and conveys the "tank" feeling in a better way. I am deadly afraid of what electronics can fail in the E55, the E500 is simpler in this regard = better. As a long term daily driver the 500 is surely the better choice I think. Just for weekend fun or if you want to win autobahn games the E55 is the winner. I drive 40000miles/y on the 500 and 3000 on the E55, by choice, that says it for me.

A friend of mine (Steve with the W124 repair shop in San Jose) drives a W210 E60, one of three in the U.S. He bought it at an auction, it was imported by a German and required a special type/engine DMV registration. Torque yes, plentiful. But he had a serious problem with it when the tip of a plug broke off and ruined the piston. Only he (as an experienced mechanic) could do the repair (= rebuild the engine), otherwise you have to have a rich inheritance. I saw him having to measure and draw the head gasket on some material by himself. This made me a little suspicious about the six liter, it's not a frequent engine (like the M119 or M113 5.5. AMG) so repairs are expensive and you have to order some parts from Stuttgart where I suspect they have not many on the shelves either.

There was a 6.2l too (for the W210):

6.0 32V AMG V8 381 PS (280 kW; 376 hp) 570 N·m (420 lb·ft) M119.985
6.2 32V AMG V8 405 PS (298 kW; 399 hp) 616 N·m (454 lb·ft) M119.985

 

[need2speed]

But he had a serious problem with it when the tip of a plug broke off and ruined the piston. Only he (as an experienced mechanic) could do the repair (= rebuild the engine), otherwise you have to have a rich inheritance. I saw him having to measure and draw the head gasket on some material by himself. This made me a little suspicious about the six liter, it's not a frequent engine (like the M119 or M113 5.5. AMG) so repairs are expensive and you have to order some parts from Stuttgart where I suspect they have not many on the shelves either.

That's a big part of the reason I walked away from an W210 E60 that was available locally. Perhaps hard-earned wisdom, perhaps just getting too old for the hassle ;-0