The Indian Classic, 1994 E-Class

Like most of you, I drive hatchbacks and sometimes cars, a segment or two, above it. So today when I came to know I’ll get to drive the old E-class around, I rushed to the spot. From inside, it was pretty different...the controls for everything from the light stalks to the air-con was unlike the current standards. But nothing that a few minutes of fiddling here and there couldn’t solve. The black leather and wood like dash panelling looked elegant. I personally liked the small analogue watch in the instrument panel.

The car I was driving was a W124 E220 i.e. 2.2l Inline-4 engine producing 150BHP. I put 1^st, the gear lever had a nice tactile feel to it, just went right into the slot desired. Feedback from the clutch and accelerator pedal took a few minutes to get used to. And from there onwards began my journey which made me realize what that 3-pointed star on the hood actually means.

The first thing I noticed was that the car was bulky and its big dimensions were constantly bothering me at the back of my mind. I approached the building gate, and the bored watchman suddenly came into attention and gave me a military like salute. The bumps that had me bobbing all over the place, in my i20 went past like just two small stones. Damn, that was just amazing. Soon I reached the highway and that is where I let all the 150 horses loose. The thing that was worth noticing was that, unlike the hatches there isn’t a sense of urgency when you put your foot down, there is a smooth build up of momentum and the car just effortlessly moves. One look at the speedometer and I've already touched 100kph, it did that in around 10-11 seconds. Far ahead I could see a long flowing corner, from my experience on the potholes, I assumed that here comes a ton of body roll...and to my surprise the car held its composure and gait.

Then I took some horrible interior roads. The car had pretty nice low-end torque, normally at the places where we select 2^nd, this car could easily manage 3^rd and cruise effortlessly. So by now, the brand had been established and so was the engine. In this leg of the journey, what I realised was equally important, the fit and finish of the interiors. Despite going over a bone jarring road, there was absolutely zero rattle from any corner of the car. The only audible noise apart from the blower was the solid ‘thud’ of the suspension. And this was after 16 years of production; I've been in cars that sound much worse even though they were barely 6 years old! By the end of my run, I was pretty accustomed to the braking, power delivery and the cars size, so I had the confidence to throw it around a bit, and damn it was so rewarding!

Now let me come to the practicality of this car. There is tremendous space inside and the boot is very large. The equipment list it comes with, many manufacturers have started giving those in hatches just now. This car/brand is known to have practically no electrical gremlins. And what does it cost? You can easily get your hands on one in about 4-5 lakhs, now that is serious small hatchback money. But the picture isn’t so rosy after all...if any problem arises fixing it will be costly, parts are costly and the car barely gave me an average of around 7-8 kmpl.

So if you want to spend 5 lakhs on your 1^st car, please for heaven sakes look away. If you already own a car or two, this car can be the one for you if you have the courage to maintain it. And if maintained properly, you will definitely reap the benefits, and how! And plus it is a proper rear-wheel-drive car (http://tgmpost.blogspot.com/2010/09/drifting-seriously.html). It is pretty famous abroad, with AMG kits easily available, you know what I am talking about!! I very much liked this car, and many critics who have driven all Mercs have called it ‘last real Mercedes ever made.’

So in the end, I sat back in the i20...as I crossed the building gate, the watchman dint even bother to open the gate properly. The i20 felt like this nifty little mouse, as I missed the poise of the Merc. All hail the W124, The Indian Classic.

-Gaurav Singh