I turned 40 last month and in the last almost quarter
century of having a driver’s license, I have owned more than 20 Mercedes Benz
vehicles and have driven probably twice as many. I’ve driven them all… from a 1967 SL280
Roadster to a 2014 S550 Sedan…. Big or small, convertible, hatchback, sedan,
wagon, SUV, coupe… you name it, I have probably driven it! And without exception, I have always found
something I loved about each Mercedes I’ve driven. Conversely, I have also
found something I hated about every one of them! That never deterred me from owning one, but
it always left something to be desired… and perhaps that partially explains why
I’ve owned so many cars.
Well, that something to be desired was found last week; when
I drove a 2012 E550 Convertible from eCarOne.
And that something I can only refer to as “Completeness.” This time, I could not find something that I
hated about this car! Maybe all the
stars aligned that week or maybe I was in a forgiving mood, or maybe I was just
driving the perfect combination of color, style, technology, and power… yeah, I
think that was it… LOTS of tire shredding power that takes on a whole other
dimension when coupled with top-down open air driving!
I can stop writing here and trust that I have already made
my point. To that, I will not bore you
with detail and in-depth review mumbo jumbo… you can go to YouTube for
that. However, I just want to tell you
why I loved this car so much and why I had a difficult time finding negatives. First, the car is just downright
beautiful. The diamond white color is
really something to be admired… sure there are many car companies that offer a
“pearl” white but not till you compare MB’s diamond white with other “pearls”
side by side that you appreciate the depth and dimension of this special color
treatment. And matched with the
parchment interior leather and beautiful wood trim and this car was screaming
class! Ok, so it’s another pretty
Mercedes… no big deal. Well, that’s
where the “completeness” description comes in.
This was the E550, yes the Big Mama… a 5 Liter V8 that’s
twin turbocharged and mated to an awesome ZF automatic transmission and limited
slip differential. What does that
mean? It means hitting the gas at 30MPH
and still breaking the tires loose!
We’re not talking peeling out at the stoplight… we’re talking peeling
out while already rolling at a good speed… that’s not just power… that’s power
delivery at its best! It’s one thing to
have a high power V8, but it’s another thing to actually be able to deliver the
power to the tires with such brute force.
That takes engineering and a great deal of thought. Let me put it in perspective… the only other Mercedes
that I’ve driven that could do that was a CLK63 Black Series… none other.
Other than fantastic power, this car had everything else
you’d want; effortless power top operation, excellent sound system, ventilated
and heated seats, Bluetooth, backup camera, and even enough room in the
backseat for two young adults and room in the trunk for your golf bag. What else do you want?
I loved this car and I would without question own one. Go check it out if it hasn’t already been
sold to a lucky new owner.