Look mum, no top
Dropping the top and having fun was all in a day’s work for Vani Naidoo
SComfort
On the road
OMETIMES it is nice to just jump into a car, slump into your seat and relax those shoulders into the supportive surrounds. Just breathe, close your eyes for the briefest of seconds and just forget about the million and one things that demand your attention in the day ahead.
You can do that in the Mercedes-Benz E250 Cabriolet, in style. For a little moment you can dwell on luxury, happy in the knowledge that your coffee cup will fit in the holder, there will be speed on hand when you need to nip into the unrelenting traffic, your tunes will be loud and clear and it will do exactly what it says on the box. The interior of the E250 Cabriolet bears the mark of Mercedes-Benz with switch gear and general layout mirroring that of the other vehicles in the German manufacturer’s stable.
Modern and luxurious it exchanges certain funk for measured efficiency and is comfortable with that. Attention to detail is second to none and can be found in the contrasting seat stitching which matches the carpet edging and seatbelts.
Thought has been given to the positioning of buttons with the operating gear for lowering and raising the roof cleverly disguised in the centre console. Seats are very supportive and wide enough to hold you should you chose to be adventurous around corners.
They are easily adjustable too and finding the perfect driving position is a cinch.
Legroom in the back seat is somewhat dependent on the generosity of the occupants in front and with the roof up, head room would also be a problem for taller folk. Boot space is restricted because it has to accommodate the roof but it is long enough to hold a largish grocery shop. The E250 Cabriolet is a better example of accomplished laid back driving in style than a speedy sporting frenzy.
It feels smooth and sturdy with definite poise and agility when needed.
The upgraded 2.0-litre four-cylinder engines works well with the seven-speed automatic transmission offering a stellar performance with little need to boast.
The E250 Cabriolet is graceful at low inner city speeds and suburban streets negotiation along with tricky roundabouts and school traffic can be handled with ease. It also shines on the open road using the taller gears to easily increase speeds when needed which is a welcomed ability when you have to pass a number of cars and don’t have much time to do it in.
It is pretty quiet despite the soft top and there is little doubt you will seek out longer journeys just to experience its comforts.
The roof opens and closes easily and quickly at speeds up to 40kmh and the Aircap draught-stop system ensures a quieter more comfortable ride for all occupants.
What do you get?
The E250 Cabriolet comes equipped with its fair share of gear.
Among the features are keyless entry, heated seats, 360 degree reversing camera, LED intelligent light system with adaptive high beam assist, COMMAND online multimedia system with internet browser and combines all audio, telephone and navigation functions, automatic climate control, a neck heating system for front seats and eco start-stop function just to name a handful.
Safety is five-star and features 11 airbags, ABS with adaptive brake system, collision prevention assist, steering assist, blind spot assist, active lane steering, parking assist including parktronic and attention assist.
Other options
There are a few luxury options pounding this pavement with most competition probably coming from the new BMW 4 Series Convertible (from $97,500), Audi A5 Cabriolet (from $101,900), the Volvo C70 (from $61,640) and the Lexus IS250C F-Sport (from $76,600).
Practicality
Look this is hardly the ideal family car, in fact it is plainly designed to carry two in the utmost comfort.
However, if you do have to use the back seat it is better suited to children, even though the car seats are a bit painful to set up and entry and exit is easy enough.
The superior roof mechanisations facilitate ease of use while heated seats and neck vents makes it possible to drop the roof on cooler days too. Without being too picky we found the steering wheel with a number of stalks and associated controls a bit too cluttered.
Running costs
We took our E250 Cabriolet test car on a fair number of long highway trips during our week and found that it hovered pretty close to the claimed 6.5 litres/100km.
We dare say that number will creep up if you tend to do shorter trips. Mercedes offers a three-year unlimited kilometres new vehicle warranty and a pre-paid or pay-as-you-go service plan for up to
five years or 125,000km.
Funky factor
Changes to the E250 Cabriolet include single piece LED headlights, extra chrome on the bumpers and a revised lower air-intake.
We like the muscular yet sport stance, the contrasting fabric roof and the bold look-at-me lines.