AirCaps and AirScarves make top-down driving in Merc’s new E-Cab much less of a hair-raising experience, says Road Test Editor HOWARD WALKER
I know all about sexy four-seater convertibles. I have a 1976 Cadillac Eldorado convertible taking up every inch of my garage at home. Think of it as a Carnival cruise ship on wheels. With the top down, side windows raised and AC blasting, driving it on a balmy Florida night is one of the great joys in life.
But ask a couple of friends to share the joy from the comfort of the Caddy’s massive rear bench seat, and the smiles last maybe, er, a quarter-mile. That’s because at speeds over 40 mph, it’s like sitting with the back of your head to a Delta 767 jet on take-off. Follicles fly every-which-way like Janis Joplin with static!
The folks at Mercedes-Benz know all about hair, or rather air, management. The brand new 2011 E-Class Cabriolet, hitting showrooms right around now, simply annihilates back-seat bad hair.
Its secret is called AirCap. It consists of a small airfoil that can be electrically raised from the top of the windshield to redirect airflow over all four seats. It looks kinda dorky with it raised – as if something is about to break off from the top of the screen – but it’s a small price to pay for unfussed follicles.
So drop the three-layer, inch-thick cloth top, power-up all four windows along with the small glass screen between the rear seat headrests, and with the AirCap raised the in-car tornado is no more. And it really works. At a steady 75 on I-75, those in the back can hold a conversation, listen to tunes and generally feel extremely comfortable and unruffled.
For those frosty winter days – remember those? – the new E-Cab also comes with Mercedes’ brilliant AirScarf that blows toasty warm air to the back of the necks of those sitting up front. Pity you can switch to cold air for Florida summers.
If the Florida mid-day sun becomes too much, a punch of a button will close the power top in just 25 seconds. And you can close it while you’re rolling at speeds up to 25 mph. The only drawback with the top raised is the usual lousy rearward vision.
Mercedes execs have no doubt been asked a million times why they didn’t follow the E’s key rivals – the BMW 3-series and Infiniti G37 – in offering a folding metal roof. The biggest no-nos are the considerable weight of a metal top, along with the complexity of its mechanisms. Plus the big sacrifice in trunk space, especially with the metal top folded.
This fun-to-drive, gorgeous-to-look-at E-Cab comes in two distinct flavors – E350 ($56,850) with a 268 horsepower, 3.5-liter V-6, or E550 ($64,800) with a honking 5.5-liter 382-horse V-8. While the majority of the droptop Es sold Stateside will no doubt be the V-6, it’s worth eulogizing for a second about the 5.5-liter. This thing is a rocketship with the soundtrack of a NASCAR stocker!
Nail the throttle and it’ll lunge off the line, and with paddles shifters shuffling the seven-speed auto, sweep to 60 mph in just 5.1 seconds (top speed is limited to 130 mph). And it’s accompanied by the kind of deep, barrel-chested exhaust rumble that could raise Smokey Yunick from the dead!
Despite being a roomy four-seater, the E Cab’s chassis is as stiff as a crowbar, with major structural reinforcements in the floor pan and screen pillars ensuring a distinct lack of front screen shakes or shimmies. And reserved for the E550 is AMG sports styling, with a more aggressive-looking front fascia, cross-drilled brake rotors and sports-tuned suspension.
The car is a pure joy to drive. No, it’s not a true sports car even with that potent V-8 up front. That role goes to the SLK and SL. But as a means of transporting four in open-air comfort and refinement, it’s nothing less than a true breath of fresh air.
For more information about the new E-Cab and Mercedes-Benz vehicles, please visit
http://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/index