Modern, sleek, luxurious, powerful; The 2017 Mercedes-Benz E400 embodies these in every detail. The car is able to park itself, drive itself (autonomous driving), change lanes on demand and scream to a stop from a 100km/hr without you having to touch the brake, and that’s just a drop in the ocean. PAUSE, in uppercase of course. I doubt if that is applicable on Kenyan roads, perhaps on the expressway. Any attempt toreplicate this on Thika road will lead you to wasting a lot of time at either Muthaiga police station or Kasarani police station with a dented car trying to solve a case between you and a police officer, and a Githurai bus driver if you were lucky enough to stop him from fleeing. Kenyan roads are a hustle to drive on. This analogy could seem quite far-fetched, however, it could be a reality.

Driving

Okay, back to business. From my perspective, it is the car that takes you for a spin, not the other way round. The German machine houses a 3.0l Bi-turbo V6 engine that churns out 329hp at 5,200 r.p.m .The car has a 4Matic all-wheel drive set-up. My short-lived experience driving this car was out of this world, extraterrestrial, celestial. The torque is superb, (354 lb-ft @1,600 r.p.m). Being a chap who drives a lazy yet charismatic Toyota Corolla 110, the drive quality was amazing. 0-100 km/hr real quick, well that’s 5.2 seconds to be precise The 9G-Tronic automatic gearbox gives a smooth driving experience. The gear shift is effortless. No jerking, hesitation or slipping. The response is great.

Safety Features

With great power comes great responsibility. In this case, with great power comes great safety measures put in place. Euro NCAP ( The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) is a European voluntary car safety performance assessment programme based in Leuven), gave this car a five-star rating out of the possible five. Standard safety features include the: anti lock brakes, stability and traction control, a driver drowsiness monitor, front-seat side airbags, front pelvic airbags, side curtain airbags, a driver knee airbag, seatbelt pretensioners which automatically tighten seat belts to place the occupant in an optimal position during a collision with an aim of reducing impact and injury. The vehicle also has anti-whiplash head restraints which actively react to rear collision forces and cradle the occupants head in an effort to reduce the likelihood of a whiplash injury. My main deal clincher is the stability control which automatically senses when the vehicle’s handling limits have been exceeded and reduces engine power and/or applies select brakes to help prevent the driver from losing control of the vehicle. What’s yours?

Fuel Consumption

With the current astronomical fuel prices, a car that sips on fuel is a great “asset”. Well, depending on how you drive or who’s driving; the 2017 Mercedes-Benz E400 can give you an estimated consumption of about 9.5 km/l in the town/urban setting and a great 16km/l on the highway. That’s quite impressive! Economical and classy in one sentence!

Interior

Though subjective, the 2017 Mercedes-Benz E400 interior reveals cutting-edge styling and redefined technology. The central infotainment screen extends from the instrument panel, as also seen in the S-Class sedans. The two front seats are separated by a leather and piano black console. You also get to enjoy the panoramic sunroof. There’s also plenty of legroom for the backseat passengers. If you are a CEO; busy, always surrounded by a sense of urgency, you could easily pull out your laptop, respond to emails, make the deal-sealing calls from the comfort of the rear left seat as your trusted driver moves you around. This analogy is not far-fetched this time, but quite practical.

Cost

Fortunately enough, we have a similar unit retailing for only KES 7,200,000 at our showroom along Ngong’ road, near Junction mall. You can also contact us on +254705798117 for any assistance or booking a test drive.