Mercedes has put the company’s flagships together, giving us the chance to test them in their appropriate favorite environments. The all-new E-Class, the brand-new GLC Coupe and the G-Class monster, the electric and hybrid range, but also the AMG variants were the stars of the Mercedes Roadshow 2016 event.
Long gone it is now. But the excellent feeling supplied by the Mercedes range (not that we had thought differently before) stayed with us, as well as the good impression on the whole engined army deployed by Mercedes Romania.
We came out as a storm with the all-new E-Class and its pedestrian detection and automatic braking system that prevents collisions. The old lady made of sponge fitted with a magnetic tape starred in this motion picture, playing the part of the pedestrian. The old lady outlived all tests, which indicates that if you should be taken by surprise by a car rolling like crazy while you are walking on the pedestrian crossing, it would better be a Mercedes E-Class. At speeds of up to 60 km/h, the sudden braking is preceded by braking that only reduces speed, followed by – if the driver fails to ‘’wake up’’, the automatic stop of the car.
The active safety features were next put to the test. With all systems engaged, we were sent onto the testing track: poles, emergency braking, circling on the wet tarmac and obstacle avoidance. The challenge: to get the car off the track in the circular area, wetted by the sprinklers of the Titi Aur Racetrack. The outcome: it was next to impossible! Naturally, along certain sectors, the new E-Class allows you to understeer (if you are way too hopeful when going into corners, with the throttle marginally pressed) or oversteer (if you go flat out), but it is all down to illusion. The systems know exactly when to cut off the power supply or to selectively reduce speed on each wheels, so that the man behind the wheel with racing driver capabilities would not become a sweet memory to his loved ones. For sure, disengaging the systems, anyone can turn into Hamilton himself, but that is not the point. The whole point is that the new E-Class can convert anyone into a better driver than they actually are, partially controlling the grip once it is pushed to the max.
NB: each time it senses danger, the car preventively ”pulls” the safety belts, going into the pre-collision mode. Therefore, all passengers are ready for a possible impact, automatically positioned for the airbags deployment.
That was all for the new E-Class. We move into the off-road now, with the G-Class. If there should be any doubt concerning the off-road capabilities of the model, they should watch the video and multiply the sensation that it provides by 3. Because the feelings that you get inside the car are amplified compared to those in the footage. The car knows its way around traction, and in areas other SUVs agonize with all differentials locked, the G-Class climbs without locking the front and the rear axle.
After a ride onboard the Plug-in Hybrid and the B-Class Electric Drive in traffic, we made our way onto the racetrack (or rather the technical track), together with the AMG range. Right there, we had the pleasure to roll on the apex with four special units: the A 45 4M, the C 43 4M, the GLA 45 4M and the SLC 43. Any remark makes no sense whatsoever.
‘’By this event, we give our clients and customers a brand-new experience, also introducing the brand’s latest models. We thus intend to share with our customers the one-of-a-kind experience of driving a Mercedes-Benz on the race course and the comfort of having all high-end options one fingertip away’‘, says Philipp Hagenburger, CEO & President Mercedes-Benz Romania and Managing Director Passenger Cars.
We say that they have achieved their target, as you can experience on the edge behaviour in full safety conditions provided by the racing course, in real traffic situations, that you will only exceptionally have the chance to live.
Written by: Bogdan Grigorescu (AutoExpert).
