I recently came from a test drive of the all-new Hyundai Sonata sometime ago and I was quite impressed with what the car had and what it had to offer its driver and passengers. It had all the bells and whistles. It had Navigation from a Papago based system as well as Waze installed into its ANDROID based infotainment unit. Being an ANDROID based system with cellular data hooked onto it meant that it had normal radio as well as internet based entertainment and software like Spotify for your to listen to your favourite songs. Aside from music, navigation and a whole lot more entertainment, the Sonata came equipped with lots of creature comforts like power windows, electrically adjustable seats, rain sensing wipers, auto lights and a whole lot more. The only thing left for us to do is drive them to where we want to go and when you did that, you would be entertained. And all of this in a mid-priced full sized sedan. Not top of the line luxury brand mind you, just something mid-sized family 

It occured to me that we have come to expect so much from our cars these days and it was actually a good thirty five years or so ago, cars were still sold without a radio here in Malaysia. In the early 1980s when you walked into a showroom and bought a car you'd find that your car had an engine (usually underpowered), four wheels and some doors. Your hands were called into play when changing gears and for winding down windows. The winding down window part we have now taken for granted with the advent of power windows was a manual hand wound affair those days. Only some large Japanese cars  and some European models offered this on option.  In fact, air-condition was an option too.

See those things on the doors in front of the armrests? Those, my dear chap, are window winders. Note the velour seat trim too!!!!

I think the best way for me to put the point through is for me to talk about something as prestigious as a Mercedes Benz W123 which sold from the 1970s to the mid 1980s. Even then the Mercedes Benz name was synonymous with prestige, luxury and success. But buy a W123 200 sedan and you get a paltry 2.0liter engine with 93hp, four speed manual transmission, a large clock in place of a rev counter and no power windows. A radio was optional. It costed more than a Japanese Datsun 260c of the time which had a more powerful 2.6liter engine and had power windows too. Of course, no one wanted a big Datsun in those days unless it was a company car. Those that had money, bought the Benz. Plain and underpowered as it was. 

And it was plain. It had a boxy exterior that lasted until 1985. By the early 1980s, cars were already starting to go wedge shaped or slightly rounded. It was still upright and stodgy even when its BMW competitor, the 5 series was all shark nosed and pointy. Somehow, that exterior is now more classical and styling than the shark nosed E21/E28 BMW 5 series these days.

Its interior was spartan. It had a steering wheel (in plastic, not even in leather for most specs) and a long gear stick. There was minimal wood or decorative stripping too. It came stock in MBTEX vinyl or velour cloth interior. Leather was an expensive option that was seldom taken. With MBTEX, plastic steering wheel and without option wood, the car, aside from maybe the optional Becker radio (seldom installed in a Malaysian sold car) was totally spare on the inside. 

In fact, if you bought the larger w123 230 model, you'd get the same thing, with maybe a rev counter in place of the large clock and a larger 2.3liter engine. You'd still need to wind up your own windows in the higher priced car. But what a car it still was, the W123. You felt like you were sitting in a bank vault. Its doors closed with a satisfying thunk. It rode with poise. It took its time to reach 100km/h though with only 93hp from its carburetted 2.0liter engine but the engine was understressed and once at speed took about a leisurely gait on either the motorway or the small B-roads. The suspension was supple and mechanical refinement was better than average for its time. It partly was so comfortable as the car only had so little horsepower to handle. 

It's no wonder that the car that senior government servants and local businessmen wanted to own or be seen in. So it was plain, inside and out and had adequate power only. Somehow, luxury those days did not mean lots of gadgets and gizmos or even a glitzy interior. Or a 0-100kmh time of under 9 seconds (minimum). Those days the 200 petrol might have done 100kmh in around 16 seconds. But no one cared. They bought the car for what it stood for and how actually refined it was. You wanted to waft leisurely in one, in relative comfort rather than being pinned to the seats or sliding around under acceleration or cornering. Drive one today and it would still feel like a tank. It was very well built.

Maybe if you compare that old girl to the latest W212 Mercedes Benz E-Class, a similarly classed car from today that you find that everything has changed. You get IPOD/IPHONE Connectivity, RDS radio, reverse/park sensors, collision sensors, dual climate control, cruise control, auto lights and wipers, a lot of wood or aluminium trimming and a whole lot of perceived luxury. There are tons of switches and buttons compared to the spartan W123 interior (pictured below). And the entry level E200 now has 184hp  instead of 93hp. So the ride is firmer to help compensate for the added power. You can waft in the new car, but it isnt as supple as the old girl which has only ninety over horses to deal with. Of course it corners better, it quieter and has all the electronic gadgetery that you ever want or need. And things you never thought you'd need too.

In fact, gone are the days where even luxury cars were austere, or spartan. I sometimes long for a luxury car where you only get the basics. An adequately powered unstressed 2.0liter engine that allows for a comfort tuned suspension like from the days gone by, a basic radio player (with maybe a USB input), stalks to operate lights and wipers but nothing else electric -  windows and seats all mechanically operated. This means wipers and lights that you have to operate yourselves, a manual gear shifter or if that isn't possible, a conventional 5 speed automatic gearbox that is essentially maintenance free (unlike say a 6,7,8,9 speed gearbox or a cvt or a dual clutch thingy) and nothing else. Four wheels and some doors but with superb materials used for all major components and fabulous build quality. That's about it. Maintenance for this car would be cheap too as nothing electronic is there to go wrong.

This is about stripping down luxury driving to its essentials. It is about getting its occupants from A to B in comfort and nothing else. Maybe for entertainment the radio and its stations would suffice. GPS is handled by roadsigns and a map. The hands operate everything required instead of everything dependent on systems. Austere luxury is what we don't get these days. I doubt this can happen anytime soon as most of us are spoilt by all the comforts that electrics give us. Even sports cars these days have tons of electrics and controls. Could it be one day be possible again? Luxury without electronics?

The prices of residential property in and around the Klang Valley is starting to sound ridiculous. A few years ago you could get a double story terrace house in Petaling Jaya for about RM400,000. I recently stopped by a developer's showroom for an condominium project located in Ara Damansara where I currently reside. The thousand and a bit more square foot apartment was priced in the region of Seven Hundred Thousand Ringgit. So from a few short years half a million Ringgit now gets you a studio apartment and nothing much else. So the question you have to ask is that what could I buy with RM400,000.00? A Mercedes Benz actually since a house is out of the question.

Anyway, I recently made myself available for a long test drive of the newly facelifted 2013 Mercedes Benz E-Class. The car I had my hands on for a while was an E250 courtesy of the people who sold me my C180 and I have to say that this car is a proper Mercedes Benz and more. Surprisingly more.

Mercedes Benz had changed about 2000 parts in order to make this new E-class what it is today. I believe that it is one of the most comprehensive mid-life make over we've ever seen in a car. The exterior gets a totally new front end which loses the split headlights and in our Malaysian market, also loses the traditional Mercedes Benz grille for the sportier Avantgarde variant which has a large Three Pointed Star right smack in the middle of the grille. The sides loses the 'ponton' arches which somehow makes the car look a whole lot younger and less 'uncle-like' than before. The rear gets totally integrated rear end with built in exhaust tailends. The car also sits on slightly lowered springs in the Avantgarde format and rides on 245series 18 inch tyres on nice looking 5 spoke wheels (It looks a little small though, but after trying the car out I believe this offers the best compromise between looks and ride comfort). Then add the headlight unit with its unique LED driving lights the car looks like a car that's meant for someone a whole lot younger and cooler. It no longer looks like the car your grandfather or that very old uncle of yourswould want to drive.

Chocolate Brown leather makes the car extremely cozy. Too bad it isn't showing in the photograph.

The interior gets some changes which I like too. It gets the gearshift moved to the steering column like the Mercedes Benz S-class. You now have a centre console that has more space for storage and more space for your arm to rest as well as look less cluttered and elegant too. The air vents are now aluminium unlike previously and this is a good thing. There is a clock in the middle of it ala S-class and with the leatherette wrapped dashboard it looks all pomp and expensive like a Mercedes Benz S-class. I somehow like this balance of traditional and modern. You get hip looks on the outside and a whole lot of traditional on the inside. I like this mix as the interior is a heck of a nice place to be after a day's work. The seats are large, easy to get comfortable in with its multitude of adjustments and spot on in terms of ergonomics. Everything is nice to the touch and there's a nice weight to all of its controls. 

The most important change in this new E250 E-class is the engine. From a 1.8liter turbocharged engine, the E250 now gets a 2.0liter turbocharged direct injection engine that makes 211bhp and about 350Nm of torque. Both figures are up slightly and while it is strange that in an era where everyone downsizes, Mercedes has gone up 200cc for the E-class.

It also has a whole lot of features. Naming them all will take ages so I am going to state what impresses me. The first thing that I like is the PreSafe collision warning system. It will detect whether you are too close to the car in front and give a beep. It will also lock your brakes 0.6seconds before you hit the car in front of you if your foot is still on the accelerator. It basically tries to protect you if you suddenly decide to become really stupid. It does work as when I drove the car it started to beep when I got too close to the car in front of me.

The next thing that impressed me a whole lot is that this car has Park Assist. It can park by itself in both parallel and the L shape reverse park. All you have to do is keep your foot on the brake pedal to modulate if you can't trust the car doing so. I believe only Ford offers (only parallel parking) on its Focus but this is the first for a luxury brand to offer so. Upon trying it out it was a marvel to let the car park for you.

Aside from the two mentioned above, you get the usual Mercedes Benz safety systems and other goodies. If one were to list down everything, one would have very tired fingers from typing and explaining everything to you people out there. Just trust me, the Mercedes Benz E250 has everything you don't need and more. Or was it everything you need and more. This depends on your point of view.

Actually this car is surprisingly good to drive. Once you're seated in the E250 and comfortable it actually feels like any other Mercedes Benz sedan that came before this when inside it. The park brake is still foot operated with a hand release like most Mercedes Benzes. I like this feature as it is a purely mechanical brake system and does not use an electronic switch like Audis or Bentleys. This is something that some motoring journalists complain about as they say it is a clumsy system and so on. I like it as it has no electronic parts to go wrong. The only drawback is if you bought a manual (not on sale here) or you like to use a hand operated brake to do a handbrake turn. But this is a Mercedes Benz. You don't do handbrake turns on a Mercedes Benz.

The column operated gearshift is a doodle to use. Select D and you're off. You can have three modes to change gears. There is an Economy mode, which I like using in city driving as throttle response is relaxed and gearchanges aren't as urgent as in Sport mode, which feels suitable when you're in the mood for a more spirited drive. You can use the manual mode to shift gears, running through all of the 7G-tronic's gears via the pedal shifters located behind the steering wheel. No, not as rapid as those in an Audi or a BMW but good enough as I can bet that any owner would use such a function once a month or maybe never.

When you're wafting around town the E250 does it very well. Better than a BMW 5series when it comes to ride comfort – the E250 comes with standard steel springs and usual fixed non-adjustable dampers that have no electronic modes of adjustments. Good for long term reliability. It however isn't as quiet as the equivalent Lexus, the GS series which is so silent that one should whisper when talking to the person beside you. The tyre roar in the E250 is subdued with the occasional tyre clobber over rough surfaces. But aside from this, coupled to the overall ambiance of the cabin, the E250 is a car one can drive and feel good for hours without feeling fatigued. 

The steering is precise and very sharp when you want it to be. I find it easy to place the E250 where I want to be. In fact when it came to response, the E250 could even be thrown into a corner with some abandon as the steering is actually fast enough. It is electro-mechanical though and it lacks some feeling because of it. You can't really complain as soon most cars will have the electrically assisted steering. It's the new standard and not much can be done about it. Having said that, I have to say that the steering is accurate, but if you wanted a little more steering feel, the current Mercedes C-class is better.

The drivetrain is also something impressive. It's a 4 cylinder turbocharged engine and it can somewhat haul this 1680kg rear wheel drive sedan to 100km/h in 7.2seconds. This figure given by the manufacturer feels right when accelerating from the traffic lights. It is supposed to haul the E250 all the way to 243km/h. Pretty impressive figures for a 2.0liter mid-sized luxury sedan. The engine is also smoother and in my opinion quieter than the outgoing 1.8liter M271 that used to sit in the pre-facelift E250. The engine adds to the refinement of this new E-class. The older engine, which is still used in the smaller Mercedes Benz C-class is noisier at higher rpm, and more clattery on idle. No, it's not an AMG V8. So the quieter it is the better.

The best thing is that this car has 350Nm of torque to play with. Fling the E250 hard into a corner and come on the accelerator mid corner causes the tail to promptly assist the car into and through the corner. The steering is fast enough to catch the small slide I caused bringing a smile to my face. With more road I can bet you guys that the E250 is capable of doing some proper powerslides if the owner wishes it to do so. It seems to be a very predictable car to actually drive fast in.

Having said that, the chassis is so good that you could throw in another 50 or 60 horses and 100Nm of torque before things can get scary in one. I always thought that you should leave the cornering in a Mercedes to the small, much nimbler C-class, but this car has proven me wrong. Owners should drive this car and wring outs its neck occasionally. Not for their chauffers to play The Transporter when the boss is away.

The 2013 Mercedes Benz E250 impressed me on many fronts. It looks younger from the outside than any current E-class has ever been but on the inside has that traditional air to it. It may never be as fast as a BMW 528i (which has about 245bhp & a great 8 speed automatic gearbox but rides a little more harshly, looks plainer if there were no Msport version and the controls aren't as tactile as the ones in the Mercedes) nor as stupendously quiet as a Lexus GS300 (which has no soul whatsoever and you could compare this to an electric shaver if you want). I suppose this car has the best balance among the two cars mentioned above.

No, I've not forgotten the Audi A6, I just think that you're better off buying an A4 as it looks the same as the A6 and it isn't a traditional rear wheel drive sedan/saloon, so save your money as it cannot do powerslides – which no one in this category would ever think of doing. Of course the fit and finish in the Audi is as good and it adds a little more glitz to the interior, but I feel the A6 does not bring anything really special to the table in the spec that is sold here in Malaysia – Hybrid A6 aside, as this car is on a price of its own and not in real contention to the Mercedes or even the other cars mentioned herein.

And I have to state again that the E250 is very luxurious in that traditional sort of way on the inside and on this point it is as good as the outgoing W221 S-class (I cannot compare this car with the newly launched W222 S-class as I haven't seen it yet). This is all the luxury you really need actually. The space in the front and in the rear is more than enough to be comfortable. And this Mercedes Benz is a car that still wafts like a proper Mercedes when you want to and when you don't want it to just waft it'll allow you to throw it around through a nice mountain road instead of moan, complain and scream it's tyres off through all of its corners. You won't get sweaty palms driving this Mercedes. This shows that you don't need rock hard suspension to make a car handle, very unlike the Mercedes Benz A200 I drove earlier.

The only drawback is that the E250 costs RM405,888 before any whiff of insurance is added to it. The E200, which is nearly the same car with less power and smaller 17 inch wheels costs RM366,888 before insurance. All the luxury you need folks and I recommend it highly if you can afford it. And forget about buying some stupid small RM700,000 apartment for investment. This car's cheaper.