The Legendary W124 Mercedes E Class - My First Drive

Ever since I filmed the 600 SEL on the channel, I've been getting requests to shoot that car's smaller sibling, the W124 - aka the first E Class. Well, now I have!

#Mercedes #W124 #E320

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[EinkOLED]

I would appreciate a tour of the cabin in these reviews.

[MultiMerryweather]

Its not a sports car and was never designed as such! I've had 8 W124's in my 34 years on the road and despite many Range Rovers, a Volvo or two, 2 big Fords and all sorts of other nonsense, I keep coming back to these outstanding Mercs. Although getting rare in good order, they will just keep giving. There are many examples around the world with over a million miles on the clock and many of these are Taxis. You have to ask the question why!!!!
We will never ever see build quality like this again. They are not faultless (biodegradable wiring harness!) but unless you can afford a new car with a long extensive warranty and also like looking like every other car on the road, the W124 has no equal (in my opinion). They have character, great road manners, a dependable, relaxed aura and are as comfortable and poised as you could possible want. An estate version will swallow wardrobes and fold totally flat, a cabriolet will make you feel like every journey in the sunshine is in Monaco. Get adventurous people, ditch the dross and the mundane and go find a slice of automotive history.
Sermon over!

[VeeVaa]

The last of the great hand built cars! I own two, 1994 E320 Sedan and 1995 E320 Cabriolet. These are by far the best cars ever produce. Anyone who's ever driven in a W124, the first thing they'll tell you is how smooth the car drives, you don't feel the transmission shift the slightest bit. Thanks for making the video, JayEmm.

[sideshowbob]

From the days when Merc were engineered like no other car

[Kraken]

Built before the accountants took over.

[OmarAbouZied]

I bought my 1995 E320 Coupe in 2005 with 85K miles. The oil gets changed every 3K miles and my next oil change will be due at 320K miles. It's my daily driver and I intend to reach a million miles one day. High mileage is a badge of honor, literally, as I am due for my second High Mileage Certification grille badge noting 500K km to accompany my 250K km grille badge. May the star shine brightly!

[bambychoi]

James, I know the reason behind the wing mirrors as I used to own a W124. The thinking behind the design was to give you better vision of the kerb when parking, cyclists etc on the nearside with a taller mirror, and better vision on the driver's with a wider mirror to see what's coming from behind on the offside.

[chrispoulson]

A thirty minute drive in W124 will tell you nothing about the model. You need to own one and use it throughout a year's driving cycle before you get to appreciate the car's full capabilities.

[flyinghedgehog]

Bought a '95 E280 Masterpiece limited edition of 1000. M104 193 BHP 143 MPH.Plenty fast enough.140k miles drives superbly.Yes the rec ball steering is slightly vague and she rolls quite a bit, as specified new with higher ride height, during spirited cornering.Planning road trip Malaysia to Thailand ...eventually!

[rjscott]

I had an E420 that was decently quick, and out of almost 60 cars owned, was in the top 5 cars I've owned. Bullet proof reliability, and when it was hit by an intoxicated driver going over 60, I walked away without bleeding at all. That car was a lovely drive, classy, didn't have a bunch of "dealer only parts" like my E430, which wasn't as good. It's a car from the days when the luxury was not only in feature count, but in thoughtfulness, durability, the quality of materials, and the quality of construction, all areas where my V8 powered w124 not only excelled, but was the standard all vehicles wished they could achieve. The tooling was even sold off to a Korean car company I believe, because it was just far too good to just die. I'd have another without a second thought.

[gosportjamie]

The first E-Class was the W114/115 chassis series launched in the late '60s, 2 generations prior to this one, though Mercedes-Benz had been making mid-size cars since the '50s, if not before, with the Ponton series and the Fintail. These are amazingly capable cars, a friend of mine has a 1986, very early model, W124 300TD, so 5-cylinder naturally-aspirated diesel (we never got the factory turbo-diesel in the UK as the turbo sat where the steering column went in right-hand drive models) with the estate body, which his dad got as a company car and collected from Mercedes-Benz UK in Milton Keynes. The car has been in constant, high mileage use all its life, bar about 6 months after he inherited it when his dad died when he put it into a Merc specialist for a renovation as it was looking a little tatty. The engine had never been taken apart in the car's life, and only had routine servicing and parts replacement over its life and still ran without fault but he wanted to cure a small weep of oil from the head gasket area which the car had had since it was about four years old, so they pulled the engine out and pulled it apart. After just over 850, 000 miles they could still see the honing marks in the cylinders from when the engine was originally built. The gearbox, unusually for a UK car the 5-speed manual unit, and diff just had the inspection covers removed for inspection and were deemed still well within factory tolerances so they were re-used with just oil changes and new external seals for the sake of preventative maintenance. In the 2 years the car has been back on the road, now looking like brand new again, the car has racked up another 100, 000 miles on his daily commute from Gloucestershire to Didcot and back again, returning the low 30s mpg. The interior on that car, in black MBTex, needed nothing during the refurbishment other than a thorough clean. It's not surprising the diesel W124 was Europe's favourite taxi during its life and well beyond, and there still are plenty of them plying their trade in Spain...

[OliverFreeski]

Mirrors: your ideas are right combined with reduced fuel consumption by having a smaller mirror where not needed. Everything was thought about with these cars.

[Andy-puiv]

Those pillarless 124s are lovely. Nice vid, James but a bit more of the interior would be good in your reviews of luxury cars would be appreciated. As EinkOLED mentioned.

[im_crusty_two]

I find the coupe of this series even more attractive than the SL/SEC. The proportions are wonderful.

[marcnobel]

We had a C124 (Coupe is not W, it starts with C) 300 CE back in the days. Still can remember the first time seeing the Belt Mechanism in Action :-)

[VolkerHett]

A friend of mine bought the 300TE-24 new and his widow is still driving it! Back in the days we drove from Bremen to Munich and back on the same day and felt refreshed when we got home (Ok, slightly overstated 😊) But all the mid range Mercedes, then there where no E, C, B or A class, where made to cover miles and miles and miles wearing a suit to a business meeting and they still are very good in this regard.

[michaelschneider-]

+1. An exceptional vehicle the MB W124 series; I, II and III. . As a '94 E-320 Coupe owner I'm preaching to the crowd.. An uncle ordered the Smoke Silver w/Creme Beige leather coupe new & for the past 6-7 years its been in my care with a condition "as new".. Mercedes... "Engineered Like No Other Car In The World".. Great drive down memory lane Jay.. Thanks!

[samfallow]

Loved my 300E W124 (sold to make way for my current drive). Still miss it.

[msnovtue]

I've been around the same 124 for 32 years, owned and driven it since around 2007.

If you can't catch a freaking Citroen, there is something wrong with the car.

Also keep in mind these cars were designed for German roads-- the acceleration is not best from 0-60 mph, but from 60-120 mph, i.e. for merging on to the autobahn. But even today, with my poor '88 260E being somewhat worse for wear, if you step on the gas at 45 mph or higher, the car feels like it drops, squats, and then takes off like no tomorrow. When I first started driving regularly, if I was in a tight spot on the interstate and got on the gas to get out of it, I found myself about 200 feet further down the road than I expected.
If you want to see a 124 shine, you need to drive it fast. They're almost sluggish at low speeds, but it is way too easy to unintentionally find yourself pushing 90 mph without trying on highways.
The 124 excels also at being the best "compromise" car. It's not a sportscar and was never intended to be, but for a heavy sedan it does very well. But it's also insanely practical--you wouldn't believe the sheer amount of crap you can pack into one. Safety-wise, they're about as good as you can get for a '80s/'90s car.
Yes, there is no such thing as a cheap Mercedes repair. But even with my nearly 35 year old car, it is as reliable as your average 3-5 year old car. Also, I've definitely noticed that if it's done right, once you fix something, it stays fixed.
I got my car by inheriting it from my Dad, a native German who only bought it (at first) because it was cheaper than a new Buick. But Dad knew his cars and took fantastic care of them, so I inherited a very lightly used car in near mint condition. Just like when we first bought it, it continually finds new ways to impress me. They're not perfect, but Mercedes got awfully dang close with the 124.

[zfloz]

It feels more like a luxury car, then some of the 3 or 5 years old Mercedes models.