Wheels Australia — June 2017

128 wheelsmag.com.au

Flatmate

Tyre-pressure monitoring is the E43’s only equipment gain

overthehighlyspeccedE400thatsitsatoptheregularE-Class

range. Good thing, too, as the dash readout tells me the rear

lefthaspickedupaslowleak.Justifyingtherestofthe$20K

price premium–E43 over E400 – are an extra 50kW

and 40Nm, AMG brakes and steering components, driveline

and chassis tunes and AMG styling tweaks including pedals,

steering wheel, grille, boot lip and 20-inch alloys.

OurGarage

Our Ryan takes to

the E; serotonin levels

already on the rise

High life

I HAVE no idea how old the average first-

time E-Class owner is, but at 30 years of age

I reckon I’m well ahead of schedule. Even the

bloke at Mercedes-Benz looked at me like I

was a couple of decades early to the party as

he handed over my handsome new Selenite

Grey long-termer. He seemed to think I might

not like it.

But it’s no ordinary E-Class I hold the

key to; it’s a Mercedes-AMG E43, the first

W213 breathed upon by the specialists at

Affalterbach. Bigger turbos and more boost

ramp up the outputs of its 3.0-litre twin-turbo

V6 to 295kW and 520Nm, and I can’t see what

the grumblers in our office mean when they

say it’s not AMG enough.

I managed to sample the E43 before

committing to this inter-generational

relationship, and its level-headed brand

of performance made a positive impression.

I don’t think there’s an AMG sedan as easy

to live with as this one. Its sharper steering

and stronger shove add to the practical

E-Class platform without sacrificing its

greater sense of prestige and comfort over

the smaller, harder-edged – and equally

priced – C63.

So the start of our ‘getting to know you’

phase is full of optimism. Then it hits a snag.

The E43 is almost five metres long – so long

that I have to move a wall of shelving in my

garage before the big unit fits. But it looks

good in there; sophisticated and suave. I find

myself standing at the door admiring the way

it sits just so over its distinctive alloy wheels.

There’s little else outside to identify the E43,

SEAT

SWITCH

Mysterious ‘L’

button adjusts the

passenger seat from

driver’s door. Great

for messing with

friends