Articles > printwrite comment

Mercedes-Benz


Mercedes Benz E180 in Egypt – Top or Flop?

Is the recently (and finally) launched 'new' 2017 Mercedes E180 with the 1.6-litre engine worth its money? That has been one of the many questions I have been receiving during the past few weeks, after Mercedes Benz Egypt finally 'returned' to the Egyptian market last month with a 'new' product, namely the Mercedes E-Class which had already been unveiled one year ago for the first time at the 2016 Detroit Motor Show back in January 2016.

And although the Mercedes E-Class market launch in most of the international markets was exactly one year ago in April 2016, Mercedes Benz Egypt was not able to provide any E-Class test-cars or demo-cars until today for an independent review and driving impression on the Egyptian roads.

Therefore I decided to test-drive the E-Class a few months ago and arranged by myself a 2017 Mercedes E200 outside Egypt, which I featured and mentioned briefly on my Instagram and Facebook profile. I tested the E200 as the E180 was not available at that time and will only be available in selected markets such as Egypt and Turkey for the time-being.

So, how was my first driving impression of the 2017 Mercedes E200 with 2000cc and 184 horsepower? Well, to be honest I was not impressed very much with its performance and did not like the sound insulation inside the cabin at all. The E180 with only 1600cc and 156 horsepower will probably impress even less than the E200 unless it has received some major over the past six or seven months, which I honestly doubt. In addition to that the fuel quality and road conditions in Egypt could probably make the driving pleasure even less than it was with the E200 abroad.

And what about the value for money? Well, first of all we did not receive and official press release or any official price list from Mercedes Benz Egypt until this very moment. Of course any Made-in-Germany E-Class will still be much better than a Made-in-Egypt BMW 5series assembled in 6th of October City, but a final verdict can only be made when we test the E180 on the Egyptian roads with the typical and well-known not-so-good road conditions, which of course are completely different than the road conditions in Europe or the GCC countries.

And since we do not publish any advertorials or 'paid' editorials, like it is very common with most newspaper supplements, websites and so-called 'automotive' magazines in Egypt, I will not be able to recommend the E180 to any of our readers or friends until a 2017 Mercedes E180 test-car will be available for an independent test-drive and review. Only then will I know more and will be able to judge if the new 2017 Mercedes E180 is worth its money or not.

Honestly, I am a little bit surprised that Mercedes Benz Egypt did not prepare itself much better for the market launch of the 2017 Mercedes E-Class, especially since I was very optimistic after I met Mercedes Benz CEO Thomas Zorn last year at a lunch and listened to his promising and rather convincing plans for the performance and activities of Mercedes Benz in 2017.

But what surprised me even more than the fact that there were neither any official press releases or official price list for the media nor any official test-cars for the professional automotive media ahead of the launch of the vehicles in the showroom, was the fact that today (09.04.2017) the website of Mercedes Benz Egypt is still featuring the old-shape Mercedes E-Class.

This is definitely not a good start for the Mercedes E-Class in Egypt as we said in a previous article. So, let us hope Mercedes Benz in Egypt will stay 'the best or nothing'.

MS
09.04.2017
Cairo – Dubai - Stuttgart


write comment

Readers Comments:

No comments yet


Related articles:

#SaferCarsForEgypt

The biggest automotive group and Road Safety initiative in Egypt and the Middle East
Want to sell your used car or buy one? Then check out our new used car market section here!

Mohamed Sheta on social media:

Looking for a good service center or aftersales customer service? Did you have any bad experience with your car dealer or service center? Then check our 'automotive evaluation charts' here!

Latest Test-Drive Video and CEO Interview



Ford EcoSport Titanium Test-Drive ... Part 1

Nile TV

Mohamed Sheta
LIVE ON AIR
Every Wednesday in The Breakfast Show on
NILE TV INTERNATIONAL
8.30am – 09.00am LIVE

MOHAMED SHETA
LIVE ON AIR

Every Thursday
on Egypt's most influential radio network:
Radio DRN 93.7 FM
Live from 6-8pm


Radio DRN 93.7 FM

Autoarabia Group @ Facebook.com


Join Autoarabia Group @ facebook.com
...cars, racing, tuning and events in Egypt and Middle East
Is Egyptian car market corrupt or collapsing?
Is the Egyptian car market collapsing or is it just a corrupt and unprofessional car market? This is surely one of the most asked questions these days. Everybody is asking ...

FORMULA 1

AutoArabia Consulting

Only for company requests. For readers letters and complaints kindly click here

International Engine of the Year Award

Middle East Car of the Year

MECOTY 2019

IRF seminar

Road Safety & Public/Private Partnership
International Road Federation