The overall best use of the E420 is not for commuting to work, impressing our mothers, or making sibs jealous. It's for driving as though you were being chased by dogs. Across Montana. If you think high-speed fun is somehow inappropriate for a Mercedes, you've been away. Speed limits are higher now and this car just pleads for a chance to show what it can do.
After its initial tip-in, the E420 has the throttle response of an aircraft carrier catapult. Pushing the pedal to the softly carpeted floor returns a thrilling explosion of acceleration, pushing you back into the seat as the car builds velocity. The cabin fills with the engine's refined snarl and the tachometer's needle climbs toward the redline.
The car comes alive at speed. It has responsive, speed-sensitive rack-and-pinion steering to guide its hefty (3748-pound) bulk around fast corners, an activity that's enhanced by a well-bred independent suspension system, double-wishbones in the front and a five-link arrangement in the rear. The blending of comfortable ride quality with retention of impressive handling characteristics is notable.
BMW's 540i may have a slight edge in absolute handling, but the distinction would be hard to detect on public roads. Though the suspension tuning favors ride quality, we found the car well-balanced in hard cornering and a joy on typical highway curves. There's no wallowing, no indecision at turn-in, and feedback from the steering and through the driver's seat is at once informative and reassuring.
Braking performance, always a Mercedes strong suit, matches the E420's speed potential and then some.
Construction quality is another area where Mercedes has always scored high marks, and in the E420 it's almost off the charts.
If ever it could be believed that a car was machined from a single billet of high-strength steel, this is that car. The doors close so soundly that you'd swear they pressurized the car. Neither road nor wind noise can achieve much of an auditory foothold to mar the driving pleasure.
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