The new Mercedes-Benz E-Class now has a 1.5 engine: very expensive

The W214 family has expanded the range of engines: under the hood of the sedan you can now find a small-displacement “turbo-four” (170 horsepower and 250 Nm). The new basic version of the Mercedes-Benz E 180 is available with two packages (Exclusive and AMG-Line), but only in Turkey! Due to the peculiarities of taxation, the price is impressive: from 4,468,700 liras (equivalent to 137 thousand dollars).

Mercedes-Benz was forced to release the 1.5-liter E-Class because in Turkey, cars with engines larger than 1.6 liters are subject to increased consumption tax. For a small sedan you need to pay 80% of the recommended retail price to the treasury, and for the version with a 3.0-liter engine the tax increases to 220%!

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It is best to show tariffs using the example of the Mercedes-Benz E 220 d 4Matic: a sedan with a “global” diesel engine in Turkey costs from 6,246,900 liras (191 thousand dollars) – this is three times more than the American price for a similar gasoline Mercedes-Benz E 350 4Matic (from 62 thousand dollars).

The technology of the simplified E-Class is not outstanding: a 1.5-liter gasoline engine (170 horsepower, 250 Nm) works in conjunction with a 23-horsepower 48-volt starter-generator, and power is transmitted to the rear axle through a 9-speed automatic transmission. Acceleration from 0-100 takes 8.9 seconds, fuel consumption is 6.7 liters per 100 km.

This is not the first time Mercedes-Benz has released subcompact versions, adapting to specific markets. For example, in China the S-Class is sold in the V223 body with a 2.5-liter gasoline engine: the S 400 version is equipped with a unique in-line six M 256.

Each of these cars is sold in only one country