Driving the 190E, 25 Years Later...

I know it's a bit late to write a review for a car that has been around for twenty-five years. But what makes this particular model unique(or better yet, stand out) from the rest of the street cars that Mercedes-Benz has built? For this particular write-up, I'll be discussing about my own W201 and an honest assessment of what it has become.



I got my Baby Benz from a real estate agent who now settled for a "lesser" car. During my ownership there are a lot things that has been repaired, replaced and improved and named this beauty Klaudia, after a famous German supermodel. As of now, an IHI turbo has been removed, original Behr radiator has been replaced, second round of tune-up and oil change has been done, brakes has been overhauled, new sets of tires (Goodyear Eagle F1) has been installed. Actually, this baby is undergoing a rolling restoration.

Just like any other Mercedes-Benz, the 190E is a tank as long as the owner keeps it faithfully. Klaudia has seen hard driving in the city and in the country side, top speed that she can endure for now is around 110km/h to 120km/h But I guess it will improve drastically once I start working on the driveline (clutch, transmission etc.) and on the suspension too.





Klaudia is a 1984 2.3-liter 8-valve US Version w201 with all options; ABS, Fuel Injection, all-disc brakes, 5-speed manual transmission, power seats, illuminated sun visors, power windows, central locks, power sunroof and other advance features that is being enjoy by Japanese ricers just recently. Driving Klaudia in a traffic jam is exhausting, just like any other car with manual transmission but on the highway it's a different story, it actually feeds dust to the Japanese ricers such as the Civic and the Altis. Klaudia combines looks and adequate power when needed.
In the Philippines, there seems to be really something when you're hauling the three-pointed-star (as long as you're not driving the MB-emulating jeepneys), it easily commands respect sans those commemorative plates, village stickers and other flaunting paraphernalia that most sissies will try to show off stuck in their ricers. It's just one of the beauty of driving the 190E.