Mercedes-Benz 190E W201 Road test review. Does the baby Benz still feel premium after four decades?

[@richardhowlett9424]

Possibly the last great Mercedes, very much a shrunken W126 S Class . More desirable than anything they make today .

[@markonmotoring]

I think that a lot of manufacturers make cars today that are less desirable than the cars they used to make. Your right though the 190 may have been the first more compact mercedes but amongst the last to feel like a flagship car.

[@adebrade172]

I'm on my third 190e now ,I keep coming back to them.

[@markonmotoring]

I can easily see why you would be drawn back to the 190.

[@mikeyeee]

Jesus man, I’ve still got mine 12 years and counting

[@scottishcarenthusiastsandtrain]

Excellent and comprehensive review Mark on the Baby Merc. A lovely car and well looked after by Simon.

[@markonmotoring]

Simon dropped on a nice example and has done a few little jobs to ensure the car remains in great shape. Hopefully it will bring many more years of happy motoring.

[@paulfoakes9708]

Great production work and review. The baby Benz, a popular taxi in many countries and a cosworth powered version too.

[@markonmotoring]

Thank you.

[@markcarpenter8250]

Good review. I have been considering a 190e as modern classic to own for some time now, but not yet taken the plunge. This video has given me more insight into the strength of this model. Thank you.

[@markonmotoring]

Thank you Mark. If you are considering buying one, check out Simon's channel Lot 76 cars. He owns this particular example and has produced a number of videos on it including a buyer's guide. If you like Mercedes you may also enjoy my review of the R170 SLK. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aWPckmWqoMlmf9k

[@markcarpenter8250]

@@markonmotoring Thanks Mark. Lot76 was my next port of call. I’ll check your link too.

[@jontemple1038]

Really hope my old 'K' plate 190e 2.0 is still going... Sadly had to let it go as circumstances were not conducive to giving it the overhaul it needed with nowhere to take it off the road. An excellent car, great drive...

[@markonmotoring]

Sad to hear you had to part ways. I too would like to be able to do a more extensive overall of my car but without a garage or funds to do the bigger jobs it's difficult. You could do a reg check to see when the car was last taxed and tested. Beyond that maybe post in one of the owners clubs to see if anyone has the car.

[@kamila2356_]

Lovely review, can agree the W201 has aged like fine wine, adore my 190E.

[@markonmotoring]

I think what is remarkable is that compared to a modern car it feels in some way unremarkable, it blends in with the modern world. It's only when you compare to other cars of the 1980's that you realise how far ahead of the times in terms of quality the W201 really was.

[@carlodifranco4717]

I adore my 190E 2.0 1990 too !!!

[@markonmotoring]

They are fantastic cars.

[@carlodifranco4717]

Me too ! I purchased a 190E 2.0 of 1990 three years ago and it's the best car I drove (I worked for a largest car rental company, I had a lot of cars). The 190 is an exceptional car, years ahead for his time.

[@renierdutoit1]

Great review👍 I just drove my 190e over 1400 km to the Kruger National Park and back with no issues whatsoever.

[@markonmotoring]

People often forget that although many of these cars are decades old, they were built to be driven. There's nothing more satisfying than a good long road trip in an old car

[@andrevanderwalt69]

Interesting to hear of a 190 in SA. Any idea how many were assembled in SA, and how many survive? I was driven in a grey one in 92/93 in Cape Town.

[@mikeyeee]

There is a Mercedes factory in PE (jaja good luck spelling the new name here). My 190e is also such a good drive, I’m in Cape Town

[@damieg82]

7:57 the S setting means "second", i.e. once engaged the transmission will start off in second gear even when the shifter is in the D position. It is intended for use in slippery conditions where starting off in 2nd gear should reduce the chance/amount of wheel spin. E does in fact mean economy, and what it does is shift the gears earlier in the RPM range to help save fuel. 22:24 the W202 immediately succeeded the 190 (aka W201), not the W203

[@markonmotoring]

Thank you.

[@El-Mariachi-Classics]

Had the E30 for many years and recently started on 190E 2.3 project! Same size cars but different in many ways. E30 much more of a drivers car with fun factor, however 190E is sooo comfortable and feels better than many new cars. Taking it for my first real test tomorrow with +1000km😮 hope she doesn’t disappoint:)

[@markonmotoring]

Good luck tomorrow, nothing like a good road trip in an older car. To be honest it will probably feel all the better for it. I found the 190e drive better than expected, no sports car but more agile than I would have thought it to be. Hopefully one day I'll get to try the E30 and E36 to compare.

[@El-Mariachi-Classics]

⁠@@markonmotoringif you come and visit Copenhagen surely you’ll try E30 :) the 190 did fantastic on the road trip with no issues at all, and actually very comfortable, just finished complete overhaul of the brakes and now started to use it daily until salting season. Love the car more for every day I use it… also I’m not a mechanic so it’s nice with such an easy DIY project - there where meant to be maintained by the owner. Just subbed to your channel, excellent review!

[@markonmotoring]

Great to have you on board. Nice to see you had a good trip with the 190. I always say cars are built to be driven and there is no feeling like taking a great car on a long drive. To really know a car you need to drive it, clean it and fix it yourself.

[@El-Mariachi-Classics]

@@markonmotoring Agree 100%

[@Lot76CARS]

Great work Mark, enjoyed that. Strange to see your own car from another perspective.

[@markonmotoring]

Yes I suppose it is. I look forward to seeing your video on my car.

[@Backwardlooking]

YES. Still have ours . Owned since almost new. A 11/93 190E.

[@markonmotoring]

They were built to last.

[@colinchampollion4420]

I still have my 1998 MERZ c280 with only 67,0000 miles it's in excellent condition 😂😮!

[@markonmotoring]

I still see a 1997 C class one owner car out and about locally and that still looks as good as it did new

[@GentilsGarage]

Very good and comprehensive review. Always liked these as they are nice to drive and comfortable… even the slow manual diesels that were popular in portugal for a long time.

[@markonmotoring]

I get a sense that many of the diesel versions are probably still in service somewhere in the world.

[@GentilsGarage]

@@markonmotoring yes, definitely

[@Lot76CARS]

Somehow I think I’m going to enjoy this one Mark….

[@markonmotoring]

I certainly hope so, Thanks again for allowing me the opportunity to review your car.

[@ghostman1437]

i own a 180E 1.8 liter engine here in australia owned it for about 6 years going on 7 its got 210,000 km on it very hard to find parts here but a good car any way

[@markonmotoring]

They do seem to go on and on forever. I suspect that in some parts of the world you will still find them being used as taxis.

[@davy-downtheroad]

Good comprehensive review

[@markonmotoring]

Thank you.

[@andrewkessinger5966]

Scale up the 201 and you get the 124. I still daily a W201 2.5 diesel. 330,000 miles and still going strong.

[@markonmotoring]

They were built to last. There are probably parts of the world where these are still being used as a taxi with mega high mileage.

[@jamesmack3266]

Great review!

[@markonmotoring]

Thank you. I'm.slowiley adding more like this to the channel.

[@dreammaker730]

Nice review of a quality car . I had a high mileage c class 2ltr kompressor , lovely motorway car . Unfortunately being 2000s car the quality wasn't as good it was thirsty and it rusted . I was going to get an e class 90s estate but The wife said it would be too big for her 😌. The windscreen wiper action always amazed me nothing like it that i know of .

[@markonmotoring]

Oh yes the fancy pivot on the wiper. I had a MK2 Clio years ago where they made the drivers side wiper pivot in a way to clear more of the top corner of the screen so that they didn't have to switch them round for LHD/RHD cars. The 190 was a great car and definitely felt more like a 90's car than a model from the early 80's. A previous neighbour of mine traded his 190E for an early C class in the late 90's and still runs the car today.

[@jamesmack3266]

16:30: The E is for Einspritzung, meaning injection

[@markonmotoring]

Yes I believe so. The carburettor version at the bottom of the range was simply badged as 190 without the E.

[@shitsugane]

Nice review Great car

[@markonmotoring]

Thanks, there's a few more like it in the channel and I'm.due to film another tomorrow.

[@beautgrainger147]

The throttle response should be reasonable.. meagre power is a different thing, but it should start doing something quicker than some modern drive by wire.. same for the autobox - just manually shift down when approaching junctions so it doesn't have to change from 3rd to 1st if you floor it into a gap. The steering box is actually a decent thing, mostly hampered by the rubber-damped steering coupler. The chuckability.. lumbering until you actually go down tight country roads quickly, seems to get more capable as it's pushed a bit.. quite an easy car to recover from oversteer too (miracle if you can cause it most of the year thanks to the low power too). There are numerous potential negatives to having an old 190 but they're good at what they do, a compact old-world mercedes build quality, a league above comparable BMW's (as more of a BMW guy myself)

[@markonmotoring]

Yes I agree the steering box actually doesn't seem to be to the cars detriment, I've driven a few now with a steering box and have no complaints. This 190E still feels a solid bet. I still want to try an E30 and an E36 to compare but I know back in period the more expensive Mercedes did seem to be a slightly classier option over the BMW. I wouldn't be too concerned about the auto box, it's a luxury compact saloon at the end of the day and it's still very good at what it does.

[@beautgrainger147]

@@markonmotoring I've owned an E36 Compact.. kind of an e36 with E30 suspension and a bit of the dashboard.. The 190 and Compact are both German, and could be spec'd with similar engines but I'd say it's not apples to apples (nor with the non-Compact).. The 190 is (assuming both cars in a low or base spec,) a luxury car the size of an early Jetta, and after 30yrs the interior door handles still feel solid, even if the covering has lifted. An E36 compact in base trim is reminiscent of a MK3 fiesta inside, like a higher quality Ford Escort. The full-size E36 is slightly nicer inside, but again, look at a 316i saloon with fabric seats.. I'll assume similar ages, which means a facelift 190, I'm not sure those were offered with no Zebrano wood trim. A 30yr BMW is or was a restoration project. The driving feel is also rather different.. similar weights but the Compact, I wondered if I'd bend panels by leaning on them too hard, all 68KG of me. Hardly any normal car can match an old BMW for turn-in, they're really rewarding to drive hard, once you've gotten used to them. The 190 feels lumbering by comparison, improving at speed. Despite that, in a head to head, the 190's really forgiving in an oversteer situation, and while the feel doesn't suggest it, the 190D is about as good round bends if you end up pushing your luck. A standard E36 (and I believe E30) use a voided bush on the front wishbone, so they start understeering before the back end comes out, but the voided bushes store energy, so the car kinda unwinds when it does break free. The M3 solid bushes help here. The BMW feels easier to work on.

[@markonmotoring]

@beautgrainger147 Yes the E36 compact was an attractive little car in its day but sadly never seemed to get the credibility of its larger sibling. It's a shame that BMW didn't fit the E36 saloon/coupe/Estate dashboard too which I think is one of the nicest looking of any 3 series. I expect you are probably right about the BMW driving differently to its Mercedes equivalent and we're probably marketed at a slightly different buyer. I've driven a couple of Mercedes SLK, the R170 200 Kompressor for which the video is already available to watch and another version which is still in editing. I'd very much like to try a Z3 as though I hear they are very different to drive they were often pitted against each other back in the day.

[@beautgrainger147]

@@markonmotoring the Compact dash is a bit like an E30/34/32 dash, it's fairly practical but probably didn't help the cars image with new buyers. BMW also didn't offer the 2.3 here, probably for fear of upsetting the bigger E36. The Z3 uses the same sort of suspension setup as the E30/Compact so should be in the same ballpark. The Z3 did get a nicer choice of engines here in the UK though.. the chassis should give you more room to choose between under and oversteer when there's more power. In terms of newer mercs, I've only driven the 06 CLK and CLS.

[@Backwardlooking]

The huge steering wheel was intentional in case the power steering failed, and the car wound continue to work if the fuel electronic injection failed.

[@markonmotoring]

Very interesting. Something that wouldn't cross your mind on today's cars but I suppose back then these systems were less well proven.

[@kpz1234]

I used to own a 190E and I miss it, especially the mono-wiper. Maybe I can get a 16v if I find one that isn't an arm and leg.

[@markonmotoring]

They are great cars and have certainly stood the rest of time. This particular example has just been in the Concourse at Festival of the unexceptional.

[@iancarnell5020]

Had the 2.0 190E for twelve years. Even with good maintenance they can be problematic. Lots of rubber and plastic components that just come to the end of their life. Solid mechanics but the auto box doesn't like having the fluid changed. Good solid German engineering.

[@markonmotoring]

They were a cut above other cars of the time but some of these cars are now four decades old and understandably a bit brittle in places.

[@kevinhowlett4097]

Simon has reviewed my C124. You must.

[@markonmotoring]

Hi Kevin, If you would be kind enough to send me an email including a rough location we can certainly discuss it further. [e-mail]

[@BoostWorx]

I'm sure you literally review every car I own 😂🤣😂

[@markonmotoring]

You must have impeccable taste in cars. 😅

[@BoostWorx]

@@markonmotoring hahaha thank you

[@Muhammadusman-ge2bs]

I was thinking to take mine on a long road trip about 600 miles. Would this car be suitable

[@markonmotoring]

If you are confident in the cars reliability then yes, why not? Though perhaps less refined at motorway speeds cars from the 80's and 90's were pretty capable and have no problems keeping up with modern traffic. I would suggest building up to it over a few shorter trips first maybe. I took my 97 Mégane Coupe on an 800 mile round trip from the UK through France, into Belgium and back again inside of 36 hrs and it was great. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aYjIp4aoirF4pcU

[@kathleentan6268]

What is the price if I buy.

[@markonmotoring]

The market price seems to change frequently at the moment but a quick search suggests that anywhere from just under £3000 to over £10000 seems to be the ball park depending on mileage, condition and specification.

[@190E_2.6]

Bought my 1988 2.6 for about £4,200 2.5 years ago. Have spent a lot on it. It’s got some electrical fault now where it cuts out after reaching 80C. However, once cooled down to 60-65C will start back again and keep going. Will be fixing it in the New Year. It’s going up in value all the time. So, get one quick if you really want one. BTW, mine isn’t for sale 😁.

[@markonmotoring]

Hope you don't have too much trouble sorting out the current issue with it. There always seems to be something needs doing with older cars but for the pleasure they bring is well worth it. Definitely worth hanging on to if you have a good one.

[@190E_2.6]

@@markonmotoring after a year of ups and downs with cutting out problems, I believe I have finally resolved the issue. It needed a new distributor cap, rotor arm and ignition leads! Drives like a dream again 😁.

[@markonmotoring]

I always say every part replaced is one thing less to worry about. Over the past three years I've had to do a fair few jobs to keep my car going but it's worth every penny.

[@fenriswolf039]

I've just been driving a 1992 for the last eighteen months and now that all (haha, yeah don't say it) the repairs are sorted it's been a good daily driver. Needs paint correction, but then I'm not sure I care enough to pay the cost to have it done. Everything works, but the paint is rubbish... oh well I say.

[@markonmotoring]

Sounds a bit like my car, mechanically pretty good but could do with a bit of body work just to tidy it up a bit. Cars of the 80's and 90's still make great daily drivers as they tend to offer most of the benefits of a modern car but being more compact and lighter than their modern day equivalent they are somehow typically more fun and just easier to live with on a daily basis I find.

[@ExAnimoPortugal]

Time for some myth busting: The ribbed tail lights aren't to help keep them clean! It's so that the lights are easy to see EVEN IF the housing gets covered with dirt, snow or mud.

[@youareinflames]

I thought BMW build E30 because Mercedes built the 190E and not the other way around

[@markonmotoring]

Both models were in fact released the same year. The E30 replacing the E21 but for Mercedes it was a first producing a smaller car for this segment. No doubt Mercedes will have wanted some of the E21 sales when the car was in development. I've yet to review an E30 which I think would make an interesting comparison although the Mercedes was actually a more expensive.

[@-DC-]

Last High Quality car MB ever made shame really to see them descend to plastic bling garbage.

[@markonmotoring]

Many regard the 190 as the last good Mercedes but some say it was the first of the C class, others say the W124. I think it's partially the cost cutting if many such cars but also the fact that other manufacturers have improved over the past few decades that there is little to separate modern cars from each other

[@MENSA.lady2]

Built like a tank, weighs almost as much.

[@markonmotoring]

It did feel very solid for a car of that era. Probably not all that heavy compared to a modern car I expect. It actually felt surprisingly agile going down the road.

[@vlaminggarrulus4785]

The card holders in the door work great for any size of cup to hold.

[@markonmotoring]

Good to know. Cup holders really were not a common sight in cars back then.