190e, the new "e30"?

[magoo_lc1]

I owned a 92 way back when. I bought it for a DD and it served that purpose very well. I was big car audio guy and it served me well for putting good stuff in it for its tank like build quality.

[whterice]

Dam this thread for making me look at used car sites looking for one again.

[mr.vang]

tell me more, i might consider one as my next DD

[Kershaw]

looks very nice!

[Emre]

They're huge...

That's a ridiculous statement. I have one of each and the external dimensions are almost identical. The difference is the W201 has a slightly larger passenger compartment, so it feels a bit roomier inside. But it's hardly any bigger at all.

...with poor visibility.

Again, this is just silly. Visibility is about the same as an E30 or E28. Far better than any modern car.

Definitely nothing like an E30.

If you've actually driven a W201 (based on your post, it sounds like you never have) you'd probably feel that these two cars are more alike than they are different. Most 190E's you find these days are going to be beat to shit with worn-out stock parts. Obviously, if you compare that to an enthusiast-owned E30 (with upgraded springs/shocks, bigger wheels, sticky tires, urethane bushings, and various other performance mods), you'd think that the E30 was in a different league. You can't put a clapped-out commuter's car up against a modded enthusiast's car; you have to compare like-for-like.

There's far less aftermarket support for the 190E and most of the owners are cruisers, not track nuts. So, most W201's you'll come across are going to be running worn-out bushings, soft springs, crappy all-season tires, and worn steering boxes. If you can find one that's been cared for by an enthusiast, I'm sure you'd have a much different opinion. For example, here's mine:

[Kvasi]

Its like saying water is the new beer. They are both liquid, and thats about it..

[FeatherChini]

This was going to be my first car. This car is hella dope tho. Even though its Mercedes, who I hate, its a nice ride...

Its cool because it has that "box" body.

[FLYNAVY]

They're huge with poor visibility. Definitely nothing like an E30.

Don't know if I would really agree here. The visibility is quite comparable between my M3 and my w201, which in either case is far better than most modern cars. The rear deck is slightly higher in the 201, and the C pillar is maybe slightly larger, but not noticeably so. As for size, a side by side comparison shows them to be almost the same. The 201 feels heavier, but out of the box, it is less powerful than it's e30 counterparts, and also has in most cases, the most terrible auto box ever known to man. Notable exception being the 16v, which has a satisfactory manual, though even that could use a lot of improvement. I DO agree that e30 > w201 in most respects, aside from the 201 just being more comfortable to drive long distances in. It takes a lot more modding to make a w201 into a real driver's car, than it does for a base model e30.

[OniKyan]

They're huge with poor visibility. Definitely nothing like an E30.

BMW > MB, each and every time.

[FLYNAVY]

A fake? The wing and flares are off an evo dude, twas real.

A few common misconceptions to dispel here:

1) AMG had no real affiliation with the factory produced evo I and evo II. They did build a "power pack" for the motor later on, but they were not involved in the design or build of these rare cars. Back then AMG was not officially connected to MB, any more than Carlsson, Brabus or others were. The merger wasn't until the C43 AMG. Anyway, my point here was that no owner of a real evo would call it an AMG because it is not, and that sort of an enthusiast would know enough about it to know this.

2) Evo's were never sold or certified in the US. AFAIK, there is one evo I in canada, one evo II in canada, and one greymarket evo II in Colorado. There are a bunch of fakes, with varying levels of OEM parts (to include a majority that use a malaysian fiberglass copy, and a few Riegers) though. The price to buy one here would be absolutely astronomical.....probably well into the high 80's, if not greater than 100k. They still regularly trade hands in EU for better than 60k USD. Point here is that they are just very rare, especially in the US, and the odds of you having seen a real one are pretty low. I've been around the 190e community for over a decade, and I'd think I would have stumbled across this car by now if it were real, and in the US.

Not trying to be a dick with my original post, just trying to prevent my e30 brothers from being duped into paying way too much for a fake evo. On a related note, there are very few actual AMG 190e's around, and very few at all in the US. Most of these have no motor mods whatsoever, so basically just the gen I or gen II aero kit and maybe the fender wideners. I think there are still a couple 3.2's running around, but again, the vast majority are fakes or over-priced collectors items with no real AMG pedigree. Even the red 6.0 AMG w201 that has been circling around the webs for years is a total fake. I've seen it in person (it shares a garage with my 5.6 w201 currently), and it does in fact have a SOHC 6.0 motor from AMG, but to the best of everyone's knowledge that has looked at it, this was a complete aftermarket job with no association with AMG NA. Basically just an owner that got a hold of the motor. And the swap was ROUGH....very poor job they did, the motor is blown, and the chassis never got anything more than a bigger V8 swaybar to make room for the m117 oil sump (which does not fit around a stock w201 bar). I'd be willing to bet money that 99% of all the "AMG" 190e's in the US fall under a similar category. Europe, not so much, and there are some real clean ones remaining, but that's how things always are of course.

[CabrioPunk]

Really? A strong diesel engine than can run a variety of fuels? That has several examples on the road today with high mileage?

Well if r3v says so.. I will take back my statement then ...

[brutus87]

I second that motion sir !!!

[QUKBMER]

I second that motion sir !!!

[tjts1]

w123 much better. Diesel.

fail

[QUKBMER]

What? They have nothing in common and look totally different.

190 motors = same story as e30 motors, lots of boring ones and a couple rare/good ones.

Build a 190 with an M104 3.6 C36 amg engine, the eqivalent to an S50 swap. They can be turbo'd or TC'd just as easy as an S50.
Very similar engines, easy to work on, last a lifetime.
Or you can do a V8 C43 swap if ya gots dough.

No no no they bought a baby benz 190e and think that are driving a big 560sel. They were thinking that they spent a shit load of money on BENZ so now they are god !!!! It was over kill. lol They are like i own a BENZ !!!