With over a century of history, it’s an understatement to say that the look of Mercedes-Benzes has changed substantially over the years. Yet through all the various styling trends that have defined each new generation of Mercedes, one thing has remained the same (at least in your humble author’s opinion). With very few exceptions, Mercedes’ of any era unmistakably look like a Mercedes.
A large part of this is owed to the unity of styling across its various car lines – unity that Mercedes has maintained over the years. While all of its cars carry distinctive looks, key design elements are consistently shared to make their looks unquestionably Mercedes, and easily dateable to a certain styling era. My personal favorite of these eras was the one that began with this W201.
Characterized by their wedge-shaped profiles, these are among my favorite Mercedes ever. This W201, which hit the market in 1982, largely set the styling trend for all Mercedes-Benzes of the next decade. This included the 1985 W124 (E-Class), the 1989 R129 (SL-Class), and the 1992 W140 (S-Class), including all of their additional body style variants. Yet even with their new direction of angular styling, these Mercedes still maintained unity with older models, like the 1979-vintage W126 S-Class.
I find all the aforementioned Mercedes particularly appealing. I think it largely has to do with the fact that these were the common Mercedes I came to know as a young child, and therefore have forever aspired to. As much as I love the all-star W124, I have a soft spot for the W201. Despite arriving earlier, it was always like the W124’s shy little sibling. Less common, but very similar in appearance, the 190E stood out with its C-pillar “vents” and horizontal taillights, the latter of which the SL would replicate. It was then the smallest Mercedes, but looked no less substantial than bigger Benzes.
For several reasons, the W201 proved far less popular than the larger and more expensive W124 in the U.S. That translates into even less W201s around today. This particular one is a 1991-1993, with the body-colored bumpers, two-tone paint scheme, and the 2.3L I4. It’s excellent condition, with a lack of rust or any paint defects, speaks for the quality of Mercedes-Benzes from this era.
Car aspirations from out childhoods often remain strong through adulthood. I’ll tell you now that it has forever been a dream of mine to own a Mercedes of this vintage. Who knows, maybe that day will come soon.
Related Reading:
Mercedes-Benz 190E (W201) History
One of the most stylish Benz-es ever.
Unbearable feeling of lightness when you see the model of the car, I am especially in love how the rear of this car was designed.
Much nicer then all those very, very busy lines they use on their small models today, and those said taillights on those CLA’s?
“Send in the clowns model for me” those CLA’s
My sister had a 190 & I recall her being disappointed with its reliability, though I don’t recall the particulars.
My favorite is still the W114/115.
The racetrack photo is terrific. Papa Mercedes, Mama Mercedes, and the little baby Mercedes.
This is actually taken on the MB Play yard: they have their own testing facility.
These guys do 180 km/h on the flat prior to the high bank curve.
Don’t they scare people by doing similar speeds in coaches too?
I don’t know, honestly. But they put their buses and trucks on the test tracks as well.
Every car maker has proving grounds and test tracks. However some car makers use them and say “it’s good enough” and others say “we can make it better yet.”
In the DC and NYC areas, these were once quite common. But they have evaporated from the streets almost completely. Nice to drive, but they were a bit short of space in the rear seat for us long-legged folks. Much more prevalent on the DC streets today are the W123 bodies, which I find quite amazing, given their propensity to rust.
rust…
on this model, you wouldnt notice from the bodyshell until one day a piece of the plastic fell off. that’s the reason why I dont like plastic cladding.
I presumed the same Jeff. I’ve just removed the left hand, rear passenger plastic door guard from my ’94 W124, and was expecting the worse.
No rust. No dirt. Perfect paintwork. Twenty years old.
Good to see a younger car guy have interest in these. If you decide to get one take your time looking because most are in the same condition as the one Paul posted about, under the title “Junk it or Fix it”.
They look killer in white and the very rare bright red. The most popular color was Smoke Silver, like mine, which is a fancy name for beige. I tell folks it’s one of the colors the 2.3-16 came in. Black is also popular but not very flattering on the car.
I know opinions are mixed on the 190E’s success. All I can say is that they were everywhere in SoCal. MB would have sold more except it was very expensive (mine $35k new and doesn’t even have leather) and the back seat was tiny. It wasn’t very popular with enthusiasts because MB built so few with the 5-speed and aside from the outrageously expensive two-year only 2.3-16 they never had a sport version to complete against the 325is. There were a couple of LEs at the end but those were mainly appearance.
For the used car buyer that last point is why you can buy a 190E so cheap, even a nice one. Conversely 325is prices are through the roof. There was one BaT a few weeks ago that was asking $13.5k. Many were commenting about how overpriced it was then had to eat crow when it sold in two days.
I’m using the 190E as my DD and so far so good. I drive about 15,000 miles/year and will do a COAL at the one year point. I hope I don’t end up eating crow over this being a good daily driver. The 190 guys are funny when they trash talk the BMW. I guess they overheat a lot and once that happens “the engine has to be thrown away” 🙂
So far I love this velvet tank.
That’s a nice color. I love the two-tone combinations Mercedes did in the early-’90s. The one here I photographed doesn’t have real leather either, and no doubt that is why the interior is so mint. Mercedes’ “MB Tex” is among the best leatherette upholsteries, even nicer than some brands’ real leather. I’ve always heard that, but it took experiencing it in person to convince me. My mom has it in her GLK 350 and it’s very convincing as real leather.
As for the 190E, I am casually looking at them, along with later model W124s. I’m graduating from college in less than a month, and already in the process of looking for my first “real job”. Should I obtain one, I am looking to hopefully buy my own “classic” as a fun treat. Obviously money is a big part of it. I do plan on living at home for the time being, which although financially beneficial to this dream, my mom’s not so keen on the idea of having a third car occupy the driveway – it’ll take some convincing. Should any exciting purchase occur, I will certainly do a post on it. A lot of dominos have to fall into place, but I’m optimistic it will work out 🙂
It will work out, supply and demand is on your side. I like the 124s too. I almost bought a 60k mile 300CE in dark blue, missed it by one day.
Try for MB Tex, which is what most 201s have. There was a leather option but as you know it doesn’t wear as well. Also with the leather you give up vertical sew lines like your feature car has. The leather has large horizontal panels. The vertical to me is more classic MB, they had it even back in the 50s.
Nothing else but the green cloth seen in the dash pic in Paul’s full model history will do for me.
Oh man. The W124 coupes are beautiful. Someone who lives several blocks down my street has one, and I admire it every time I drive by. Mercedes absolutely nailed the coupes in the W124 and W126 classes–it’s a pity there never was a W201 coupe. Probably would have looked just as nice. Or maybe a premium hatchback?
Wish I was better with photoshop…
Nice looking car. I’ve got MB Tex in my 77 w116 and got no problem with it.
They are still used as everyday cars in Vienna. Not as common as they used to be but you do see them.
My car is currently standing in the parking lot next to a nearly twin of this one (except for black bumpers and euro-spec headlights). They are still quite plentiful (almost universally called “Mercedes 190” as the vast majority has 1900 cc engine), as well as W124’s. Great cars.
I run a 1990 w124 300E diesel just done 250000 had it 17 yrs needs very little for its MOT every year and should last me another 15 yrs at least My wife has just got rid of a 3 yr old 220diesel class mercedes not the best car we have ever owned constant computer niggles and service issues glad to be rid of it Also had a w126 420 se for 8 yrs some time ago last of the properbuilt to last mercedes no computer tomfoolery with that or the 124
I’ve always liked the w201. The mid-80s were really high, fat times for Mercedes Benz: the w126 S-class perfected the modern, more aerodynamic look, the 190 was a marvel of suspension engineering, and then the w124 was sort of the car of cars. It’s always nice to see one of these with the paint and clearcoat in place.
Here in California, massive clearcoat failure and head gasket replacement are the two things that seem to be sending 190s off to the crusher. Fixing either one of them costs more than what most folks will pay for a 20+ year old car that’s usually over 100,000 miles.
And here’s some Mercedes car porn….
I never really noticed or cared about Mercedes cars until I drove a 1987 300E on a used car lot a few winters back and bought it on the spot. I was looking for a cheap, comfy ~$1000 old spare car to drive through the winter and flip in the spring, I had never driven a Benz of any vintage (up to that point), so I figured.. why not take it for a spin?
Driving that car was one of my biggest auto-related revelations ever. Compared to the clunky, 10 years newer Cadillac Deville they had on the lot (and were charging more for), the car handled and rode amazingly. Firm and solid, yet still extremely comfortable. The straight six engine is, to this day, the most jet-smooth motor I have ever experienced. Fast? No. But oh so smooth and completely silent, even compared to most brand new V6 cars I have driven. The doors closed so securely and there was not a single rattle in the car that I noticed during my ownership. It was hard to believe it was designed and built in 1987… it looked and felt so modern.
Bought it for $1250. Drove it for 6 or 7 months, replaced one fuse for some burnt out dash lights, and that was all that ever went wrong. Sold it for $1200 in the spring. It even handled quite well in the snow because the steering ratio was so slow and the suspension so taut, it didn’t really need ESC. I’m glad I got rid of it, because I’m sure something complex and expensive would’ve failed eventually, but I will never forget what a nice car it was to drive and how it totally changed my impression of the Mercedes brand.
I like the 190 models too now, but I’d prefer a W124. I think the styling is more balanced, and I doubt that 4-cylinder engine would be anywhere near as smooth as the straight 6 in the 300E. It was easily my favorite part of the entire car.
I knew these were small cars but never realized how small. The “S” class looks gargantuan in that photo of the 3 sedans even though it’s smaller than the largest of Detroit’s sedans.
Considering the “reliability issues” these cars are supposed to have, I’m always amazed when I see one on the road.
I like the styling and the sensible size but being on the tall side of average these cars don’t get much consideration from me.
That pic threw me too, not just the difference in size from the S-class(which is undoubtedly bigger) but from the W124. It took me a very long time to spot the differences between the W201 and the W204, I still have to double take when I see them, separated from each other the size doesn’t really seem that much different, at least not from the outside.
I never was much of a fan of Mercedes styling at this point, I love the W126 since it’s still got a solid foot in the 70s with it’s blunt nose and non flush side glass, but everything that came afterwards starting with the W201 and W124 are where I lose the lust, too aero (though I appreciate the latter’s quality, performance and general advancements nonetheless). Mercedes definitely should be commended on the proportioning between substantially different sized platforms, they managed to make all of them look basically the same save for scale, although the W201 is definitely tight inside.
Brandon called it the “dwarf”. The Germans called it the “Baby Benz”. That is much more endearing.
In Germany it was often bought by people who rewarded themselves for a lifetime of work. They did not need a large car but wanted a quality car.
IIRC it introduced the “Raumlenker” (Space Links) suspension which was only possible by the use of then rather new Computer Aided Design. It was key for the superior handling characteristics of this car. If you buy one make sure it is free of accidents, in particular free of impacts in the rear section of the car.
I recall that there was a cut-off year were this Benz went from an almost pure mechanical devise to and electronics infested devise. Was 1988 the last mechanical 190E ?
I peeled through the windows of a few and one thing bothered me: the switches on the door panels were missing plastic pieces. It appears this baby Benz was environmentally conscious and used significant amounts of recycled materials.
In general , German vehicles use bio degradable plastics , this means switch gear etc. gets *very* brittle after 30 years .
I have a 34″ inseam and found the rear seat of one of these to be do – able if snug .
My Son almost bought a pristine midnight blue one for his ex cha-cha girlfriend , I think it’d have been a nice little around town car , easy to park and cheap on gas .
Never forget : a “cheap” Mercedes will always be the single most expen$ive car you _EVER_ buy ! .
Yes , I love my old W-123 Diesels and happily throw more $ into/at them than they’ll ever be worth but DO NOT buy one thinking any sort of ‘ gas & go ‘ , run it into the ground sort of foolishness , it’ll break your wallet .
-Nate
I own w201 2.0d . I really love it. It has over 382000 kilometers under it’s belt and runs so smooooth. I ride it every day just to listen to the engine 😀 Maybe it’s not the most powerfull engine but i managed to go as low as 5.4liters on 100kms. That’s super efficient for even a modern car this size.
The thing is that it’s not a car for someone who is a driver for less than say two-three years. It can be very reliable but You do have to know it’s moods and take good care of it. It will return Your affection for sure.
I used to dislike these, as I felt they didn’t wear the styling theme as well as the bigger cars, plus I used to have an inherent dislike for anything 4 cylinder and non-turbo. Both of these things have faded with time and I now admire them for what they are–not really a 3-series competitor (though a 2.3-16 would put up a good fight against an M3) but a traditional luxury car in small scale. What Mercedes achieved with the 190E is what Cadillac wanted to do with the Cimarron – though Caddy cut every corner in the book in doing so. If they had designed the car from the ground up, or even used the J-car underpinnings but given it a completely unique body, interior, and quality materials/soundproofing/fit and finish, it might have worked better.
Every time I see an 80’s Mercedes for sale I feel a pang of want. Maybe one day, though my preference would be a W124 coupe or wagon, or a 560SEC. But a W201 in good condition for the right price might be a fine weekender as well…