IDRIVEACLASSIC reviews: 80s Mercedes Benz 190E W201 (Baby Benz)
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- čas přidán 16. 06. 2020
- Today we are testing the 80s and 90s classic, the Mercedes Benz 190E - this 1.8 Mercedes small executive car sometimes known as the Baby Benz was introduced in 1982 and in production until 1993, selling 1.8 million across the globe.
The manual transmission classic Mercedes we are taking out today was an absolute steal at £180 and once famous for offering a smaller alternative for Mercedes lovers and a rival car to the BMW 3 series - these luxury classic cars are now affordable for a driver of every budget.
In today's video we explore this brilliant car and we look to the following:
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sound's really quiet on this one. had it cranked to listen to and a notification come up on my PC and nearly wet myself
Sorry! It’s a bloody nightmare. I got water in the phone and ever since anything I recorded has been naff. New phone this week 👏🏻
@@idriveaclassic no probs, ha. Maybe an external Mic might be an option , worked well for TwinCam
Yeah I’ve purchased a mic but this was filmed pre all that 😂
@@idriveaclassic Thanks I was going to mention the sound it's a great shame, love the videos
@@idriveaclassic There's no noise for the engine sound as well at 15:04
Hubnut would be pleased with that wiper action 😅😅
That was defo not a " comment of DOOM ! " 🙃😉😃👍
Wow, £200 is like a gift, surely the alloys are worth more than that!! Great vid Steph 😊
Total bargain
Yippee Steph is back and her internet is working missed your reviews hope your all well xx
I've been using a 190E as my daily-diver for the past few years. It's an ideal starter-classic for anyone who just wants to own something a little different from everyone else. It keeps up with modern traffic well enough.
If you pull the headlights knob with the headlights turned on, it turns the fog lights, um pull for front, 2 pulls for front and rear
And do you know how to adjust the brightness of the dash lights? Twist the trip meter button!
And I think when light switch in park light position you can turn the indicator stalk left or right and only illuminate that side of car to save battery power while parked. Some Volkswagen’s have this too, must be German thing.
@@peterriggall8409 Forgotten that about Mercedes. With VW, one indicates to pull up and park correctly using the indicators. Whichever side the indicators are on, left or right, those lights side and tail will stay on. Seen a few flat batteries because the driver didn't know.
Brilliant review! I've been daily driving my 1990 1.8 for a few years now, definitely an everyday classic. The build quality of these cars is incredible.
Hi Steph - my dad lives in Bradford and he has had a white 1.8 190e for nearly 20 years.It's been really well looked after - it sleeps in a garage at night. It's a K plate and it does have electric windows in the front, but a manual sunroof. One thing you might not have noticed is how quiet it is on idle, you can hardly hear the engine! Also on the motorway, it just cruises along with hardly any engine noise.On the gearbox, I always found quite a long throw from first to second on the gears. Anyway if you ever do any other features on a 190, he would love to have it featured here. So if you want to make an 80 year old happy just let me know.
Long throw from first to second gear -its because the car launch from 2nd gear to 3rd gear... If you want 1st gear launch you need to press the accelerator harder... And it will launch from 1st gear..and definitely you can feel the 1st gear.. 😘
Great video Steph as always! I've always wanted a 190E
people dig them hard in germany still... every now and then a sighting of these .... unlike an E30 from BMW ... those have been pretty rare by now
I love the way you present your videos Steph. I love your enthusiasm and the facts and figures. Pete UK
Great job Steph keep them coming please
nice review - I always loved this model
Excellent thank you so much Steph, we had a great time and this is a brilliant review.
Thank you.
Thanks for being a sweetie xx
Steph, that Merc was an absolute steal at £180. I thought my BMW E36 was a bargain at £250. I would definitely consider one of these Mercs for a project car on my channel.
Just found your channel. Love it. I had a 190 cosworth 2.5 and miss it with a passion. Loving the channel, keep it coming👍🏼
Nice one Steph ! , great to see you back & cool vid too x
Wonderful video Steph.
Always loved the look of the 190. My friend has a restored Cossie one and it’s a beauty
Another great video Steph, also loved the single windscreen wiper but especially like seeing you drive around West Yorks
I love your car reviews, actually just bought myself a w201 a few days ago
Great vid as usual the 190E was a great car with literally thousands on British roads my boss had a gold one B reg in 1986 used to lend me it i was only 22 ...happy days...
Thank-you for another well put together review. You have the personality to do this on tv (we love ya) and always look forward to the next car.
I love these cars. My Grandfather owned a green 1982 190. Then he had a 1991 190 the same as the one you've just drove. The last one he owned was a 1994 E300 with the cool rear lights.
He Did write off the 1991 190 after a car hit him on a country road and ended up on its roof in a hedge.
He walked away from that with only a few scratches but the car was strong and protected him.
These cars from this era are the last of the great mercedes but i would say that because of the emotional memories.
I would love to own one in the future.
The only other car from the 90s i loved and still do is the Volvo V70 estates omg the one i owned was a top of the range car it was so conformable car with full leather etc.
She was getting old at the time with the odd rattle but overall when i got in it i always felt special and driving wasn't dram as is with modern cars with no personality.
My Sister in-law owns it now and the mileage must be near 300.000 by now. she wasn't a slow car with with a 2.5ltr diesel which wasn't as pokey as the petrol version.
But for a heavy car she didn't hang about. again thank you for a great show and keep up the good work.
Great review, my uncle had one of these from new, it was a beautiful car.
I hope all’s well with you, take care.
Hi Steph, nice video. I did some repair work on a 500 SEL a couple of years ago.
I had a drive of it and found it to be completely comfortable and the V8 engine sounded so nice.
V8s cost more in insurance and always use more fuel. I have a Ford 302 because the six doesn't match the image of my big Aussie Fairlane as well as the V8 but I'll never get another V8. It's out of my system now. Only good for towing and the sound if that's what you go for -I prefer the sound of threes and sixes.
Great video . Always wanted one of these and you have not put me off 😃You look very at home behind the wheel. This is the first review video I have watched of yours after seeing the Marina tinkering one. It won't be the last, looking forward to watching some more 😁 . You seem to test a lovely diverse range of cars 😃
Great design was the 190 Mercedes great review Steph stay safe
My partner had a black K reg Mercedes 2 litre petrol automatic 109E.
We both loved it. We had trouble with water ingress into the boot and the back. The electric windows kept failing. In the end it used to cut out inexplicably when the weather was hot.
It was the best car I had ever driven.
It was to difficult to drive when we got frozen up in our cul-de-sac.
The automatic gearboxes were excellent, the manual boxes were very prone to failure at 80 to 100 thousand miles.
We like the split heating system as I liked it cool and my partner liked it warm.
I had very fast acceleration for overtaking when you kicked the automatic box down.
I love these videos.
You should do a video on the Peugeot 306 Hdi Diesel. Fast, economic and it cornered like it was on rails.
I serviced and drove many of these in the 80's when I worked in car rental in the West End. They were very popular cars on the fleet. Of course, they were brand new so not too many problems. If I remember rightly the later ones had a foot operated parking brake. This really confused many people except Americans who were used to them. Rolls Royce also had them. Great video, as always.
Good review, a lovely car at a great price, who doesn't love a bargain 😀
Please can you do a video on the Wartburg Knight? I had 2 in the mid seventies x
Nice one Steph. There are many things about the 190 that are still very traditional Merc but presented in a more contemporary style. This is one of the last "real" Mercs in my opinion. You hit on most of the car's best features. Thanks.
Nothing wrong with a rough Benz. I drive a 2.5l 190D daily. 317,000 miles and still going strong.
In the final episode of ASHES TO ASHES, after his Audi Quattro coupe had been destroyed, DCI Gene Hunt was at his desk glancing at a sales brochure for a Mercedes-Benz 190E. They are great cars indeed.
Another great car! Thank Steph! And ironic that these days I'm toying with the idea of getting either a 190 or a contemporary W124! They were such durable, robust, high quality cars...and so different from today's 'all-electronics' gyzmo-cars with tablets in lieu of a proper dash and lots of silly led lights everywhere...
Go for a W124. Great cars. Don't worry about spec, look for the one in the best condition you can afford. They are great cars.
Been waiting for this and as usual a great vid.I know you like older stuff but more 80s stuff too please,great to see cars I remember new through your fresh eyes.Also sunroofs need to make a comeback they started dying out early 2000s but is better and easier to fix than aircon.
Yes!!! Great little car.
Great review Steph, and brilliant value for money for a really well built car that will go on delivering for years to come.
It's said the 190 was styled almost as a smaller scale version of the W126 S-class.
Glad you pointed out the 1 electric 1 manual door mirrors but did you not notice the other quirkyness? They're different sizes, to give seperate peak rearward vision on both sides.
This was my first Merc, fabulous car, really well put together, none of the other models I owned after came close for build quality. A bit under powered but a joy to drive. Would love another one maybe with a bigger engine this time!
I've owned and restored 6 of these. They are the best Mercedes ever made bar none. Excellent examples under 100k miles are fetching $10k- $15k now. US got the 2.3 and 2,6, fully optioned with a/c, electric window, seats and geadrests!
Cool video steph
Owned one of these back in the day, grear car 👍
Hooray! It’s this video
My manager at the place I worked about 30 years ago had a 2 litre 190E from new back in 1989/90. During a brief cold snap in the early 90's when we had some heavy snow and when his car was still quite new, he persuaded me to give him a lift into work as oddly he considered my Peugot 205GTI 1.9 safer as it was front wheel drive!. My little Peugot GTI which I had as a young boy racer was huge fun to drive but I really wouldn't have fancied my chances in a crash compared to very solid 190. Great video btw.
One of the last of the proper Mercs........
:)
Another quality video. :)
Always liked the 190e Merc althou would prefer a 2.0. Glad to see you test driving around Horsforth & Rawdon which in my neck of the woods. Great review Steph, Cheers 🙂
Drove one of these
As with all big luxury cars, by the time they entered the second hand market they were often bought by people who couldn't quite afford the costs of replacement parts, and loads suffered from neglect resulting in mot failures meaning you could pick up what was a £30 grand plus vehicle for just a few hundred quid. Nice to see a survivor. Apart from some missing trim the body seems to have survived remarkably well as a lot of these rusted out in the wheel arch and windscreen areas.
My father had 2 of them, a 1986 190E 2.3 4 cylinder and a 1989 190E 2.6 6 cylinder. I drove the 1986 in high school.
Nice looking car, always liked the 190e and what a bargain! 😊
Wonderful review and you talking about the legendary car designer Bruno Sacco, and you have pronounced his name correctly. Well done!!
Again I love the research and details you put into your reviews.
Next would be to get your hands on a r129 320sl from mercedes-benz. Again from Bruno Sacco.
Thank you
Less than £200! I do like the 190. That design still looks good today. Thanks Steph.
Wow nice, i’ve got a 1994 mercedes e220 in white, and i am glad i bought it.
Amazing interior for a car released in 1982 and one of the last really well-built Mercs (though the W124 was good, as was the first C-Class to a lesser degree).
I had a Citroen Xsara with the manual driver's mirror / electric passenger mirror combo. It's a weird but strangely sensible quirk of older cars.
Glad that the gear selection was different here from the dog gear the 190E Cosworth I had, which was R-1,2-3 & 4-5.Also,never have other keys with the cars together. It was common that the ignition switch had failed due to key gravity. Had to change mine 4 times. Thankfully it was easy to replace, thanks to that little metal piece that looked like a lowercase p.
When you were filming the interior I was thinking 'why has this got manual windows?' glad it wasn't just me that thought it was strange 🤣 Like the hair band/scarf it really suits you 😊
Because you pretty much couldn't get a lower spec car than that right there
I have had a bit of trouble hearing your great videos lately. I have to turn the volume right up on my Smart TV. Could it be a microphone issue?
Great Merc though, these 190s were a neat design.
I’ve had a wee mishap with my phone! Videos from about August onwards should be better 😭
Excellent car, Excellent price 👍
I love the fact that it has manual windows!
I got a laugh at the comment about rear seat belts- looking at you BL 🤣 what a great car for £180 ! If you have the room this makes a brilliant daily driver !!
A steal for less than 200 pounds! I don't know the official name for them but I love how the rear lights are I suppose 3D? One of my favourite styling cues of 80s / 90s cars
Mercedes claimed the ribs on the rear lamps prevented snow and other road muck covering the lenses, particularly on the motorways. It does help, as these cars are less likely to have invisible lights in adverse conditions. This is an even bigger issue now, as the new LED lights don't generate as much heat to melt the snow that does accumulate. I take that snow covering to indicate a poorly managed air flow off the car. My ancient Volvo Estate never collects serious grunge on the rear lights, no matter the conditions.
Thanks for your the information guys
@@MattysCars I live in Ontario, Canada, in the snow belt of Central Ontario. It is very interesting to see the back of the cars. Almost without exception, new cars have invisible lights with the snow packed on the back of them. You can't even tell where the lights are, never mind what they are doing. The new Mercedes are no better than the others. At least the old incandescent bulbs created enough heat to melt the snow off the lenses. Then again, this never used to be as much of a problem. Airflow off the back of a car was much better managed. Car companies now have forgotten that airflow off is as important as the way the car cuts through the air. Possibly even more so. I used to have a Mercury Grand Marquis with a 5.8 litre engine. On the highway, that box on wheels used to return 40 miles to the Imperial gallon. It certainly was not front aerodynamics that allowed that! The tail lamps never got covered no matter what I drove through, and that car went through a lot. My current car, a 1990 Volvo 240 Estate, does not end up with the lights covered, and in the 30 years and 400,000 miles of its life, Arthur has gone through about everything you can think of, from floods to blizzards and on to sandstorms.
Yes, when these came out, I remember them been called 'baby Mercedes' because that's what they were. I was an avid 'Motor/Autocar/Car' reader atthe time!
Hey steph bit of a request for you, I love your videos could you get your hands on an mark 1 rs turbo ford escort and show case it off, if you could that would be awesome because im currently rebuilding a rs turbo today! :)
We’ve got a MK2 RS2000 coming up if that helps?!
Yes that would be awesome!
Great video, lot of car for little money but find one without starship enterprise mileage
This channel really does deserve the 100k subs steph its much better than top gear . I don't watch that now you have a great presenting style .
Steph have you ever checked out a 1988 Chrysler New Yorker Turbo? They are cool cars.
£200 great value Stella review 👍
Sweetie...i Love watchinh your clips..especially this ONE as its a Mercedes Benz but could you RE-do this ONE with better dubbed sound quality? Tq...:)
most interesting for me was that single winsrceen wiper no triangle of doom as mr hubnut would say great review i have a car you may wish to review
that car looks fantastic. i can never find a local car for such a cheap price that i can do up.
Love these so Much I have an S Class from the 90's as my daily. Shame about the sound. You could probably resurrect the phone with an external Mic.
I just think it’s knackered. It keeps corrupting footage too. New phone arrives this week hopefully.
Cracking review Steph what a bargain of a car for it's owner. Only thing that would annoy me is the location of the ignition
The wind down windows annoyed me. A massive oversight.
Its hard to comprehend these days how far ahead Mercedes was back then. It was a car company where engineers made final decisions, cars made by their competitors were a one trick ponies, every MB was a complete package , safe, reliable, luxurious, sytlish, fun... sadly in the 90s share holders( I'm guessing) noticed that one trick ponies like BMW make way more money and MB was taken away from engineers and given to accountants
Wow, that's a *lot* of car for £180! I'd happily smoke around in it, that's for sure - a Saturday's worth of cleaning and tidying would make for a great example. I've always had a soft spot for these, one of the last proper old school Mercs built for solidity and reliability rather than bling, and one of the few 80s cars I'd consider a contender as a replacement for my Volvo 244.
Great car this baby Benz!
Love it.
Such a shame we weren't adults in those years
I would love to drive one.
🚗
Always surprised about prices in the UK...
In the Netherlands 🇳🇱 this wouldnt be possible for this price.
They are normally more expensive, around £3000 for a mint one. Some can even be as much as £7000! £200 is exceptionally cheap for any roadworthy car, especially a Mercedes.
My favourite benz.
Great Car for the price. The interior reminds me of the Volvo 340.
I've had a few of these the pick of the bunch is a 2.0 automatic. Enough get up and go low to mid 30 mpg it's a more relaxed drive than the 1.8
No adverts on this video! I watch the ads so that I can support your channel. :-)
There should be! Try again later. Hahahah.
I got the London Real advert at the start.
I love the 190E. If you are ever in Washington of the US for a little bit you can film with my 1984 Mercedes Benz w123 300D.
The audio volume is a bit too low. I don't know if that's just me but I wanted to point that out.
Crackin wee cars, tho with that manual box and it's cheap price I'm surprised it hasn't had the diff welded and the life drifted out of it🤣 a friend has a similar one he's restoring/ tidying / modifying and I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to get a drive In a gold 2.5 cosworth back in the 90s, was a quick car, I'd have one in my imaginary lottery garage! 🤣😎Lisa Yasmin German tuber is doing an evo replica 190 on her channel, it's a cool build. Another cool video ( despite the gremlins ) Steph! 😎
That single wiper was revolutionary back then.
Revolutionary for today also u don't see these
Electric windows were an optional extra... Interestingly I have a 93’ with electric windows but no ABS option.
good
Great item, always remember these being very expensive. ...not the case now ! 😂
Love a e190
These were Mercs from a different generation that were solid, vault-like machines before the plastic showy tat we get today. Proper classy, appealling cars.
I drove my boss's 1988 2.0E auto back when it was new and I do have to agree, the Auto gearbox wasn't good, it would kickdown when it wanted to not immediately when you pressed the peddle, made overtaking a hit and miss affair. I also found the steering really light, lacking in feel and didn't inspire confidence, believe it or not I preferred to drive the Ford P100 pick up he had! Don't get me wrong it was nice to be driven in but not nice to drive with the auto, I'd like to compare the manual version.
I think a lot of people would consider these to have expensive parts at all he time. Growing up I saw these often . It might seem unusual on cars in the eighties and to see a model that had a single front wiper. The blue interior was a bold attempt at making things different. In the south of the UK nowadays a lot of German cars are stolen to order . Having only driven an A class of 2012 this older one would possibly be a nicer driving experience.
I own1 a great car but you must stay on top of then they rust by back window under winshield but are easy to work on
That was New Road Side, Horsforth.
Yes.
really quiet audio on the inside portions of the video :(
Hi as explained below, old phone knackered. New kit arrives this week.
Rover 216 si video plss
you are amazing...........the merc ain't bad either
Could not give away these in 2007 when I had one. Had to scrap it in the end :(
Steph can you let the owner know that on the start up the NS engine mount looks like it is about to break.
Will do. Thanks Alan! I know it’s now in the process of being tinkered with anyway :)
Nice review 👍👍 just check on your reference to a "derformable crash cell". I think it should be the opposite, ie the cabin is made to be non deformimg and every else is made to crumple. I'm no expert so I may be wrong 😜😜😜😜
Hahaha I copied that from a buyers guide 😂
Germans make the best cars. The quality and the engineering is just uparalled. Great vid on the baby merc. Im smashing the like, like how many drivers smash the autobahn.
Correction: Germans *made* the best cars, maybe up to 2000 or so. But now they've become over complicated, fragile and designed to fail expensively after a few years, like pretty much everything else now (TVs, fridges, phones etc). At which point they become uneconomical to repair. BMWs and Audis are increasingly notorious for this, having traded for many years on their past reputation for reliability, but even Mercedes have gone downhill in recent years, swapping their previously sober, understated approach for designing blingy cars full of electronic toys just waiting for the warranty to expire and hit the second or third owner with a ruinous repair bill.
You can also get far higher specced cars than that, with electric windows all round, velour seats, air conditioning, wood trim everywhere, rear headrests, reading lights, window blinds etc etc.