1999 Mercedes-Benz E430...Continued

We looked at:

Roominess And Comfort: There's ample room for five adults in the E430, although the bulky transmission tunnel hinders long-distance comfort for the person relegated to the rear center seat. The dual heating and air-conditioning controls for the two front passengers are a nice touch and the plentiful cup holders and door storage pockets are appreciated items on this car. There are three headrests for the passengers in the back seat. If the headrests block the view, and no one is sitting back there, a push of a button on the dash drops them down and out of sight.

Driving Position: The ten-way power adjustable seats are easy to use, with their handy door-mounted buttons. The three-position memory (for the front seats, mirrors and steering wheel) is an excellent feature duly appreciated by the varied-sized drivers the test car was asked to accommodate. Also helping to ensure a confident driving position for all is a power tilt and telescoping steering column. Visibility is excellent, with nary a blind spot around.

Controls: In true Mercedes fashion, the dashboard and controls are well laid out, handsome and businesslike. They're very user-friendly, once you've come to terms with the hieroglyphics that label them. There is a problem, however, with the location of the turn signal. It's easily confused with the cruise-control mechanism and can be quite irritating to use, especially in heavy traffic. The single windshield wiper adds interest and sweeping elegance to an otherwise rather boring device, but it is not the most effective wiper around.

Cargo Space: The E-Class sedans have reasonably good cargo capacity for normal, daily needs. The 15.3 cubic feet of trunk space may not be sufficient, though, for a week's vacation for four or your daughter's trip to college with all her stuff. On the plus side, the truck floor is flat and the liftover is low, making the trunk quite accessible.