16 Oct 06
The Mercedes E-Class and its predecessors have for years been both damned and praised as the Beirut taxi. It's roomy, it's reliable, it's built to last, it'll run on anything and it's nigh on indestructible, whether it's being assaulted by potholes, dispatch riders or snipers.
The qualities that have made it the number one choice for career cabbies around the globe are about to be put to the test in DaimlerChrysler's E-Class Experience, which starts this weekend in Paris, and finishes 28 days later in Beijing.
It's the ultimate taxi ride, taking in historic cities, great monuments, extremes of heat and cold, and roads ranging from autobahns to unsurfaced tracks. It also commemorates the 99th anniversary of the world's first transcontinental car race, which ran from Beijing to Paris.
Shared by 330 drivers, this autumn's convoy of 33 E-Classes are all diesels: 30 are E 320 CDIs and the other three have Bluetec engines, claimed to be the cleanest diesel units in the world, with significantly reduced nitrogen oxide emissions.
