500E Pre-Facelift with 18" alloys & clear lenses |
E500 & 500E - What's The Difference? There is much confusion between the 500E and the E500, so i'm going to attempt to make clear the differences between the two. The 500E and the E500 are technically similar. However, the facelift E500's had less power (322BHP) for the US market due to emissions regulations) The pre-facelift 500E's have the older trunk and grille, along with square style headlights and plastic stripe along the bootlid. The 500E's also has the "orange" indicators on the side, front and back instead of the later "clear" style ones. The model badge was also 500 E on the trunk lid underlined. The body cladding was also flat painted and not shiny metallic. Along with this came the slightly larger and bulkier 400mm steering wheel and the glovebox instead of an airbag on the passenger side. Some very early 500E's (1991-1992) came with no airbags at all, no wood box at the front and no heated seats. The facelift E500 comes with the uprated hood and trunk, metallic painted cladding, newer lights, 390mm sportsline steering wheel, wood boxes and mostly all have heated seats. The US market cars almost all came with climate control compared to the Europe market with air conditioning as standard. The E500 also had the "E 500" badge on the rear without underlining. Both vehicles come with exactly the same technical specifications. |
E500 Limited
The E500 Limited was a "limited" model production between 1994-1995 of the E500. All E500 Limited were facelifted. From factory, the vehicles came with the "limited" two-tone interiors, 17" EVO-II alloys, birds-eye maple wood and usually fully optioned out (sun-blinds, climate control, heated seats and memory seats). They also had black "Mercedes-Benz" lettering on the engine rather than white painted lettering that usually flaked off. They also came with the "Mercedes-Benz" stamped stainless steel door sills as standard. They had the two-tone sportline steering wheels, passenger and driver airbags together with the fully facelifted bodywork and cladding as standard. They are deemed to be the most desirable of the E500 range although the leary interior is not always to everyone's liking. It is also known to wear faster than the original interior, although this is not a fact as I have not owned an E500 Limited myself.
E500 EVO-II 17" alloys |
E500 V-8 Engine M119 |
E500 Limited Edition Two-Tone Leather |
E60 AMG There was also a specialised E60 AMG model built in very limited numbers from 1994 to 1995 which had the 6.0L V8 engine. The vehicle had a 381bhp and can reach 0-60 mph within 5.3 seconds. The vehicle was equipped with the "Limited" sports interior, 17" EVO-II alloys together with uprated AMG sports suspension and AMG twin outlet exhaust system. Otherwise, the brakes and body remained the same. The E500 and E60 AMG both came with the flared front and rear wheel arches with larger front bumpers and front foglights. The "957" AMG Technology Package in the VIN number of the vehicle almost guarantees the vehicle is an original E60 as left the factory. Very many E500's have been converted to E60's by changing the engine out for the 6.0L V8. Another giveaway is the AMG engine stamps saying "M 119 E 60" together with "AMG" written along the airboxes instead of "Mercedes-Benz".
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Mercedes-Benz E60 AMG Left : The E60 AMG engine. This engine is also a V8 although its a 6000cc displacement instead of the 5.0L. It performs "considerably" faster with a 0-60mph time of around 5.3 seconds. Notice the subtle "AMG" lettering instead of the "Mercedes-Benz" lettering found on the E500 models. |
The E500 range also came with some "special" or rarer options that most of them did not have. Some of these included the auxiliary heater, designo interior provided by Mercedes, larger brake options, AMG suspension/exhaust and BOSE speaker setups. The early and later E500/500E came with Becker Mexico stereos although some came with Mercedes-Benz Satellite Navigation. Phone kits and pre-wires were common.
UK & Japan Models
You can usually tell the UK and Japanese models apart from the rest. With the UK models, the speedo was supplied in MPH and the front flared arches had the indicators on them. The Japan market cars also had these indicators although with the standard KPH speedo. Of course, the definitive method of finding out the origin of a vehicle would be its original service documentation and the VIN number. The E500 was a very expensive model in the UK originally sold at about £50,000+. There were only around 150 original UK models.