The Mercedes 190E 2.3-16 Was the Fast Mercedes Before AMG 

Just called the Emergency Roadside Assistance number. It still works.

American: it's rare to see a Mercedes with a manual transmission Germans: what?

>Has 200,000 miles and runs great >Reliability 6/10

Quality and reliability just OK????! This is one of the best made and most reliable cars ever produced.

Now you really need to review the 190E 2.5 EVO 2 Cosworth. That car looks amazing. Hopefully you will find one some day.

"One of the best chassis ever fitted to a four-door saloon. -Martin Brundle" -James May

The car looks BRAND NEW with 202k Doug Score Quality: 6/10 Ok..??? Faith in Doug Score: Lost

One aspect of this car you forgot to mention ... it was over-engineered - *heavily* so. Which is the reason why it still works 30 years down the line as it did when it first left the factory. 80s era 190s are renowned here in Europe for being utterly bomb proof. One British car magazine reviewing this car described it as "it feels as if it was hewn from a solid metal block, rather than assembled from parts, it's that robust". Reliability of these is legendary over here, and there are examples running here with 300,000+ miles on the clock that still feel taut and well screwed together. Plus, in the UK in particular, this was always regarded as a niche car with a modest but dedicated band of enthusiasts, who had a habit of subjecting their cars to greater than average levels of TLC to keep them sweet. Consequently, in the UK market, it's unusual to find a second hand one *without* a full service history, and you should be VERY suspicious if you encounter one lacking this. It's also pretty common for examples with utterly intergalactic mileage readings on the odometer to have had only one or two previous owners, who had a habit of hanging on to the car long term. Basically, Mercedes-Benz built this one to last, and it has. Chances are some of these will still be running fairly sweetly in another 30 years' time, when they'll be well and truly into classic car territory.

Doug: Opens hood. Me: Looking and wondering at the tilted engine. Doug: Talking about windshield wiper.

Doug: reviews this Merc. Hoovies after 2 days: I'VE BOUGHT THE CHEAPEST MERCEDES 2.3 - 16

quality 6/10 ---> Looks literally like out of the factory after 30 years

Why is this car cooler than most 2019 vehicles

The 80s was a great era for BMW and Mercedes. They both made cars that were engineered to the extreme level and fun to drive. They were especially subtle as well. Only the true car people could tell the M with body kits and AMG with the monoblocks. Now AMG and M’s biggest goal is to scream “I’m richer than all of you that bought the C300 and 330i”

quality 6???? in europe the 190 diesel (that are the same car excepet for the engine) are the most used cars for taxis.. many lasting more than 1.000.000 miles this is a 10 quality car..

It looks satisfying somehow. Its ageless design. I like it.

A 5 out of 10 for looks serious?!?! Its stunning much better looking than any modern merc

Doug should do a review with the 450 SEL 6.9!

Doug’s the type of guy to pour a glass of water for himself and say “thank you sir” to himself afterwards.

"I've driven alot of 80's cars." says the guy that makes fun of stereos with an equalizer and is baffled by most standard features from the 80's.

Amazingly that roadside assistance 800 number in the manual from 1987 is still the official Mercedes-Benz roadside asst. number. That has to be a record for roadside number longevity!

I had to do it....I called the number and guess what!!!!! Its still a Mercedes customer number!!! That's cool to me but it may only be me....hahahaha

Anyone remember that Final license test on GT4? 190 Evo, one "perfect" lap around the Nordschleife, and no TCS or ABS. Good times.

Paint job is still spotless, interior looks fantastic, car has run 200.000 miles and quality is rated as a 6 out of 10. I'd like to see Doug show us a car with a higher quality rating than this with the same mileage.

a car from 1987 has power seats but some brand new cars today don't... seems legit

Well, that was my dream car back in 80's. Thanks for the review !!!

Back when Mercedes was really quality and ahead of his time. Thats why I own a w124ce .

Quality and reliability only OK? Are u kidding me Doug?

I'll take the Merc 190E 2.3-16 above ANYTHING in your list !! This is just a quality-car.And if you drive and maintain it properly, it's a friends for life !!

Doug is the type of guy to read the owner's manual as a bedtime story

I currently own an e30 and I still want a 190e 2.3-16 even though they were competitors back then

The antenna thing is for winter. If the antenna is iced over in cold weather and you turn on the radio, the plastic gears in the antenna mechanism would strip since it couldn't force the antenna up. The switch was to keep the antenna down in that case, and also for car washes.

Doug: These are really cheap right now... Me: *checks auto trader and finds one for $22999*

Doug - the kind of guy to make up words like, "Performancier" 19:02 😆

Tested the Mercedes roadside Assistance phone number. Still works.

The manual antenna switch is there to prevent damage to the antenna when using a Carwash etc.

That's nice and all... *_but what part of Vice City is it located in?_*

My grandpa drove this when he was 86 years, with 1 million kilometers

This has to be the first 190E 2.3-16 video in history to not mention Ayrton Senna, and I think that's a bad thing.

finally got a mercedes 190e on the show, great video, DTM KING

The 190 Cosworth.Pretty cool that this one has Euro headlights.

Flex mode in supercars: spoiler up Flex mode in 190E: antenna UP 😎🤣

Timeless beauty. You forgot the hoods service position!

This was: my first car. My first giant crash. The first time an object saved my life. You DO NOT know what you are talking about! Versions of this same car are most likely the most reliable car ever built. Just look at Africa, old Toyota and old Mercs. Comparing general quality, reliability, materials, quality control to any American car of the day and it’s a generation ahead. That wood (the same you forgot to mention in the 98 navigator it’s completely fake) it’s real. And not only that, it has an innovative layer underneath so in case of a crash splinters won’t go flying around. You, the qwerk and features guy...ever seen a Mercedes with a handbrake in the middle? They’re only in a few models and there’s a reason for it like pretty much everything in these old Mercedes. You should be telling me this stuff! Not me. And by the way...I saw with my own eyes a diesel 190 with almost 2 million miles...got that? 2 million! The cab driver told me he was the fourth owner. Put it half a million with no issues at all

The Countach has a cool factor of 9 ??? 😮 That thing would turn 11 heads out of 10 people.

It sounds like that years ago on Top Gear, James May was lying about how easy it was to start in reverse. 🤔

Can you imagine M/B rolling out a performance sedan and only offering it in TWO colours? Imagine McLaren rolling out a Hypercar only available in ONE colour?

One of my favorite 1980s sedans! Thank you so much for reviewing it!

190 E Evo is easily one of my favorite cars of all time.

Doug the type of guy who revs tesla in a tunnel

Ahh the Cosworth engine!! This model was actually driven round the Nurburgring in 1984 in a race by a certain Ayrton Senna and he blew the other drivers away in it

My father had 2 of those back in the day. A diesel and the 2.3 version. He always loved that 190 model.

this is my car now and I still use it mine is 1988 and I really love it

The reverse gear "safety feature" is very common on stick shift gear cars in Europe. I prefer the ones where you lift a ring under the knob to activate.

Doug, I FEEl YOU DROPPED THE BALL on this 2.3-16v REVIEW! I am a fan of your videos! I love how you are really thorough in highlighting all the various quirks and features and technology that the various cars have that you review. With that said I’m a former 2.3 16V owner and feel that you kind of dropped the ball on the 2.3-16v. What about the hydraulic rear self leveraging suspension! ?! With the hydraulic pump mounted right on the motor! What about the limited slip differential! ?! The limited slip that makes the car really fun when coming out of a sharp corner in a slide and you feel that diff help getting you traction again! What about the Factory real headers! on that 16v Cosworth Head! ? What about mentioning how nice those bolstered Recaro seats are up front! I feel you are not doing the 2.3-16v Justice! What’s more important ? The dash- in the 16v? Logo or Factory Headers! Limited slip diff! Hydraulic pumped rear self leveling system! Comfy firm Recaro bolstered seats! 😧😀

That car is AWESOME. Love the lines. It looks tough and actually more modern than the 1987 year would suggest.

I loved this car when I was a kid in college, a Friend had one, classy and different. Thanks for bringing back memories..

The best part of this Mercedes That 5-speed dogleg manual

these cars were just legalized race-ready beasts that fully embodied the phrase "what wins on sunday, sells on monday"

Quick fact check on you here. This was released in the mid 80s and came out before the E30 M3. In fact the M3 was released to compete with this

I really love the timeless look of this mercedes. ;)

They have 190 E EVO models for $200,000!? Are you going to try to get one of these to review it?

That M/B roadside assistance? Back in the day they'd FLY a factory mechanic out to fix your car from Suttgart Germany.

I love these videos! Doug is a huge inspiration to me and is part of the reason I decided to start making my own RU-vid content! Thanks for all you do, Doug!

After 30 years and 200k miles.. Paintwork looks nice, body panels sits perfectly, overall exterior looks great. Woodtrims inside are uncracked (yes they are real wood), leather in seats are not really worn out, all the knobs and switches and plastic parts looks just like it should. Engine and trasmission still works like a new and it drives smooth. Quality: 6/10... seriously? ... I wanna see todays cars after 30 years and see if they deserved their higher quality score. To think about it; I don't really see any american cars from that era driving around anymore. Benzes and few japaneses yes. I wonder where all the fords are... I guess they didn't even hit that 6 and therefore they didn't exist anymore.

Doug the type of guy to rev a prius beside a hypercar to impress them

That's a sexy old girl right there Edit: happy 3 million Doug!

Also, fun fact, I noticed in my dad's E-Klasse W210, although the mirrors are the same size, the passanger mirror makes objects smaller and the driver's mirror makes objects closer than they seem. I think that's their solution to accomodate for different blind spots on their later models as opposed to different size mirrors.

Doug's the type of guy who would choose a car based on the Doug score.

It’s a Cosworth Mercedes. You should have given more background on them... a beautiful car indeed..

Manual in a Mercedes from that era might be strange for the USA. Pretty normal here in Germany.

I really think you, if not deliberately, but at least unintentionally sometimes "tweak" the Doug Scores to achieve a final score you would like. The quality of an 80's Mercedes is extremely high, as this 202,000 mile example shows very well, and it really deserves a better score from that category than 6.

This is my absolute favourite car of all time. I have a red 190e 1.8L, which i love, i cant imagine how great this car is.

It should have been reviewed with the Ford Sierra Sapphire RS Cosworth and a BMW M3.

God, I had one in France. You took me 25 years back! Thanks😊

I had an '85 190E with an AMG kit. I loved that car!

I had one which was the same color too. It was expensive when I purchased it. It costed a little over an E class. The 5 speed was a Getrag unit with racing pattern. My car also had headlight washers with little wipers. The rear had airmatic suspension which was designed to level the car regardless of loading. I do not remember that my car rolled that much. In fact, I thought it was quite flat on corners. I could drift the car and the tail was quite controllable. This was my first Mercedes and I love that car. The only reason I replaced it, was the replacement was an NSX and I do not have garage space to keep both. Good video, sure brings me back fond memories.

this car was my first mercedes back in 2006. daamn i miss my first love...

I’m so grateful to you Doug for making this video! I remember moving from Pakistan to The UAE and I was 2 years old when my dad picked me and my mom from the airport in a 1988 190 E... brings back so many memories of my childhood..

That Becker radio took me back to my childhood, riding with my father in his MB. Those up-down volume and radio station levers were awesome

Glad you reviewed this beauty. Almost all Mercedes sedans I've been in of this period were manual transmission and many in the ME/Asia market still are.

A review of a Mercedes 500E (W124) would be cool.

@21:20 leave it up to Doug to give the Yugo a better cool factor then a 190E 🤷🏽‍♂️🤦🏽‍♂️😂

Had the regular 2.3 as my first car. Loooved it throughout high school, but always had overheating issues.

Finally you turned to The Queen of all cars. It took you so long to get to this one. Been waiting forever!

Doug: Imagine a supercar offered in only black and gold Apple: Hold my appletini

Admittedly I'm a BMW fanboy but I have to say this thing is stunning

DOUG, the Self-levelling suspension should have been mentioned. That was really something at that time in this class!

The car review videos of this guy is really outstanding. Almost everything is covered. Kudos

When I was a kid my friends family had one of these. I always knew it was different & cooler than the other Mercedes on the road. Now Doug is reviewing it. Total blast from the past!

Had a 1990 W124 300E. One of the best cars I've had.

Thanks for the show Doug

My dad owned one until last year...its so nice to see this video now

I loved owning a Mercedes of that era. I would buy one of those again.

Doug is the kind of guy who takes his E63 wagon to RuPaul's Drag Race.

By far my favorite car. The 190E in general is very special for me but the 190E 2.3 16v is even more special. Especially the sound, ridiculous ! Would love to own one, so nice.

I just got finished watching Motorweek on this car and no surprize that they too had mentioned the feeling from the clutch. All in all it was a good review, Doug.

I’m pretty sure the Service E-Class is still doing its job perfectly... Build quality at its best👍🏼

Doug could you do a review of the Saab 9-5 aero from 1998-2005?

Good review Doug, thanks.👍

I had one of their 1991 made (2.6 6 in-line) with a 3 speed auto transmission. One of my friend also owned one of the diesel version of the 190 with over 1 million miles with no major problem whatsoever. About the antenna, when having the tape on, and let`s say you do like I did after going into a carwash, with my 1991 Honda Accord Lxi you don`t want your antenna out as it will gets broken easily by the spinning things.