I was after something new. I had previously owned a throttle bodied 405, a MK1 Golf GTI, and a Diesel Golf. I decided I wanted a larger and more interesting car. So the search was on…

I looked at the Jaguar XJR but it was too small inside, too expensive to run and mainly, lacked a certain something. E34 M5, not enough cylinders despite otherwise meeting all the criteria. BMW 840, 850? Well, great cars but I don't think I can pull off the car without the 30 grams of coke in the glovebox.

A fellow member of the evo forums had a car that fitted the bill perfectly; so the next time I was home he took me out in it. Now the 500E is a 5.0 litre, quad cam gem that Mercedes built to keep those pesky AMG models at bay. The car pulled up with a nice big engine woofle, very quiet though which at first didn't impress me. We talked about general costs, possible problem areas and the usual mileage questions and then I got taken out in it. First impressions were good; I liked the interior (despite the Rover 214SLI look-alike wood) and the car rode very smoothly. But where was the V8 noise I wanted so much? A few small roundabouts later and I was surprised at how little roll the car had with not a hint of understeer noticeable from the passenger seat and it seemed very poised. A-roads were clearly the perfect place for this car, great roadholding and loads of power. Then down a quiet road Brian stops, then floors it from a standing start, traction control doing its thing in first and then as second comes in it just surges away as a guttural howl comes from the engine room (Engine bay just makes it sound too common) and off we go at an impressive rate, another smooth change and he slows down and calmly says, well that's a hundred. This engine is supposed to have 326hp, if it does then the horses have been well fed on bratwurst and flagons of beer; these are big butch horses. No fuss, just lots of torque, lots of power and a great gearbox. The seeds were sown…

I go back to work again in Germany and feverishly started to look for a 500E over there. An E500 just wont do as the grill is smaller and it doesn't have the same mean look. I see a few with high mileages but despite this not being a problem I wanted a full history with such high mileage and this wasn't guaranteed. The search continued until Brian said on the forum "What about buying mine?" Well by the time I had reread the post my wallet was out and the deal was as good as done in my mind.

As is the way with these decisions I had mentally purchased the car without driving it so I then had to take it out. What a beast. Instant turn in, incredibly smooth but responsive gearbox and that engine, wow. It pulls away so cleanly and then by 80kmh the speedo travels at the same speed round the dial until 230kmh. It just goes and goes. I was kindly lent the car for 3 weeks for an extended test drive in which I covered nearly 3000 miles and fell in love with the car. Only one problem I found though. The car was running hard, pulling well and then a sudden noticeable loss in power, the car had stopped accelerating, what have I done; oh bugger I haven't even paid for it yet. Not to worry though, it was the rev limiter in top; what a machine. 5:30am in the Isle of Man will always be a happy memory now.

Running costs have been reasonable, the car has surprised and impressed in equal measure and mainly has kept me wanting to drive it as much as possible. 260km/h is reached laughably easily and the handling, brakes and general feelgood factor grows with every trip.

The car has so much all round ability, I throw it around back roads reveling in the sharp handling, high speed runs with cruise control shrinking the autobahns and it also transported my grandparents to their 50th wedding anniversary in style.

I look forward to many more miles in this car and it is one I never intend to sell. The only problem I find is that trips under 100 miles seem a waste of all that engine…