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Easier work for the price of two cylinders - Mercedes-Benz 200 Automatic in (historical) test

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Created on November 20, 1965

Reading time 18min

Written by:

Jürgen Stockmar

Photos:

Mercedes-Benz AG

Daimler AG

Mercedes-Benz AG

Daimler AG

Mercedes-Benz 200 (1966) - kaum vom Vorgänger zu unterscheiden

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Mercedes-Benz 200 (1965) – wuchtigere Front mit Blinkern unter den Scheinwerfern

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Mercedes-Benz 200 (1965) – Modellpflege: Rückspiegel auf der Tür statt auf dem Kotflügel

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Mercedes-Benz 200 (1965) – jetzt ohne Chrombeschläge auf den Heckflossen

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Mercedes-Benz 200 (1965) – Seitenansicht

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Mercedes-Benz 200 (1965) – Türverkleidung mit Kartentasche und farblich abgesetzter Armlehne

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Mercedes-Benz 200 (1965) – das Cockpit der Version mit mechanischem Getriebe

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Mercedes-Benz 200 (1965) – geräumig wie der grosse 230 S dank "Einheitskarosserie"

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Mercedes-Benz 200 (1965) – die neue Zwangsentlüftung an der C-Säule

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Mercedes-Benz 200 (1965) – der überarbeitete M 121 mit fünf Hauptlagern und zwei Vergasern

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Mercedes-Benz 200 (1966) – passend zur eher konservativen Zielgruppe vor historischer Kulisse aufgenommen

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Mercedes-Benz 200 (1966) – zeitgenössische Werbeaufnahme

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Mercedes-Benz 200 (1965) – für einen Ausflug ins Grüne

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Mercedes-Benz 200 (1966) – für einen Ausflug ins Grüne

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Mercedes-Benz 200 (1965) – für eine Reise an den Badesee

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Mercedes-Benz 200 (1966) – für eine Reise an den Badesee

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Mercedes-Benz 200 (1965) – ein sicherer Hafen

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Mercedes-Benz 230 (1966) – Zwittermodell mit Vierzylinder-Karosserie und Sechszylinder-Motor

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Mercedes-Benz 230 (1966) – parkieren im Park

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Mercedes-Benz 230 (1966) – für einen gepflegten Auftritt

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Summary

With its modernized engine and sophisticated automatic transmission, the Mercedes-Benz 200 offered a combination of drive and ride comfort that was unique among four-cylinder models from 1965 onwards. However, you could also get a six-cylinder for the same money - and not just from the competition. The 200 Automatic's biggest competitor came from the company itself. This historical test report explains why.

This article contains the following chapters

Two more bearings and a carburetor
Comfortable and fast
Safety through understeer
Safe space
In-house competition
Technical data & measured values

Estimated reading time: 18min

Preview (beginning of the article)

When it came to performance, Daimler-Benz was never squeamish. The company's larger cars in particular were motorized according to the principle that horsepower never hurt a car. As a result, the vehicles that bore - and still bear - the good star were the top performers in their class, without the engines being overbred as a result. However, the smallest displacement Daimler-Benz models were always somewhat excluded from this steady performance development, which is still continuing, as the new models show. The 170, 180 and 190 did not play the same role in their class as the 220 S and SE, for example, neither of which had to fear larger-displacement competitors. The 190 therefore needed to be upgraded, and this was done in the form of an additional 101 cc and 15 hp. However, the Mercedes engine builders did not make it quite as easy as it reads here. The new 200 was not powered by an engine from the 190, from which a few more horsepower had been teased out, but by a largely reworked power unit.

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