Mercedes launch new 9G-Tronic gearbox on E350 BlueTec

The Mercedes E350 BlueTec has become the first Mercedes production car to be available with a nine speed automatic gearbox, improving emissions and economy.

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It’s not exactly a million years ago that automatic gearboxes offered poorer performance and economy than manual gearboxes, and came as standard with just three gears.

But now, automatic gearboxes are so good they can  change quicker than any driver and, with the proliferation of eight-speed auto ‘boxes, offer improved economy and performance too.

The next logical step is even more ratios in an auto ‘box, and Land Rover has already revealed they’ll be fitting the Evoque with a 9-speed ZF ‘box from 2014, and the new Jeep Grand Cherokee gets a nine-speed auto ‘box too.

Now, Mercedes has entered the fray with the first production use of their own 9G-Tronic automatic gearbox.

The nine-speed 9G-Tronic has been fitted to the Mercedes E350 BlueTec as standard and offers improved economy and emissions, although it doesn’t do anything for performance.

There’s been no official announcement yet, but the E350 BlueTec configurator on Mercedes German website is now showing the new 9-speed ‘box as standard.

And it won’t be long before the new 9G-Tronic gets rolled out further across the Mercedes range.

Mercedes E350 BlueTec 9G-Tronic Specifications

Model	E 350 BlueTEC Sedan
Fuel:	Diesel
Number of cylinders	6
Displacement (cc)	2987 cc
Performance	185 kW ( 252 hp )
Transmission (series)	9G-TRONIC
Acceleration 0-100 km / h:	6.6s
Maximum speed:	250 km / h
Information on fuel consumption and CO2 emissions
Fuel consumption ***:	6.4 l/100 km
Fuel consumption highway ***:	4.7 l/100 km
Fuel consumption ***:	5.3 l/100 km
CO2 emissions *** combined:	138.0 g / km
CO2 efficiency ****	A