ON PAPER, AT least, the latest addition to the Mercedes-Benz range looks like terrible value.

The newly-launched E 230 slots into the market above the ubiquitous E 200 Kompressor, and brings with it entry to the world of six-cylinder power, where the E-Class family is concerned anyway.

It?ll set you back some $13,000 above the price of the 1.8-litre, four-cylinder E 200. For that premium, you get nothing in the way of extra equipment.

You also buy yourself what looks like a paltry increase in performance. The E 230 will zip to 100km/h in 9.1 seconds (versus the E 200's time of 9.4 seconds), and it runs out of puff at 240km/h (versus 232km/h).

Not a whole lot between them, it seems.

But as always, raw figures seldom tell the whole story. What isn't represented by the numbers is how the E 230's engine sweetens the character of the car.

The 2.5-litre V6 fairly oozes with a mechanical suaveness missing in the four-pot of the E 200 Kompressor.

It's far smoother and less buzzy at high revs, and pretty much goes out of its way to stay unnoticed.

Unless you have the throttle on the floor, you'll hear precious little of the engine, which means that most of the time you?ll be able to surf along with the tide of traffic in near silence.

What little you can hear coming from under the bonnet is far easier on the ears than the relatively gruffer voice of the 1.8-litre, too.

Strangely enough, the E 230 is fairly leisurely about accelerating from standstill, and this is despite having seven gear ratios to play with (against five speeds in the E 200 Kompressor).

Try as you like, there simply isn't the firepower here to propel the Mercedes forward like something shot out of a gun.

That said, there's plenty of mid-range muscle on tap, which means the need to rev the engine hard seldom arises. Even if you?re gentle with the throttle, once the Mercedes is underway it tends to pick up speed without much hesitation.

The seven-speed gearbox, meanwhile, does a lot of aid this sense of urgency, as long as you keep it in the Sport mode.

Not that the E 230 itself is all that sporty by nature, mind you. Show it a winding road, and it will go through the motions neatly enough, with fairly quick steering and plenty of grip through bends.

But there's always an overriding stodginess which makes you think that if the car could talk, it would be saying, "Really, sir, do we have to?".

So it's for the space and refinement that you want an E 230, really. The plush ride from the suspension, and sumptuous cabin always deserved a smoother, quieter engine than the four-cylinder of the E 200, anyway.

And even though the E 230 doesn't come with extra equipment over the E 200 Kompressor, it's not exactly economy-class travel. It has climate control, a multi-function steering wheel, powered front seats, and plenty more.

$13,000 might seem a lot to pay for a bit more performance, but the improvement in refinement does mark the E 230 out as a superior car to the E 200 Kompressor.

One can't help but wonder, though, if more people might be persuaded to pay the difference if Mercedes had called it, more accurately, an E 250 instead?

AUDI A6 2.4 $188,000 with COE

If the Mercedes' interior looks nice, the Audi's cabin is an eye-opener, with even more space and lovely, high-quality materials everywhere. It's not as nice to drive as the Mercedes-Benz, however, no matter what Audi would like you to think.

ENGINE TYPE 2,497 24V V6
MAX POWER 204bhp at 6,100rpm
MAX TORQUE 245Nm from 2,900 to 5,500rpm
GEARBOX 7-speed automatic
TOP SPEED 240km/h
0-100KM/H 9.1 seconds
$188,888 with COE
WARRANTY 3 years / 100,000km
CALL Cycle & Carriage
TEL 6298-1818

PLUSES Great refinement, lots of mid-range oomph from the V6
MINUSES Slow off away from standstill
VERDICT The entry point to six-cylinder power in the E-Class range is no rocket, but is as refined as a Merc should be.