740GL 2.3 5-Speed Manual (Carburettor) Saloon

Is This the Newest? (And Possibly the Last?) Purely 'Owner Serviced' Car?

(Bought Used in September 1993)
The odometer stated 121,000 miles had been covered in nine years . The 'hounds-tooth' check upholstery was disfigured by numerous cigarette burns. A now defunct car-phone hung mute from the central console. The pedal 'rubbers' – a good indicator of overall vehicle wear were in need of replacement. The whole car was shabby, smelt like an ashtray and had loose interior door panels. However, when I came to drive the car, it was something of a revelation. The 2.3 litre, carburettor-fed engine was smooth and quiet. The gear change was finger-tip light and positive. With the hand-cranked windows up, and fifth gear selected, it was remarkably quiet and refined. The icing on the cake was the handling, it just gripped and gripped. Aided by nicely weighted steering that was fast and accurate. I had been forewarned that the 7 series handling could be less than rewarding. The previous owner had fitted larger tyres (185-15) to the basic steel wheels. The engine bay was immaculate, no fluid stains anywhere. (During the two years I owned the car, I never had top up the engine oil.) I paid the agreed £1000 and drove home.

It was soon apparent that the fuel consumption was averaging around 25mph. This was an improvement over my previous Opel Senator's 17-21mpg, but not particularly brilliant. My friend's garage (Gornall's of Hambleton) decided pretty quickly that the single Pierburg downdraught carburettor needed a complete overhaul. This was done, along with a standard service. The Volvo badged radio / cassette had seen better days and was replaced by a standard D.I.N. Sized Sony unit in a conversion console.

Boxing Day was also a friend's birthday. I thought we would have a run out. I decided that I would drive Jim and Nicola up to The George IV hotel at Eskdale Green, via the Duddon valley. Having brimmed the fuel tank, we set off at a brisk pace to make the most of the limited daylight.

The Duddon valley is very picturesque but does not lend itself to 'press-on' driving. There is a challenging 33% climb up out of the valley at Ulpha. Once that was taken care of, we were soon crossing Birker Fell to drop down to The George IV at the entrance to the Eskdale valley. Retracing the same route, we had covered 155.8 miles in total. 4.4 gallons of fuel re-filled the tank – we had averaged a very creditable 35.4 mpg.

During the two-and-a-half years I owned this vehicle, it never failed to impress me. It's curious amalgam of Transatlantic size melded with pragmatical Scandinavian engineering. It was that good, I made the error of trading it in for a newer, blue-green metallic 740GLE Auto that looked marvellous. The tyres on it's smart alloys were even larger than the older car's. Could I expect similar handling then? Expectation was as close as I got. The more powerful engine introduced axel-tramp into the equation. Definitely not an improvement! It really seemed to be a case of 'Less is More.' So, do not be beguiled by all the goodies that are on the more expensive models. Ultimately, they may turn out to be less satisfying.

Mid thirties fuel consumption may seem pretty poor in view of 2010 fuel prices, but remember, a 740 weighed in at 2750lbs.+ And was a large five seater. Mechanically, the basic 2.3 engine's underpinnings have resulted in some of the most reliable engines ever fitted to any car. Mercedes-Benz included.

The earliest examples of the the 700 series will now be over 26years old. The body condition of any car is the final arbiter of viability. Mechanically, a base-model 740 is as about as straightforward as a 1980's car could get. So, when Uncle Fred says he's selling his 740, don't shudder, give it the once over.

How many decent 740's went to the crusher during the 'sc***page scheme'?

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