Fitted as standard e.g. in the E-Class (W210) or C-Class (W203). The sixth gear is designed as a genuine drive gear in which the cars reach their top speed.Compared to the previous five-speed manual transmission, engineers at Mercedes were able to reduce shift forces by up to 25 percent by using more efficient synchromesh units featuring multi-cone synchromeshing.
In practice, the gearshift is precise and light with short shift travel.
Positioning the synchromesh for third and fourth gear on the countershaft reduces the shift forces for third gear yet further.
The ease of ‘diagonal’ gearshifts from one shift gate to another makes sporty motoring even more pleasurable.
