diff --git a/e2e/tests/test_example.py b/e2e/tests/test_example.py
index db3814297..35131d58a 100755
--- a/e2e/tests/test_example.py
+++ b/e2e/tests/test_example.py
@@ -4,23 +4,24 @@ from kubernetes import client, config, utils
 from pprint import pprint
 import subprocess
 
-class SampleTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
-
-    nodes = set(["kind-test-postgres-operator-worker", "kind-test-postgres-operator-worker2", "kind-test-postgres-operator-worker3"])
+class SmokeTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
 
     @classmethod
     def setUpClass(cls):
         '''
         Deploy operator to a "kind" cluster created by /e2e/run.sh using examples from /manifests.
-        This operator deployment is to be shared among all tests of this suit.
+        This operator deployment is to be shared among all tests.
+
+        /e2e/run.sh deletes the 'kind' cluster after successful run along with all operator-related entities.
+        In the case of test failure the cluster will stay to enable manual examination;
+        next invocation of "make e2e" will re-create it.
         '''
 
         _ = config.load_kube_config()
         k8s_client = client.ApiClient()
 
         # HACK 
-        # 1. creating RBAC entites with a separate client fails with 
-        # "AttributeError: object has no attribute 'select_header_accept'"
+        # 1. creating RBAC entites with a separate client fails with "AttributeError: object has no attribute 'select_header_accept'"
         # 2. utils.create_from_yaml cannot create multiple entites from a single file
         subprocess.run(["kubectl", "create", "-f", "manifests/operator-service-account-rbac.yaml"])
 
@@ -35,79 +36,50 @@ class SampleTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
             if pods:
                operator_pod = pods[0]
                pod_phase = operator_pod.status.phase
-               print("Waiting for the operator pod to start. Current phase: " + pod_phase)
+            print("Waiting for the operator pod to start. Current phase of pod lifecycle: " + str(pod_phase))
             time.sleep(5)
 
-    @classmethod
-    def tearDownClass(cls):
-        '''
-        /e2e/run.sh deletes the 'kind' cluster after successful run along with all operator-related entities.
-        In the case of test failure the cluster will stay to enable manual examination;
-        next invocation of "make e2e" will re-create it.
-        '''
-        pass
-
-    def setUp(self):
-        '''
-        Deploy a new Postgres DB for each test.
-        '''
-        self.config = config.load_kube_config()
-        self.v1 = client.CoreV1Api()
-
         k8s_client = client.ApiClient()
 
-        # TODO substitue with utils.create_from_yaml and Python client  for acid.zalan.do
+        # HACK around the lack of Python client for the acid.zalan.do resource
         subprocess.run(["kubectl", "create", "-f", "manifests/minimal-postgres-manifest.yaml"])
 
-        pod_phase = None
+        pod_phase = 'None'
         while pod_phase != 'Running':
-            pods = self.v1.list_namespaced_pod('default', label_selector='spilo-role=master').items
+            pods = v1.list_namespaced_pod('default', label_selector='spilo-role=master').items
             if pods:
                operator_pod = pods[0]
                pod_phase = operator_pod.status.phase
-               print("Waiting for the Spilo master pod to start. Current phase: " + pod_phase)
-               time.sleep(5)
+            print("Waiting for the Spilo master pod to start. Current phase: " + str(pod_phase))
+            time.sleep(5)
 
-    def test_assign_labels_to_nodes(self):
+    def test_master_is_unique(self):
         """
-           Ensure labeling nodes through the externally connected Python client works.
-           Sample test case to illustrate potential test structure
+           Check that there is a single pod in the k8s cluster with the label "spilo-role=master".
         """
-        body = {
-            "metadata": {
-                "labels": {
-                    "lifecycle-status": "ready"
-                 }
-            }
-        }
-        for node in self.nodes:
-            _ = self.v1.patch_node(node, body)
+        _ = config.load_kube_config()
+        v1 = client.CoreV1Api()
+        master_pods = v1.list_namespaced_pod('default', label_selector='spilo-role=master,version=acid-minimal-cluster').items
+        self.assertEqual(len(master_pods), 1, "Expected 1 master pod,found " + str(len(master_pods)))
 
-        labelled_nodes = set([])
-        for node in self.nodes:
-            v1_node_var = self.v1.read_node(node)
-            if v1_node_var.metadata.labels['lifecycle-status'] == 'ready':
-                labelled_nodes.add(v1_node_var.metadata.name)
-
-        self.assertEqual(self.nodes, labelled_nodes,"nodes incorrectly labelled")
-
-    def tearDown(self):
+    def test_scaling(self):
         """
-           Delete the database to avoid introducing dependencies between tests
+           Scale up from 2 to 3 pods and back to 2 by updating the Postgres manifest at runtime.
         """
-        # HACK workaround for #551
-        time.sleep(60)
 
         _ = config.load_kube_config()
-        crd = client.CustomObjectsApi()
-        body = client.V1DeleteOptions()
-        _ = crd.delete_namespaced_custom_object("acid.zalan.do", "v1", "default", "postgresqls", "acid-minimal-cluster", body) 
+        crd_api = client.CustomObjectsApi()
+        v1 = client.CoreV1Api()
 
-        # wait for the pods to be deleted
-        pods = self.v1.list_namespaced_pod('default', label_selector='spilo-role=master').items
-        while pods:
-            pods = self.v1.list_namespaced_pod('default', label_selector='spilo-role=master').items
-            print("Waiting for the database to be deleted.")
+        body = {
+            "spec": {
+                "numberOfInstances": 3
+            }
+        }
+        _ = crd_api.patch_namespaced_custom_object("acid.zalan.do", "v1", "default", "postgresqls", "acid-minimal-cluster", body)
+
+        while len(v1.list_namespaced_pod('default', label_selector='version=acid-minimal-cluster').items) != 3:
+            print("Waiting for the cluster to scale up to 3 podes.")
             time.sleep(5)
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':