Drove a W211 E320 this AM...

[blackmercedes]

A friend of mine and her husband attended a social function last evening. As the evening wore on, some wine and spirits were consumed, so both of their cars were left in the parking lot. The husband grabbed a ride to work this morning, and left his wife to bring both cars home.

Since he's quite anal about his car (not like ANY OF US, huh..?) she elected to drive his car (Boxster S) and I drove her 2003 E320 home. We cabbed it into downtown.

I LOVE the W211. Wow. This is, without a doubt, the nicest sedan I have ever driven. The ride is fantastic, but not floaty in the slightest. It's just "perfect." The overall ride quality easily rivals the W140, but has much sharper reflexes when the wheel is turned. The rack and pinion has been tuned to perfection. In the parkade, I was able to feed the car through the tight corners with what I thought was going to be overboosted sterring on the road. Not in the slightest. Once moving, the steering was firm and precise. Wow.

The cabin was quiet and felt just as anvil-like as ANY other MB. It was certainly more "modern" than the W210 we owned, and the materials are pretty swanky. The gauge package is a little odd, but clear nonetheless.

The M112 felt different than in the ML's I've driven, smoother somehow. Suspension, sound deadening, whatever. It felt great.

The interior switch gear was of a higher quality than in our W210. Not by leaps, but noticable.

The brakes are not very linear and I was not smooth at all. Are the E320 the SBC brakes? If so, they would take getting used to. They seemed to have more grip as the pedal was pressed and the point of "more grip" seemed to move depending on speed.

When the E320CDI arrives, I'm going to have a VERY tough time not going into debt to get one. The W211 is a significant step from the W210 and I hope that this level of ride and steering refinement is indiciative of where MB is going with all their products. Just make the brake pedal feel better and I think the car is just plain perfect.

Glad I didn't draw the Boxster...

[Rick Miley]

Originally posted by blackmercedes
The cabin was quiet and felt just as anvil-like as ANY other MB.

My question is will it stay that way. My E300 was like that when new, but now at 100K miles it creaks and rattles more than the 240D.

Has the E320 CDI not arrived up there yet? We have them here, and at least a couple people have reported in Diesel Discussion that they bought them already.

[jcyuhn]

I've briefly driven a 211 sedan as well. It was an E55 My thoughts very much echo John's, though I was perhaps paying a bit more attention to the engine. The ride, the solidness of the structure, the interior materials - it's quite a car. I did find the guage package odd as well - a bit too dressed up in the American idiom, and of course not enough data...

The brakes on the E55 feel odd as well. The pedal has a bit of free play, then seemingly stops solid. At that point pedal force, but not position, control stopping power. It definately took some getting accustomed to. The brakes were, however, hugely powerful.

My friend that sells at the local dealer just called today (to cajole me into working at the USCF race he organizes every Memorial weekend...). They have an available CDi, and he wants me to come down and drive it. Says it's an utterly amazing car, and he cannot understand why anyone would buy gasoline (AMG excepted) when diesels are so good.

- JimY

[Chamorro]

The brakes are not very linear and I was not smooth at all.

Ahh yes....electrohydraulic braking. I'm hoping they re-map the computer to allow for smoother braking as well. They're definitely strong enough for the car (I drove a 2003 E320 as well....both myself and my g/f were extremely impressed w/ it), but they operate too much like on/off switches.

[blackmercedes]

Just got off the phone with the dealer. I can get a new E320CDI, but it's gonna cost me. The sticker on our 1998 E300 was in the low $60's. The new diesel is about $80K with a few options, and close to $90,000 with taxes, etc. With $10,000 down, the lease payment is close to $1600 a month.

I guess I'll wait until some come off lease...

[WANT '71 280SEL]

I take it that's canadian dollars? In the U.S., I think msrp is somewhere around $53,000, and the man in diesel discussion paid $56k-$58k. They look awesome, but I personally think that the w210 may be better, more traditional MB styling on the exterior.
Thanks
David

[Hatterasguy]

See the new ones arn't so bad are they? I really like the W211, there getting popular at the boat yard and I never get tired of seeing them. There are also a few E55's around, those things are incredible. So much power, I'd go to jail for sure if I ever got one. There is now way I could keep my foot off the happy peddle. "Honest officer I didn't think I was going 130." Now the new SL, wow Thats what dreams are made of. I will own an SL600 someday!!