Roof height: sedan vs. wagon!
 

Anyone know why the 124 wagon's roof height is greater than the 124 sedan?

It appears to be about an inch higher in comparing the two right above the top of the doors.

BTW- I am comparing my '95 E320 wagon to my '91 300E

i'm not too familiar with the e-class but are you comparing apples to apples?are the tires and rims the same?is one a sport package?are you measuring the peak hieght to compare knowing that the sedan's roof tails off where the wagon will continue to be somewhat level?maybe it's just shock fatigue.good luck!:)

Wouldn't the best way to measure this be to measure from the door sill to the top of the roof? Or from the floorboard to the headliner? This way tires, rims, suspension, unlevel ground etc. wouldn't play any role. Just a thought.

If you have a garage door, disconnect it from the motor and use it to compare the two heights.

Sixto
91 300SE
87 300SDL
81 300SD

The wagon has 1 1/2 inch taller roof than the sedan.

As Limited Edition points out, it is taller, never mind all these clever folks trying to talk about ride heights etc.

The reason why it is taller is that the saloon roof is curved to give a pleasing shape, and presumably good aerodynamics. In the estate (sorry, wagon) the curve is flattened to give a more or less contant height to the load bay. There is no logical reason why the wagon roof should be the same as the saloon, since all the pressings will be different anyway, so the actual height will be a compromise between aesthetics, load bay space and cost.

I forgot I started this thread. I also found out that the wagon front sway bar is larger than its sedan counter part.

The wagon definitely has more headroom.

Since I have both a 124 sedan and wagon, it is obvious that he height difference is in the roof, above the top portion of the doors.

Haasman

I also own a W124 wagon. Possibly it's due to the roof rack. These wagons are design to haul stuff up top. As for the larder sway bar, maybe it's due to wagons weighing more than sedans.

It's got to be the roof-rack. The W124 body was not altered in any way, except when it was lowered and the front end was narrowed in 1990. Then in '91, the sedan got a 'flat-butt' rear-end. Maybe the wagons rode a bit higher in the '90's then the sedans. But not in the '80's.

My sister has an '89 300TE, and an '87 300D. Except for the roof-rack, they are the same height.

I think they have heavier duty swaybars because of a higher center of gravity (established above), higher weights and great cargo carrying capacities.

Here are difference specs* on the '95 E320 Wagon vs Sedan

Wagon/Sedan
Curb Weight - 3750/3525
Automatic (lb.)
Track FR (in.) 58.9/59.1

Track RR (in.) 58.6/58.7

Length (in.) 188.2/187.2

Height (in.) 59.8/56.3

Headroom - front (in.) 37.4/36.9

Headroom - rear (in.) 36.6/36.9

Legroom - rear (in.) 33.9/33.5

Hip Room - rear (in.) 55.3/55.4

Shoulder Room - rear (in.) 55.6/55.7

*Source: MSN Auto section.