I see so many people praising the w210 for having a 5sp tranny, a v6, no head gasket issues etc... however:

The 96 and 97 models used the same m104 3.2L L6 that the w124 did, I don't know what improvements MB made to the m104.995 (w210) vs. the m104.992 (w124)

Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the 96 (and 97 I think) models were paired with the 722.3 transmission, a 4sp not 5. The 722.6 5-speed was not available in the US until MY 1998 (along with the V6).

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Daily Driver: 02 E430 4MATIC
In the family: '03 E500 // '04 ML500 // 64 220SE