Just bought a new E350 2 weeks ago.
I must say that it drives nice and that everything works fine so far.
The new brakes feel more responsive than the SBC system.
However I noticed something right away.
The car feels like it's made out of a tin can.
The same cheap metal and plastic feel that many of you complain about on Japanese cars.
It must be the new way to make cars now as compare to the older vehicles.
I compared it to my 96 W210 which feels solid and better engineered to me.
For example, I was really surprised to see that the rubber foam seal that surrounds the trunk lid on the W211 does not cover the entire opening like my W210.
I wonder how much MB is saving by doing this?
I have heard many people say that MB was lowering quality on it's cars to make more profits but the sight of this made me wonder what else are they cutting back on. Are they as safe as the older cars?

I don't think I can justify the high prices of a MB anymore as they really are not that much better than a Toyota in my eyes.
Is the quality of a new MB worth 2-3 times the price of a new Toyota?

__________________
2010 W212 E350 Sport
1996 W210 E320 (220K miles)