PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum - View Single Post

Randall Hansen · #12 04-11-2010, 04:14 AM

Thanks for the information, everyone. I've owned the W210 for about a month now and am posting back here for edification of previous repliers and future searches on similar topics.

The short of it: my 2003 E320 wagon is the closest thing to a perfect car I've ever driven, but I still love and miss the 300SDL.

The W210 feels smaller inside, and is more nimble. The throttle is amazingly fine-grained and responsive compared with an old diesel. The steering is very different: more confident around corners, but seeming to require a little more touch maintaining a straight line. It's very solid; it feels better at 110 than the SDL did at 80.

One thing I've always loved about the SDL (and the '84 300TD before it) was that it felt like it was working. Something happens when you put the throttle down, but it's not effortless or automatic. These 80s models still feel very mechanical and analog, and for me this makes them approachable and gives them more character.

The E320 drives so perfectly it's almost arrogant, but it still feels like a Mercedes. I was worried that something so new would drive like my mom's Camry (that is, like a go-cart), completely disconnecting me from the road. Not at all. Through the steering wheel and my butt in the seat I feel exactly what's going on at all times.

But it doesn't pretend to be a sports sedan, either. The transmission shifts into high gear more slowly than the SDL, which surprised me quite a bit, but the shifts are usually so perfect that I don't notice. The 5-speed helps.

Of the SDL I miss the long hood, the big steering wheel, the lower and more reclined driving position. I miss the sound and the smell and the simpler controls. I miss the size, and the trunk space.

I wouldn't consider going back, though. The SDL has one 24-year-old airbag while the E320 has 8. The E320 has heated seats and all-wheel drive. Hot damn, what a car.