Quote:
Originally Posted by lkchris
Actually it was Lexus. Indirectly, of course.
No W212 diesels in the USA yet, but I can say without hesitation that there is NOTHING about the W124 that even comes close to the W211. The latter is a fantastically better car.
Have owned W123, W124 (2), W210, and W211.
I'm relatively certain most W124 owners would be blown away even by a W210 with the V6 and--especially--the five-speed transmission. Smoother in all ways than the iron-engined W124s and no headgasket leaks, either. Even our diesel is a rocketship compared to a dog 300E, and 2700 highway rpms (V6) or 2100 highway rpms (OM648) sure is nicer than 3400.
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I had the opportunity to speak to a W211 owner while at the local dealership a couple of months back. I believe the car in question was either a 2004 or 2005 E320 which he had purchased new. He went on to tell me that the car has spent a lot of time in the shop for various electrical gremlins including the dreaded SBC system. The car had racked up closed to 170,000 km since he drove it long distances for business. He told me he had preferred his former 1992 300E for its mechanical and electrical simplicity and reliability.
I guess we can agree that the newer cars will be better is aspects of safety, technology and refinement, but these things do not replace the high standard engineering mindset that the older cars were built upon. To say that a newer Benz is a fantastically better car is only true in a few aspects.