My 211 vs my 210
 

Build quality, the 211 has the old solid sound when you close the hood and the doors feel a lot heavier than the 210’s.
To stand the hood up the 211 has the old style catch on both sides versus the 210s’ single catch on the passenger side.
The 211 has a warning on the display if your hood is not properly latched,,,, I really like that feature.
The 211s’ 350 engine has incredible torque. Even with 5 people in the vehicle, you never notice the weight and it seems to pull like you are alone.
The under hood and front unibody is completely different from the 210. The bumper has extensions from the frame rails which should absorb a lot of force from a front collision without disturbing the actual structure.
Lighting seems to be a lot more reliable. My 210 seemed to blow bulbs on a regular basis,,, none on the 211 yet.
Interior seems roomier than the 210 and has a completely different layout.
The window switches on the door takes some getting used to.
The center console seems odd,,,, where you would rest your arm is the wood cover for the cup holders,,,, no padding at all. In 3000 miles of driving it wasn’t really a bother, but it would be nice to have a natural pad to rest your arm.
Seats are still extremely comfortable on the long haul. I did a couple of 1000 days, and this 63 year old body felt no ill effects.
Windshield wipers are still a puzzle. I kind of like the dual wipers, but you cannot raise them with the hood down like you can on a 210 or a 124. If you try you will take the paint right off the back edge of the hood. I always used to raise the wiper to dry underneath when I washed the cars, but don’t try it on a 211. The windshield washers are real gushers.
They seem to have gotten the rain sensing option down, as on my first 210, it was useless and I hated it. My wifes’ 02 works pretty good, but the 07 is almost perfect.
I LOVE the cargo cover on the 211. When you open the hatch, the cover raises up automatically and when you close it, it returns to it’s normal position. Neat.
The heated seats have finally been made useful. The 211’s heat up faster, and they heat your back, and they have 3 heat levels,,, really nice compared to the bottom only style.
The brakes are fantastic on the 211. They even seem a lot better than on my SL.
The underbody on the 211 has a lot more protection from the elements than the 210,,,, a good thing up here in the northeast. It looks like the 211 is a lot better thought out to resist the rust that plagued my 00 210.
The 211 drives like a dream. It actually seems better on the road than my SL.
So far I have put 4000 miles on the 211 and have not had an issue yet. I love the car and hope it is a return to the old reliable tanks that we held so dear. Time will tell.

I don't like the fabric on the lower door panel. Its right in the spot where dirty feet would kick it.

Do you notice any light road texture type vibration in the steering? Other than that I like my W211 pretty well. It kills me when people try to argue that the W210's are more solidly built. I wish I knew in advance what the future reliability was going to be for this car, like you I hope that we are back to the reliability of years gone by.

Yes. Same on my long gone BMW X5. I thought it was because of the large wheels and thin tires.

I think that it is due to the 17 in wheels as well and the rack and pinion steering which transmits road vibration more readily than the old recirculating ball.

The W211 is a great car, I think its better than the W210. Drives better IMHO.

Yeah my uncles E350 he ordered with I think AMG 19's and you do get some road vibration, but its not to bad. Personaly I would have went with a slightly smaller wheel and more tire.

He did break a rim right after he got the car on a raised manhole.

See I liked the older cars with complete isolation from all the nonvalue added input on the road. To me it makes the car feel less solid than it should. PArt of the prblem is the car is so darn quiet and smooth that any vibrations of that nature tend to stick out like a sore thumb to me. I really enjoy the smoothness of it otherwise.

None that I can notice. As I said, I did some long mileage days and things like that tend to get your attention after 10 or 12 hours. This car is awsome. And the best thing,,, it has Hankook tires on it. Not my choice but they seem to be a real decent tire. No road noise, and the handling and wear seem comparable to most other tires I have used.

Mine came with continentals :cool: I really really like the airmatic suspension, but I'm sure it will bring me to tears if anything breaks on it.

Its really a function of the road surface. I can feel it come and go as I drive over different pavements. Does yours have the 17 in wheels as well? Softer tires could make a difference. I have Michelin MXM's. An honestly I don't really notice it on long trips. More going to work and back on crappy I75 and around town on Cincinnati's crappy side streets.

Well lets put it this way, it rides better than my W126 ever did, and is far stiffer.

My W126 was pretty flexable and stiff, it kind of felt like the CLK550 cab I had my hands on for a few months a couple years back. Although the cab was far more nimble and you could corner at speeds that would leave the W126 plowing into the ditch.

I have driven a lot of Mercedes and my favorite as far as ride is still the W140. Mercedes got it right with that car, even with big wheels and little tires they still ride awsome. My friends S600 with 18in AMG's is the best riding car I have ever been in, better than a Rolls Royce of the same year we took for a spin thats for sure.

BMW's suck, one of my uncles has a bunch and they all suck. The X5 was stiff(rode a lot like my SDL), the Z4 was stiff as hell, the 535XI sucks. I don't like any of them.

My wagon has the 17's with 245/45's,,, still a little isolation from the road. A couple of other things,,,, the MB Tex seems a lot thinner than on my 95. we'll see how that plays out. The gas mileage IMHO is great. I have been getting 19 to 20 MPG around town and saw 27.5 out on the road,,,, not bad for a big wagon.:D

The W140 is the one Mercedes I have never ridden in or driven.

BTW Hattie. OT: I thought about you when I was in Ft Lauderdale visiting my son a month ago. He took me on a tour of the 85' Hatteras that his girlfriend is a stewardess on. Nice boat. The engine room was way bigger than on the 118 ft yacht that he had worked on previously. They took me for a ride on the 40 ft tender. He basically scared the $hit out of me when at one point he was going full throttle toward a umpteen hundred foot cargo ship.

The 140 is a very fine ride. We have worked on a few of them and you could spend a LOT of time in one with no problems.