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      07-03-2016, 11:28 AM   #1
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Quick review of E300

So the E300 demo cars have hit my local dealerships. I am very interested in this car even though it's not as dynamic as the BMW overall. At least not yet.

I won't discuss styling really too much. Obviously by now you've seen the car in pictures and / or videos if you are at all interested in it. I will just say that it looks like a bigger C, not a smaller S. That is a good thing, in my opinion. I will also say that the car's styling translates better in person. In pictures it looks a little narrow in pinched. In person, it has much more presence.

The demo cars are equipped very lightly. AMG sport pack, which slightly lowers the suspension. No air ride or adjustable suspension. 18" wheels. P1 package. Standard roof, not pano roof. The 12.3" COMAND system with nav is standard in all US cars. P1 also includes the Burmester "lite" system...the upgraded 3D Burmester is several thousand dollars as an upgrade. No leather, just Artico / MB Tex on these cars. Also, it has standard gauges with a high res LCD between, not the double flat panel. None of the vaunted autonomous driving features are present at this price point. Speaking of which, the price is just under $60k. It's posible to spec one of these near $75k with P3, pano roof, etc, even before the 3D Burmester! That's serious money for a 4 cylinder / base car.

The interior is pretty fantastic. The flat panel is far more successful than in person than it looks in pictures. It does not look at all dated / 70's / afterthought. It looks very well integrated. The COMAND 12.3" display is also exceptionally crisp and clear. The revised COMAND interface is much, much improved. The old top / bottom menu structure was, in my mind, pretty poor. The new setup is more like Audi's MMI, but arranged horizontally. I'd judge it to be equal to, if not slightly better than, MMI, although I haven't had all that much time to play with it. I still prefer iDrive's nested menus, and shortcut buttons surrounding the controller. Keep in mind that I haven't owned a BMW for near on 3 years now, so it's not like I'm suffering from a learning curve because I'm too familiar with iDrive. The touch pads on the steering wheel are absolute genius. You can control pretty much everything from those little pads, both the screen between the gauges (or the gauge panel itself when you elect for the full digital gauges) as well as the large screen without taking your hands off the wheel. It's really intuitive, the buttons are very responsive and it's an excellent solution.

As I said, the interior is very nice, for a car with faux leather. The seats have excellent bolstering, far, far better than the base seats in an F10, and even as much as the multi-contour seats I had in my old F10. Extendable thigh support is standard. These seats are very comfortable yet also hold you well. BMW is going to have to improve. I really hope that the G30 seats are better than the ones in the new 7 series.

The rear seat legroom is disappointing. Or maybe I should say it's pretty adequate for the class. Certainly the "large C not small S" shows itself here. It's on par with the F10, current A6 and my Lexus as well. Front seat room is plentiful. The only impediment I found was the door mounted cupholder portion of the pocket was pushed out enough to just about touch my leg. Otherwise there's plenty of room even for my 6'2" and wider than average (ahem) frame.

Ok, the drive. As expected, steering is light. The rack isn't overly quick, but it's not slow either. There's not much feel, but then again, what car in this segment (or most others) these days offers any real feel. It's certainly on par with the F10, F30 and other non-M BMW's. The suspension is soft, but not floaty. Again, it's probably comparable to a base 528, which this car directly competes with. I can't say I found any twisties to push it in...I live in Houston after all, but on the entrance and exit ramps for the highway, the car acquits itself well for a car which does not have a sporting mission. I will report back in when I can drive one with the adjustable air suspension.

The engine and transmission is a good combo. I would say that the 9G tronic isn't as smooth as the ZF 8HP series. I found occasionally it would snap off something of a stiff shift when I wasn't expecting it. The 4 cylinder engine has similar figures to the 528 at 240/273 vs. 240/260 for the BMW. Peak torque is claimed to be at 1,300 RPM and I have to say that it feels stronger than I remember the 528 feeling by a bit in the lower rev range. With 9 gears, it may have lower ratios down low, but in no way does the car feel underpowered. Even on the big 6 lane freeways here littered with huge pickups, the car feels confident.

One thing I noted in both of the cars that I have driven was something similar to my F10. The car has crosswind assist, as does the F10 although it didn't use to shout about it. But when driving dead straight on the highway, you can feel the car correcting course. It's a bit unnerving to feel it jinking back and forth ever so slightly even though you are not moving the wheel. It's a bit more pronounced than it was on my F10, and I didn't like it there either. I really hope that with the other suspension eradicates this a bit or it could be a deal breaker for me. Again, this car had no autonomous features.

Overall, vs. the 528 it's a definite upgrade. Of course, the F10 is about to be replaced so time will tell how they stack up. It's a solid entry in the class and will be an excellent seller. It's not the last word in dynamic ability but it's not supposed to be....and neither is the 528. Their mission is comfort and luxury, not sport. Having sampled the C450 AMG (soon to become the C43) and the C63, they give up very little dynamically to their comparable BMW counterparts (340i MSport and M3). I'd also say that the C300 with sport is better than a 328 with MSport. I have no doubt that the E43 will be much more dynamic and that the E63 will certainly challenge the M5. Mercedes has upped it's game all around and BMW is no longer leaps and bounds ahead in terms of dynamics as they used to be.

I am looking forward to driving the E43 and seeing how Mercedes sets it up. Should be good.
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      07-03-2016, 11:34 AM   #2
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Some pictures.
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      07-03-2016, 03:21 PM   #3
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Is that not the C-Klasse?
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      07-03-2016, 03:25 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SCOTT26
Is that not the C-Klasse?
You're funny.

No, it seems that Stuttgart, like Munich, now subscribes to the one sausage, different lengths, school of design. The differences are very subtle. Basically the number of LED bars in the headlights and the way the character lines run.
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      07-04-2016, 05:56 PM   #5
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Nice review.
I am a bit disappointed that 9G-Tronic is still not as good as ZF8, but at least is close to it...
It would be really interesting to try new E43 AMG once it is finally out. Mercedes is really lagging with new engines in E series, still only 3 choices while all the most interesting options are yet to be released...
I am also surprised that you find Mecedes seats to be better than BMW's Sport or Comfort.
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      07-05-2016, 03:52 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Needsdecaf View Post
You're funny.

No, it seems that Stuttgart, like Munich, now subscribes to the one sausage, different lengths, school of design. The differences are very subtle. Basically the number of LED bars in the headlights and the way the character lines run.
Actually no. You can tell the difference between a 3er,5er and 7er through various amounts of distinctive elements such as characterline and their facia.
Mercedes C-E-S all use the same headlight shape,rear headlight shape that they are virtually similar and related.
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      07-08-2016, 12:52 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SCOTT26 View Post
Actually no. You can tell the difference between a 3er,5er and 7er through various amounts of distinctive elements such as characterline and their facia.
Mercedes C-E-S all use the same headlight shape,rear headlight shape that they are virtually similar and related.
Put a 3 and 5 next to each other and I guarantee you that a non-car person would have as much time separating them as they would with the C and E. I would agree that the C and E are TOO close looking, but it's not like the old days where the E60 looked nothing like the E46 or E90 or the E65....
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      07-08-2016, 10:15 PM   #8
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Well, I certainly hope it looks as you say, a lot better in person. To me, and granted I might be biased, F10 even though it's at the end of the cycle still looks a lot better than this.

I'm not sure how much the ride and rear seat legroom and headroom have improved comparing to previous model. For previous model neither compared favorably to F10 or A6. In fact E class ride comparing to A6 and F10 in my opinion was by far the worst out of the 3. Interior fit and finish and sound system were pretty great, I have to admit.
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      07-10-2016, 12:34 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bbb34
Well, I certainly hope it looks as you say, a lot better in person. To me, and granted I might be biased, F10 even though it's at the end of the cycle still looks a lot better than this.

I'm not sure how much the ride and rear seat legroom and headroom have improved comparing to previous model. For previous model neither compared favorably to F10 or A6. In fact E class ride comparing to A6 and F10 in my opinion was by far the worst out of the 3. Interior fit and finish and sound system were pretty great, I have to admit.
Rear seat leg room is about the same as the outgoing F10 with regular seats, better than the F10 with multicontour seats.

Ride is decent. It's tuned for comfort in the E300 standard suspension. And that's what it delivers, in spades. It's not floaty, but it's soft. I look forward to driving the adjustable air suspension.
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      07-11-2016, 02:32 PM   #10
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the thing is that if you put C and E class next to each other most people wouldn't be able to tell they are actually 2 different cars. With BMW that's not the case, they might not tell you which one which is but they will know that are 2 different models
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      07-21-2016, 02:41 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Laki021 View Post
Nice review.
I am a bit disappointed that 9G-Tronic is still not as good as ZF8, but at least is close to it...
It would be really interesting to try new E43 AMG once it is finally out. Mercedes is really lagging with new engines in E series, still only 3 choices while all the most interesting options are yet to be released...
I am also surprised that you find Mecedes seats to be better than BMW's Sport or Comfort.
I think Merc is waiting to release their new M256 Inline sixes, which will launch in the facelift S-Klasse. Apparently there will be an updated E400, the E43 will become the E55 with close to 500 HP.

And also, you guys act like Mercedes has never done this before, one sausage different lengths....history always repeats itself...
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      07-22-2016, 02:25 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pr0gi
the thing is that if you put C and E class next to each other most people wouldn't be able to tell they are actually 2 different cars. With BMW that's not the case, they might not tell you which one which is but they will know that are 2 different models
I recall going to the Audi dealer and not being able to tell the difference between an A6 and A8.
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      07-23-2016, 01:03 PM   #13
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Good review.

As for the similarities with the S, E, and C, I can't help but think if and when another Chris Bangle will shake up the automotive design world with quirky designs that we'll all find polarizing at first, then secretly love towards the end.

MB found a formula that works, and decided to spread it throughout their lineup. BMW did the same. I just wish their cars were as striking as the E65 and E60 (both visually and dynamically, but that'll never happen again).
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      08-30-2016, 12:34 PM   #14
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In the actual format the design of the BMW sedans is not so close as the Merc and Audi have it.
E Class looks too much like C...
I have no doubt that the next 5 will have a better personality.
Curious to see the engine updates: new V8 for 550i and how Mercedes will respond.
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      08-30-2016, 06:31 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vladberca
In the actual format the design of the BMW sedans is not so close as the Merc and Audi have it.
E Class looks too much like C...
I have no doubt that the next 5 will have a better personality.
Curious to see the engine updates: new V8 for 550i and how Mercedes will respond.
It will respond with the E43 AMG. Then the E63 above.
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      09-11-2016, 12:44 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pr0gi View Post
the thing is that if you put C and E class next to each other most people wouldn't be able to tell they are actually 2 different cars. With BMW that's not the case, they might not tell you which one which is but they will know that are 2 different models
When I had an F30 328i people asked me if it was a 5-series. Now people ask if my 5-series is a 3-series. As long as they don't confuse it for a Mercedes I'm happy.
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      09-11-2016, 03:36 PM   #17
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Great review! Thank you.
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      09-29-2016, 11:59 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by r3dbimmer89 View Post
I think Merc is waiting to release their new M256 Inline sixes, which will launch in the facelift S-Klasse. Apparently there will be an updated E400, the E43 will become the E55 with close to 500 HP.

And also, you guys act like Mercedes has never done this before, one sausage different lengths....history always repeats itself...
I can't tell the difference between C and E from the side
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      10-09-2016, 11:17 AM   #19
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Haven't driven it but have spent some time with a few and agree with all your sentiments.

The G30 will certainly be more sporty looking which will draw people to the Bimmer over the Merc, but it won't have a leg up in the interior design dept. (since it's going to carry over the boring G11 design). I hope it's more fun to drive than the F10 otherwise there's not much of a reason to buy it over the Merc aside from looks.
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      10-09-2016, 11:18 AM   #20
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Haven't driven it but have spent some time with a few and agree with all your sentiments.

The G30 will certainly be more sporty looking which will draw people to the Bimmer over the Merc, but it won't have a leg up in the interior design dept. (since it's going to carry over the boring G11 design). I hope it's more fun to drive than the F10 otherwise there's not much of a reason to buy it over the Merc aside from looks.
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