here's the wheel which i liked...

 

and here's the very handsome front...

 

That black area is sound deadening material, it's right over the muffler. It prevents resonating noises from coming into the trunk.

 

Gotta love the E320, what a great car.

 

Saab made a V4 a few decades ago [/B][/QUOTE]

A correction here: Saab did not ever make a V-4.

Ford A.G. of Köln, Germany made a V-4, which Saab bought and fitted to some of the 96 series and the Sonnet.

The 2 stroke, 3 cylinder Saabs were the last REAL ones

riiiinnnnggdingdingdingdinggg....

 

those are nice wheels...they are not standard wheels are they? they don't look like the sport wheels?

 

W211 German prices:
E320: €43500
E500: €56492

By the way, no E430 is mentioned. Don't know if a W211 430 will be offered later on, but I don't think so...

 

"and i am not sure why the E had better gas mileage than the C Inline 4 lol"

just commenting here....I once heard/read that a V6 motor is more efficient than an Inline-4. Hence, the better gas mileage. Has anyone else heard or read this? also depends on motor displacement, naturally aspirated or turbo/supercharger, etc.

 

my two cents :

I believe when the "new" V6s and V8s came out a few years ago, they moved from four valves to three specifically to get better mileage (and emissions). The engines were optimised for that.

For a while (2000?) MB advertised that the E320 had the best mileage of any six cylinder car.

The supercharger can really guzzle gas - at least it does on my C32! Maybe I have a heavy foot ...

I had the oppurtunity to use a loaner E320 also. It is a NICE car - missing some features compared to my C32, but still I was impressed with its solidity and peppiness.

I want a W211 E500! (really an E55, but I'm not sure I can convince the wife...). Can't wait unitl they are available in the US!

 

i am jealous of all of u guys that bring your car in for service and actually get a mercedes let alone a E-class when i bring my car in for any service they usually give me a chevy caviler or once they thought they were doing me a favor by upgrding to a chevy malibu only because i started to make a scene. but i guess thats because they have an alamo rent a car in the dealer. and thats in 2 of the biggest dealers where i live. and one of them i was told was the biggest mercedes dealer in this country. i am not sure if i believe them even though it is hudge. but any my point is i bought a mercedes and i would not like to bring my car in and get a P.O.S. chevy!!! of well what can i do.

 

I have owned several W210 E Class cars, both 320's and 430's and now
have a 2002 C320. My impressions are that I would rather drive the C320
for several reasons. First of all, the handling is better. The ride and noise
level are much better than my 2000 E430. Yes, the E Class is roomier but
that is not one of my priorities. Hopefully, the W211's will be much better
in important areas. Early reports seem to indicate that they have solved the
imprecise handling. Actually my E320 rode better and had lower road
noise since it didn't come with low profile tires. I will certainly be looking
forward to test driving the new E. Maybe it will win me back.

 

Whats the big deal with the loaner car? You're not paying for it. It has four tires and a steering wheel, and it won't leave you stranded. By the way, I think the biggest MB dealer in the country is Fletcher Jones in Newport Beach, CA.

 

That claim by Mercedes is UTTER rubbish, and always was!

The reason M-B went to a single exhaust valve in their Vee engines was that they were convinced that only a twin-spark car with high exhaust port temperatures could meet the "strict" EU-3 emission control standards, especially on cold starts.

It has now been proven, most notably by BMW and more recent M-B engine designs, that 4 valves per cylinder is the way to go for fuel efficiency, specific power and low emissions.

Mercedes' V-6 is horrendously fuel-inefficient compared to the BMW equivalents:

BMW 330 i: 12.8 L/100 km city, 6.9 highway, 9.1 overall
M-B C 320: 16.1 L/100 km city, 7.8 highway, 10.8 overall

BMW 320i: 12.2 L/100 km city, 6.9 highway, 8.9 overall
M-B C 240: 16.6 L/100 km city, 7.9 highway, 11.1 overall

The source of these figures is the respective 2001 model year brochures for these two cars.

The supercharged 4 cylinder M-B engine is far more fuel efficient than the V-6 engines, being closer (but still not as good as) the BMWs in fuel efficiency tests.

The C32 is the least fuel efficient C of all, so I'm not surprised you need to fill up once a day