CORRECT - 100%

 

Airmatic is the way to go. The handling and ride is much better than springs. Also you have the option of lowering and raising your car. Worth every penny. Once you have experienced airmatic you wouldn't want to go back to springs.

 

I've just collected my S205 (W205 estate/wagon) with aromatic. I've not fully explored it, but the comfort level is very good, still stiff with good feedback on the surface, but floaty at the same time. Very happy with it so far. This is on the 19" wheels too.

 

I have the Airmatic, and I HATE it. It feels extremely bouncy and makes my kids carsick. My wife has also commented that it makes her nauseous. When going through a series of bumps at high speed, it seems like the bounciness amplifies and is very uncomfortable. I have 18" run-flat tires.

When I test drove a C400, it did not have airmatic, and I didn't notice anything unusual. My previous car had airmatic and I liked it, so I ordered my C400 with it. It was really dumb of me of not testing a C400 with the airmatic. People on this forum are also very positive on the airmatic.

I brought the car into the dealer, and the service manager test drove it with me and said that it was normal. He said it was bouncy, but then again I didn't buy a E or S class.

I feel like I made a big mistake buying the airmatic. I could use some advice; is the bounciness really normal and I'm being overly sensitive, or do you think there could be something wrong with the suspension in my car? I have had sports cars that were more comfortable.

I generally love the car, but the bouncy ride is killing the joy of driving it.

 

Interesting - from reading your post I would swear you were talking about leaf springs. Hope it get's better over time for you

 

Why dont you switch to sport? or set an individual setting?

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I had tried switching from Comfort to Sport and didn't notice a difference at first, but I'll give it another try for an extended period of time to see if it helps.

 

The last day and a half I have a C300 loaner with the 18" wheels , no airmatic. It is a really nice car and the 4 banger does an admiral job. I need Airmatic, though, and thankful that I do have it. The ride is nowhere near my C400.

 

Hmm...wish I had a better idea for you. Maybe can try lower tire pressure in the run flats as long as stays in limit for load and speed...seems counterintuitive maybe, but harder hits on the tires may be jostling the air suspension. Anything worth a try.

 

Test drove both, chose the coils.
Airmatic has a "boaty, wallowy" feel that induces nauseum for many. Coil springs feel "flatter" and makes the car feel have zero "roll". Plus, it feels more connected with the terrain. I love how quiet the suspension is, and even on Sport+,coil muffles all the sounds I get annoyed with all the while not going berserk over large potholes.
With compressor noise, reliability issues, and teetering that comes with Air-matic, it just wasn't worth it in a car of this size.

 

Even in the bay area, I have not been able to test drive airmatic as they are very rare, glad you were able to find one, interesting experience you had.

 

I spec'd mine with airmatic as the AMG line demo car that I had for a couple of days was too hard, especially on the poor rural roads here. I've got to say I'm very glad I went for it, in comfort mode the ride is very good and yet in sports it feels planted and stable on the twisty back roads. It does feel a little floaty in comfort however that's a small price to pay for the way it glides over bumps. The ability to raise the suspension is also very useful. On the whole love the airmatic and I'm very glad I ordered it.

 

I tested several versions of the C300 prior to ordering my car and I was very pleased with the steel suspension in the standard and luxury spec cars but felt the sport suspension was way too harsh for a lux car. I wanted a sport version for the looks and some of the options that were available with the sports models so I ordered mine with Airmatic and I couldn't be happier. Airmatic is also a bargain at around a thousand bucks (USA) at a typical discounted price.

 

And it's an absolute steal if you lease, at a residualized cost under $500. If you're ordering its essentially a no brainer from what I've read. I should have mine to review by next week.

 

The media reviews have actually been very mixed, and somewhat less enthusiastic than the owner feedback.

Some testers have been quite positive, but others have complained about a "wallowing" sensation and also a less than dramatic improvement in ride quality compared to the steel suspension.

Personally, I tend to hesitate calling any option "must have" since not every buyer wants the same thing in a car. So, while the Airmatic option is certainly reasonably priced and does offer some nice features, it is not necessarily what every W205 buyer may want in a suspension system. The steel suspensions are, IMHO, a bit sharper handling at the expense of some ride compliance. The best bet is always to test drive the various setups and then order what best suits your own needs.

 

I agree totally. For me, I already have a BMW roadster for handling, power, cruising and fun. What I wanted in the S205 was luxury and practicality with compliance/comfort and I'm happy to lose a little handling for increased comfort.

 

Airmatic was one of the best decisions I made, going from a BMW F30 with standard suspension and 18" Continental RFT's (the noisiest tyres ever) to 19" Conti RFT with Airmatic, I must say I wasn't sure what to expect.. however I can say in my own opinion.. the ride is fantastic and leaves my F30 behind .... only done 300km's I will see how it progresses from there

 

I sure hope you guys are right. I test drove a C250 AMG line with 18s. I thought it was ok but as i wanted to run 19s i decided to order the car with Airmatic, in the hope that the car would ride the same or better than my test car did.

Reading the many reviews on here it would seem that most are very pleased with the Airmatic

 

I don't know of any car that handles better with airmatic than conventional springs.

 

In addition, you can only raise the car or return it to normal. You can't lower it. The car lowers itself at high speed but unless you start playing with the sensors or suspension, you can't lower it.

 

No, the stock car when moving selector to sport or sport+ lowers, as does driving fast on highway. Comfort and eco is middle height, and raise button is about 15mm higher.

The entire long post can be summarized by the recommendation that you test drive the car with different suspensions before buying. Everyone tends to like what they own or have to sell you. The air is hard to find. And if costs are not a concern, airmatic is hard to beat, especially with runflats or larger wheels, except the very few who are taking their W205 sedan to play on a track somewhere.

 

That's interesting as that's not what my manual says.

 

The steel suspensions are a bit different with different packages in different countries, but I thought (I honestly don't know) that airmatic was the same world-wide, so it might be different in UK and you might be right.

From than manual here, and experience in it:

"Select the S or S+ drive program with the AGILITY SELECT switch. The vehicle is lowered by 0.6 in (15 mm) compared to the normal level."

"When driving at speeds above 80 mph
(125 km/h), the vehicle is automatically lowered by 0.6 in (15 mm) in the C and E drive programs. When driving at speeds below
50 mph the vehicle is raised again." Supposedly for better aerodynamics and handling.

As you mentioned, you can also raise the vehicle 15mm from the above references with a button under the agility control switch.

"The Raised level setting is canceled if you:
drive faster than 75 mph (120 km/h).
drive for approximately three minutes at a speed over 50 mph.
The Raised level remains active when you are not driving within these speed ranges."

The raising is for a little more ground clearance or more rough roads. It's pretty fast to change between all the settings, takes 5 or so seconds, you can see it adjust.

 

This is not correct: the vehicle will rise 25 mm above reference level.

 

does anyone have a real picture of a W205 with the 18" AMG wheels, when its in its lowest mode? I am curious to see if it sits as low as my '12 C300 sport