Schumacher

I stopped by at the dealer yesterday and sat in an E320 that was on display... and the interior was not as nice as I thought it would be. the displays and buttons on the center console were somewhat strange looking and the small things on top of the doors that locks/ unlocks the door( i don't know what they are called) were the same ones as in C-class 5 yrs ago. The ones on CLK are smaller, nicer and hide into the door when unlocked, while ones in E are bulky with big heads and look like they can be pulled up open with a wire thru the gap between the door and window.... I do not know why MB chose to keep this style for such a nice car...
I do not want to start another long thread with all the arguments, so I'm posting this in the CLK forum... I'm so happy I got my CLK...

"The Don"

The "E" is great, but no comparison to the CLK! Nothing and I mean nothing is better than those pillarless windows! I keep the rear ones up on purpose and when I see people staring at my car in traffic, I put them down and they go nuts! I strike up conversations with chicks all the time with this damm thing! I stuffed 3 blondes in it the other day. Pimpin it baby!!

Ciao,

"The Don"

Callaway

Besides the fact that the CLK has pillarless windows I think the E Class interior is a lot nicer and has less of a "buget" feel to it.

This is not meant to be a putdown,but I feel the CLK reminds me more of a C Class interior while the E has more of an S Class feel to it when I drove them.

Shine

W211 is the best seller here, everybody afford an Mercedes
he goes for the E, with family, friends,colleagues
The interior is thus important to "full load of passengers"
luxury,modern,graceful..... to flatter the owner is quite
necessary.
To the justice, the interior of E looks nice to me.

W209 prices even higher than E here, said,the price of CLK320 is close to that of W220/S320 !
Rare,individual,expensive,second(third) car to ppl need not a sedan anymore.
I bet most women who are single are aware of that.

Schumacher

Anyone has any comment on the lock/unlock thing on the doors??
If you haven't seen them on E, you should. They are so ugly...

karl k

I spent two days last weekend at the E-motion event in Miami.

Clearly, the new E is a step UP to the S and has many features/designs that go beyond S, Cl, and SL class. The new E is a winner from the get-go!!

Regrettably, the new CLK is a step DOWM and looks PUNY. It is - closer to the C230 Coupe.

C-Kompii

Although I like the new CLK, I kinda agrees with kark k. The borrowed C-Class components such as the center console and gear shift leaver makes the CLK's interior feel less 'expensive' compare to the E's. The E's interior also feel fresher since the design is mostly new.

In Australia, the E is priced slightly higher than the CLK, which is about right IMO.

-G'day-

karl k

Non-issue.

The bottons are down when E is locked. However ANY pro-crook can get almost anything. The MB products are just a little harder to take by unauthorized characters.

stockseer

I have the CLK500, and totally pleased with it. Interior could be a bit better (like the power window controls on the console as in the past), but generally not at all 'cheap' as some contend (with the charcoal interior it probably helps).

Neighbor got the E500 sport, and to me the most crucial fault has nothing to do with trim like the door locks (trivia really versus the basic car), but the ride of the car. Harsh and wallows on bumps or potholes (almost like the old GM pan-construction). So much focus on technology and gadgets, and little discussion of how the vehicles are built; such as mass and influence on ride, not just the overall weight; at least construction is something I suspect is not sufficiently focused on; though MB is surely better than most.

Anyway, on the very same roads, RR tracks and potholes, the new CLK handles them with applomb and control, whereas the E500 sport does not. Maybe the air suspension, maybe just the particular vehicle, but I think one needs to test these cars in the real world, not just smooth tracks like the Emotion event. And by the way, I do like the new E, aside from the ride. It's such a key mainstream product for them, I wonder if it's the particular car.

RJC

Saw the 209 interior in the flesh today;saks fifth ave addition which has light beige and dark beige dash, I found the quality of the materials used excellent but did not like the radio and climate controls, these looked c class cheap,the rest was great.

RJC

karl k

I took 10 rides with the E500 on the test track - wet and dry - last wekend.

The E500 suspension has 3 different stages of adjustments, from cruising comfort to very firm.

All levels passed the comfort test, - plus the car stayed level and did not dip when coming to a stop. These features unfortunaetly are lacking on the new CLK.

mbslick

Damn, I knew I was doing something wrong. I gotta get off the damn highway and sit in some traffic on the LIE or Northern State now!

"The Don"

It's the only way Slick! Hey which part of Strong Island are you from?

DON

mbslick

You know it. I'm in Queens actually. Spend a lot of the weekends on the Island or in the City.

jhb

Schumacher, you "hid" your critique of the E here with the intent not to start a long back and forth thread. See, you can't avoid it!!! I think that is actually a compliment to the forum. It is well read.

From my perspective, both the CLK and the E are great. There are individual features on both that stand out as positive and negative. On the CLK, the most positive for me is the front view with the star in the grill and the most negative is the side view (the trunk looks cut-off and too short or stubby). On the E the most positive is the coupe-like sleekness of the front/side view and the most negative is the plastic dome lighting.

Even these negatives aren't very troubling, though for either. I'd be happy with either one (I am getting an E500 to replace my '99 CLK Cabrio because our other car is an '03 SL500 and we need the 4 door).

On the ride question, you have to remember that what you are "used to" influences your judgment. So, if you are usually driving a smaller wheelbase car (the CLK) and then try out a larger wheelbase car (the E) you would have to think it does not corner as tightly, even if it does!! The larger vehicle sensation just does that to you.

We are fortunate to have these choices. They are both good and, more importantly, all fun!!