SoCal240/6

I had the great fortune of having a 2001 E320 loaner for two days.

I was surprised at how quick it felt. Pretty nice power, and overall pretty nimble. Felt a lot quicker than my C240 6 speed. Didn't handle as nice, though, and felt a little "loose" overall.

The seats were a horrible vinyl/fake leather. Really cheap looking. Uncomfortable, too. They manage to be too hard, yet too springy, at the same time.

The dash was ok - it is starting to look a little square and dated.

Esp. compared to the new E. Really nice on the inside. Nice on the outside, too, but a lot of people on casual glances won't be able to tell the difference between the E and the C. From many angles, they look very similar.

The new CLK looks really nice. The CLK500 looks like a heck of a car. Big improvement over the old CLK, which looks a little frumpy and uninspiring to me.

Have a nice weekend. I'm going on a large boat far away for a while.

BlackC230Coupe

It does not look like to many people care about your opinions.
:o
i thought the E320 only came in leather?? afaik there is no vinal.

u are one of the only people that i have heard that actually like the new CLK to me and alot of other people they think they look girley and cheap. i would stick to my frumpy and uninspiring :o CLK430 anyday.

oh by the way i hope u dont make a wrong turn on your boat, there no rush for u to come back here.

SoCal240/6

Seriously, what year did you get your GED?

Vince

the service guy always hooks me up with a e320 loaner. Overall, i like it. It, too, suprised me at how quick it felt. I got a chance to drive it through the canyons where i live. When i stuck it in sport mode and used the tiptronic it handled pretty good, though still alot of body role. It just took some getting used to.

FrankW

my dad's friend got an E320 loaner once, and i have drove it. It felt quick, but the steering feel was horrible, and yeah, horrible. The E320 is standard leather. Other than steering the E320 is solid as a rock, almost too solid to cause the car to feel old when you seat in it.

I like the design of the new CLK too. Although it is actually heavier than the W208, it looks more nimble. I like the interior of the W208 though because it is more similar to the W210 E-class (let you have a expensive feel). IMO the quality of the material of the W209 is better than the W208.

The truth is that i felt the CLK could have waited for another year before the complete make over.

Lynn

I don't know about the W210 E320, but the W211 E320 does not have leather as standard equipment. Look at the "Seating & Trim" heading on this page.

jigga619

You guys are lucky, I got a fricken Toyota Camry for my loaner.

Mike T.

I think the W 209 is better looking than the W 208, though the latter is OK too. Clearly the 209 is a more delicate "feminine" design (as have been all new M-B cars for 3-4 years now), but its various lines, to me, are more harmonious than the old CLK model.

Styling problems with the old CLK are: too high trunk line, fat hips (rear fender area) from some angles, the HUGE gap between the rocker panel cover and the bottom of the door (why??) and finally the poorly integrated round headlights on the bluff, square-rigged nose.

I don't think that any car should be dismissed because it looks feminine. All of the world's greatest car designs are that way. It shouldn't be a problem to find a feminine design attractive, unless you're a gay man or a straight woman

FrankW

MB probably did that to knock down the base price of the E320.

Fuzzo

or to not increase the base price.....

BlackC230Coupe

What u could not think of anything else to say? i have no idea where that stuipid remark came from.

FYI: i am still in High School.




..........................waiting for another immiture remark.

BlackC230Coupe

I personally think everything thing u thought was a problem on the W208 are alot of reasons why i like the W208 better than the W209.

But we all got our own opinions.

Accord

The W209 is a downgrade over the W208, in my opinion.

Darkmann

I'm probably one of the lucky ones who gets practically anything on the lot that's for sale as a loaner - I mean that. The last E class I had for a loaner was not pre-owned. It was a MY02 E320 4-matic, Silver and loaded. It had leather interior and drove quite well. However, there's no comparison to a V8 rumble when it comes to power. I could feel the V6 struggle in arear where my E430 would rumble. No comparison in terms of power, period. The best thing about it: I washed it before returning it and boy was that an effortless wash. Where my black E430 would reveal every detailing inadequacies I had in me, the silver color was more than happy to camorfladge (spelling OK???, and I did pass high school) everything!!!

FrankW

i don't think the loaner were ever pre-owned, at least not that i know of.

btw i think the W209 is in everyway upgrade from the W208 except the center console.

Air Marshall Eldritch

If I had my choice of anything on the lot as a loaner, I think I'd be coming in for service quite often.

Darkmann

Yep, they've been pretty generous to me and I don't mind putting out a word for Pohanka Mercedes. You want a car, just get in touch with them. I don't know whether or not they treat all their customers this way, but I've really had a wonderful ownership experience with them.