FTLOSM

Hello all,
I have wanted a mercedes for years, even back as a kid when other kids drooled over the Porsche's and Ferarri's I always wanted a Mercedes.

Models haven't changed too much since then (classic style) yet I will admit I haven't had a chance to drive many of them yet.

My search is also compounded by my size, I am a big guy 6'6' tall, most of that height is in the upper torso, so I need room in the car too yet haven't had alot of success finding used ones to drive near me.

So I have a few questions I hope you all can help me with...

For instance, if I test drive a 96 E320, and lets say I fit in that fine (even with a sunroof), if I were to see a used 96 E420 would I still fit the same? Are the model numbers just different engine sizes (yet the E shell for that year stays the same?) or are there other interior changes to the dash or center counsole that might rule out a E420 vs an E320 etc...

Reason I ask this is because finding used Mercedes near me to test drive is very hard, most are well over 50 miles away - I have been hitting the net too, autotrader, car.com, yet still finding a car worth looking at and driving to go see is easily 40-50 miles from me in most cases if not more.

Also are there certain E class years or models I should stay away from for quality issues or certain ones known for BETTER quality years or models?

Lastly I have only driven one car locally it was a 92 E300, fit "ok" not great but ok, wondering if in general the E class has stayed the same, gotten smaller or gotten bigger since the 92 era... Mostly its headroom I am running out of, I know search for non sunroof cars, yet pretty much all of them have the sunroof (at least that I have seen).

Oh yeah, I have seen alot of C280's out there, in general does a similar year E320 (say 1996) have more room than a 96 C280? In other words does the E class have more room than the C class (within that same year) I know in rear seat room yes there seems to appear to be a difference, but I haven't driven the 50 miles + to go see a C280 and didn't want to waste my time doing so if I knew for instance that the C class run even smaller (inside driver dimensions) than a E class of the same year.


Thanks for any and all help or advice on this, just want to find a good car that I fit in well and will do my best to take care of it and hopefully get a good 200-300K out of it before it totally dies on me (or is that unrealistic?).

Bill

Whitey

I believe the interior of the W210 (95-02) E class is bigger than the earlier one (W124) which you tested. The physical size of all vehicles in the same class are the same (same body). The designation E320, E420 etc indicates the engine size not the physical size.

The W210 went through two major changes between 95 and 02 (some minor cosmetic changes in between the years):

98/99: the old in-line 6 engines was replaced with a V6

99/00: major face lift - alot of body work changes as well as fiber optics and added steering wheel controls, new engine (I think)

The post-00 models look nicer but the pre-00 are not inferior mechanically (best to get the newer V6's).

Hope this quick summary helps.

E55 KEV

Whitey, your post was helpful but more related to all other countries outside of US since you are also outside the US. The W210 E-Class body that Bill is referring to starts in the US for 1996 model year and the W210 facelift was the 2000 model year. The modular V6 & V8 engine was 1998 for US. The older W124 E-Class ended as a 1995 model in US.

Bill, it actually sounds like you should consider an S-Class sedan. Hate to make you spend more money. I know this has you starting all over but at your height that is the ticket. I thinck you would "fit" into an E-Class but with little room to spare. All the seats have the power "go down" and recline option and you may find a good seating position. It will be very difficule finding an E-Class without a sunroof. Mercedes sedans come in 3 sizes - small, medium and large. The C-Class is the small sedan so don't even think about those.

Now, if you change your mind and decide to start all over with the S-Class here is some infomation on that. The W-140 S-Class sedan ran from 1992 thru 1999. From 1994-1999 they had these names:

S320 (I6/both long and short wheelbase)
S350 (Diesal)
S420 (V8)
S500 (V8)
S600 (V12)

from 1992 - 1993
300SD (diesal/short wheel base)
300SE (V6/short wheel base)
400SE (V8/Short wheel base)
500SEL (V8/long wheel base)
600SEL (V12/long wheel base)



Also from 1994 - 1999 there was an W140 S-Class 2 door Coupe. It had simlar names like S500 S600 until 1998 it change to CL500 & CL600.

Whitey

Oh well, the years for the US were just a year later but interesting to note the differences. Truth is, I posted based on memory.

Just for info, in Asia and Europe the 6's (i.e. 240's, 280's, 320's) converted to V6's round about 98/99 (my late 98 has the newer V6) and the E240 went from 2.4 liter to 2.6 liter after the facelift in 99/00. Seems there was a transitional period when minor details were changed in 98/99 prior to the facelift in 00 e.g. golf tee door lock pins replaced by the smooth conealed type - what is commonly referred to as SLK/CLK pins, no RF receiver on the trunk, smart key, concealed RF reciever on the interior rear view mirror mount etc. - certainly these are what I have on my late 98 some of the US members seem to find surprizing.

In any case, I totally agree with Kev, if you're 6.5'+, an S might be a better option. However, I was very surprized to learn recently that the S is actually not that much larger than the E on the outside despite what my eyes tell me (about the same length and about a handwidth wider), but certainly feels a lot more spacious on the inside - not sure about the interior height tho', presumably it should have a higher ceiling.

stemags

Im 6'2 and there's lots more room to go in the seat adjustment.Either way you decide,you'll get 200k out of it if you do normal pm.

2002 Mercedes-Benz E-Class

New Car Pricing | Free Online Price Quote
More Mercedes-Benz Reviews

By Sam Moses
Luxurious and practical.
Base Price (MSRP) $47,850
As Tested (MSRP) $49,115
The Mercedes-Benz E-Class is the company's most popular line. If you had to pick one model that symbolizes the image of Mercedes-Benz, it would be the E-Class. It says Mercedes in the way most people understand.
The E-Class introduced the trend toward oval headlamps. It's big, square but sleek, smooth, silent and powerful. It's built like a tank with a light touch, and comes out elegant. It's a masculine car where women feel at home. And in areas such as engine design and management, chassis, drivetrain, aerodynamics, safety and computer technology, Mercedes-Benz leads the automotive engineering world.
E-Class offers three engine choices in sedan and wagon body styles.
With an all-new E-Class coming for 2003, Mercedes-Benz is offering special packages designed to provide buyers with greater value: The E320 Special Edition sedan features new 17-inch wheels, Black Birdseye Maple trim, full leather upholstery, sunroof, rain sensing wipers, premium audio system all wrapped in Black metallic or Quartz Silver metallic paint, a value of $3,000 all at no extra charge. The E430 Special Edition sedan adds Xenon headlamps and heated headlamp washers, a value of over $3,500 also at no extra charge.
Model Lineup
Three E-Class models are available:
E320 sedan ($48,450) and wagon ($49,650) come with a smooth and highly sophisticated 3.2-liter V6 rated at 221 horsepower.
E430 sedan ($53,850) is equipped with the standard highly sophisticated 4.3-liter, 275-horsepower V8.
E55 AMG ($71,350) boasts a whopping 349 horsepower from its 5.5-liter V8 hand-built by world- renowned tuner AMG.
E320 4MATIC ($51,300) and E430 4MATIC ($56,700) come with an all-wheel-drive system, which transfers power to the appropriate wheels when one or more wheels slip for enhanced safety on slippery7 surfaces.
A special option for $1050 is Parktronic, which uses sound waves to locate obstacles near the front or rear bumpers. A warning beep increases in speed until contact. It's useful in parking, of course; but more importantly, it would see an object behind the car that might be under your line of sight, such as a child.
The list of state-of-the-art features goes on for so long that it can be hard to escape Mercedes' big-brother-like electronic protective wing. A dedicated cellular link called Tele Aid provides 24-hour contact for emergency aid, general information or roadside assistance-each with a separate button on the dash. Automatic Collision Notification engages the emergency function (SOS) if an air bag deploys. Automatic Alarm Notification alerts Mercedes-Benz to contact you if the antitheft alarm is set off. Tele Aid also includes stolen vehicle tracking, and remote keyless unlocking service, should you lock the keys in the car. The first year's annual fee of $225 is included in the base price.
Walkaround
Its oval headlamps grabbed attention when the E-Class was first introduced. Now they've become familiar and there's nothing you see walking around the E-Class that you haven't seen many times before. It no longer grabs your attention. It's a Mercedes sedan.
The sculpted and contoured front air dam, side skirts, and rear valence wrap the E-Class body in sleek aggressiveness, and the Halogen front fog lamps add a distinctive finishing touch.
You look out over the hood and can't see the fenders because they slope away so artfully, lending to the excellent 0.29 Cd aerodynamics. All you see is the big tri-star hood ornament, which may impress you with your own stature.
Outside mirrors are heated, and the left-side and rearview mirror dim automatically. The right-side mirror tilts down when the car is in reverse, for better rearward visibility. The huge and famous single-sweep windshield wiper has a heated washer nozzle so it won't freeze. The remote locking SmartKey system has built-in electronic protection against transmitter cloning; the windows and sunroof can be opened by the remote.
Interior Features
The leather interior of the E-Class is stately and dignified. The leather is of excellent quality. Burl walnut trim adorns doors, dash, console and shift gate. Steering wheel and shift knob are trimmed in leather. Velour is used for floor carpeting and floor mats.
Rear seats offer enormous comfort, legroom and ease of entry. The E-Class is one car that is truly about passengers.
The main differences between the models has to do with powertrains. Standard equipment on all E- Class models includes 10-way power front seats and head restraints, a power tilt and telescoping steering column, a multifunction steering wheel, memory seating including mirrors and steering wheel position, an integrated garage door opener, and eight-speaker Bose sound system with optional CD changer.
Much effort has gone into making the cabin climate comfortable. There are dual temperature and airflow controls, an electrostatic dust filter and activated charcoal filter with smog sensor, and rear-cabin air vents. In cold weather, the climate control can recirculate warm air through the interior for up to 30 minutes while the car is parked, drawing on very small amount of coolant. Bunches of interior lights provide illumination, from visor vanities to maplights to door handles. Pockets, compartments and cupholders abound.
The switchgear can be confusing, however. Studying the owner's manual is a good idea because not much is intuitive. The sound and command systems include about 30 buttons the size of a Chiclet or smaller, and the only immediately identifiable one is the PWR button. The abbreviations or icons on many of the buttons are so small you have to take your concentration off the road to read them.
No less than eight airbags are provided as passive safety measures. Besides two front airbags and a side-impact airbag for each door, curtain airbags drop out of the headliner on each side, measuring 72 inches long by 14 tall by 2 thick.

The E-Class cars are so smooth and powerful you'll be going 80 mph before you realize. That's good, of course. Designed for the Autobahn, the best acceleration begins at legal limits. This dignified sedan feels most impressive after it's already in outlaw territory. The engine is barely loping at 65 mph. The engine benefits from a broad, flat torque curve, which means it accelerates smoothly, linearly, powerfully.
Combine that with a five-speed transmission that shifts imperceptibly, and you feel as if you're sort of quietly and effortlessly slung along in this car.
Under the hood there's a 21st century engine, with electronic management of fuel and spark for efficiency only imagined in days of yore, such as 25 mpg on the highway-with Autobahn performance. There are two spark plugs per cylinder, with 100,000-mile service intervals.
More tangible innovations standard on the E-Class include:
Brake Assist, which reads your mind during a panic stop and applies full braking force faster than your foot can or will, even if you make the mistake of relaxing pressure from the pedal because you feel the anti-lock brakes pulsing;
ESP, which corrects a slide before a driver might even detect it, by selectively pulsing the brakes to individual wheels;
ASR traction control, which applies the brake to a wheel spinning under acceleration, and cuts spark to the engine if necessary;
Over the last half-dozen years Mercedes has greatly refined the handling of its sedans. The E-Class cars are quite nimble, and light in response. Their handling makes them feel smaller than they are, yet the presence makes them feel bigger than they are. That's no mean feat, and takes masterful engineering. The rack-and-pinion steering is speed-sensitive, and includes a hydraulic damper.
The suspension is slanted toward the soft side so it dampens expansion strips and other unwanted road irregularities, but it never feels so soft that it leaves the driver feeling unconnected to the road. The quality of the ride is consistent with the quality of the rest of the car. This isn't a car meant to be tossed through the curves, but the potential is there.
For driving enthusiasts, there is the E55 AMG. And E430 offers a Sport Package, which includes five- spoke 17-inch alloy wheels bearing low-profile W-rated tires.
The automatic transmission features Touch Shift, which allows the driver to play, by shifting the manually with a nudge of the lever to the left or right. There's also a Winter mode, which starts the car moving in second gear (including a special second reverse gear) to help improve takeoff on slippery surfaces.
The transmission's upshifts under acceleration are so smooth they are nearly imperceptible. However, it is possible to confuse the driver adaptive control system, a computer that shifts according to your style. Your style may need to change from moment to moment, and you can change your mind more quickly than the transmission. If, for example, you accelerate and then have to back off for a sudden new event, at lower speeds, the transmission will actually lurch trying to keep up with what it mistakenly thinks is your plan. The Mercedes engineer would say, "Ah yes, but you should drive more smoothly." Tell that to the traffic.

The Mercedes-Benz E-Class is superbly engineered, dignified and sensible. Its style comes more from its statement than its looks. For all its talents, it is understated.
The engineering is brilliant and invisible. The emphasis is on comfort, luxury and safety, not necessarily in that order, but nothing is given away in performance.
Copyright