Wow,

The infiniti was going to be my next car till i test drove the E 7 months ago. A good friend of mine just picked one up and finally got around to taking it for a good ride. While i admit the electronics are vastly superior to those of the benz, the ride quality is no where near it. I think the firm, quiet, tank like ride of the benz is starting to really spoil me - whenever I sit in another car these days all i do is notice how damn noisy they are!

Hats off to MB, they build them with one thing in mind - IMO - to have the best riding car - period - and for that i think i got the right car!

Aceman

 

I often pondered the thought of buying a M35 and trading in the E320, my wife has a 2004 Q45 which has been a great reliable car, never once brought in for a service complaint. The infiniti's engine is a strong selling point along with the electronics. My Mercedes however is a different story, I have had it in the shop numerous times for problems but for one reason or another I just can't part with it. One of those reasons is the tank like feel and the quietness with the ride that no other manufacture has yet to master.



2004 E320 - NAV, Dynamic Seats, Logic 7, Bi-Xeon, Integrated Phone, VCM, Heated Seats, MP3 DVD

 

I also was looking at the M35X before buying my MB. Very nice car. The tranny lurched a bit and the ride was a bit too stiff for me. My 2nd choice.

 

The Infinity M is marketed as a performance oriented car as apposed to the "normal" 211. The M45 is a heck of a good car for the performance oriented buyer. But if you like a quiet car, then the 211 is the answer. I have a 2004 G35X which is my daily drive. It is totally different from the 211, like night and day. The G is much noisier, handles and brakes better than my 211. But I will take the 211 on a long trip because of the comfort and quietness.

 

I traded in my 2003 E500 for a 2006 M35 w/premium package. The ride is nowhere near the quality of the Mercedes, but for me, it’s an easy tradeoff. This car just works, you can actually use the laser cruise control, Bluetooth, navigation and voice features all at once, and everything just works.

But they really are different cars, I can nit pick a list of pros and cons for each car; ultimately you have to know what you want in a car!

 

There is definately something to be said about the e-class ride, I have that exact same reaction after any rental car i use! That infiniti is probably the best of the japanese bunch, and there is something to be said for "everything just works". I'm not ready to give up my E yet, but that would be one of the cars I'd consider crossing over for....

 

My sediments exactly. Neighbor has an Infinity, NICE car, not a Benz though.

 

For a big, auto-tranny car the M45 is a hoot to drive. Boring on the outside but I like the interior (which is the weakest part of most Infinitis IMO)

 

This is sort of OT, but I've often wondered what people in rural states do if they want to own a high-end car. Montana has one M-B dealer (in Missoula) and zero Infiniti dealers. I'm thinking of moving to a similarly rural location after retirement, but I don't necessarily want to limit myself to Chevy, Ford or Toyota. What do you do for warranty service, for instance, if you don't live anywhere near a dealer?

 

It's a pain in the *** and I would not recommend ownership unless you are mechanically inclined. I don't deal with the MB dealer in Missoula, Montana anymore, about 125 miles away from me. I bought 2 Benz's from them, first experience was great both sales & service (1987). Last time it sucked (2003). I went back to the dealership in Spokane, WA, 350 mi away. I've bought 4 MB's from them. Always been able to make the right deal and their service dept rolls the red carpet out for me, only had 1 bad experience and the SA made it right.

I have established a great relationship with the head tech and SA. Had a starter go out on a 97 C280, they sent a roll back to pick the car up and hell they even comped me for a rental while mine was in the shop.

If it's within the scope of my ability, I'm a gear head, they will send any warranty parts & tools to me to do the repair/replacement. The last time I was in Spokane they failed to do one of the SBC recalls. I wouldn't have known the difference but the SA called me. I brought the car back out to them several weeks later and they picked fuel and lodging for me.

I don't want to rain on your parade, but at best it's risky, especially with a complex car like the E. That's me though, I love the car and think it's the best looking vehicle out there...........Bill

 

It's an amazing combination of sporty and comfortable.. and the car's chassis is as if it's honed from a single piece of metal.

Just look under your car when it's up on jacks or in for service and you can see the amazing multi-link 5-arm suspension that makes this car a $50K plus car.

 

Well, when you look under the car you can see how symmetrical everything is and how aerodynamic it is from the underside. There are no big bulky mufflers that hang down like on Cadillacs or Lincolns that claim to be a sports car. You can barely see that a 4-Matic is a 4-Matic, everything is very well shrouded and covered too.

However CE750, I don't mean to rain on your parade, but the 5-link rear suspension was first introduced in the 190E (1984 in the USA), this design was so successful that they transferred this same design to all the cars after that. My 1991 300E also had this rear suspension. It was way ahead of its time in 1984 and still is a great performer! It is anti-squat (when accelerating hard, the torque from the axel pushes the springs up) it has anti-dive (it tends to lower the rear when braking hard, also using the torque from the rear brakes) and the outside wheel in a turn helps in turning (the car has 3-wheel steering, but the outside rear wheel is passive of course). What I am trying to say is that this design has been put on other Benzes that are much cheaper as well as the S class. I wonder what they will do to improve on it?

This is what makes a Mercedes Benz a Mercedes Benz, everything has been carefully thought out and designed. I love the new add for Buick. It states that it has heated washer fluid! WOW, my 1991 300E had it and it was never bragged about. Does Lexus even do any of these things? If they do, then you know that is yet another thing that they copied since these features were pioneered by Mercedes Benz before Lexus even existed. I know my cars inside and out and I can go on forever about these little things. This is why I buy Mercedes even though it must be that I am lucky that I don’t have all these problems that people are talking about.

Steve

 

I was at the Caddy dealer and they had a new STS4 (AWD) parked right next to a STS (non AWD), there must of been about a 2" difference in hieght between the cars - i've never noticed that with the MB 4matics...

Aceman

 

When in non-sport mode my 4matic definately looks and feels higher than a normal car. I wonder if it's higher than a non-4matic E? Does anyone know for sure?

 

4matic height diff was obvious on my w210, the w211 i agree you cant tell.

 

Well that explains it then, Mines a w210

 

There is about one inch more of suspension travel on the 4-Matic than on a regular W211. So the 4-Matics are about one inch higher. The suspension on the 4-Matic is also a bit harder and there is a little less sway on turns.

Steve