Let's talk rearends! w210 vs w211
The rear of w210 is just so good looking. it looks very mascular and solid in my opinion. I fell in love with the new E also but the older E has a much better behind IMHO.
I do like the new w211 a lot and just about everything inside and outside and am waiting for the day when I can get my own w211 e55.
(not the best pictures, but the same company took them (Ebay shots) in the same location.
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The differences of opinions make me realize how difficult it must be for the MB design team to come up with those great designs. At least they get it right and not like the guys from the BMW 7 series design team.
Besides the two door version,the CLK and the SL,that style of rear light (with the tail lights either side of the boot lid cut) died with the SLK and W202 C Class which adopted the new triangular theme,which is still used today.
The first version of the W210 was even worse as it incorperated two round ovals in the design to try and blend it in with the round oval headlights.
IMHO the W211 is a better design from every angle.As soon as I saw the W210 in 1995 I didn't like it and am not convinced to this day that the design works.
The W211 is what the W210 should have looked like when it was released way back then.A much smoother front end, a tauter side and the MB themed rear end,while the interior is light years ahead.
The moment I saw it I loved it and it still grabs my attention every time I see one drive by.
Last edited by Callaway; Jan 18, 2003 at 05:28 PM.
The styling speaks for itself. The cost effectiveness comes from minimizing the number of parts, and location of lights to simplify electrical harness routing. Note that the L & R tail lights are contained within the rear qtr panels, not split up like previous design. And the center stop lamp is now located at the rear top of the trunk deck lid, which simplifies harness routing, and makes easier owner housekeeping within the cabin rear deck.
These are some of the MB engineering results that an **** retentive engineer such as myself do appreciate - and they did this without sacrafice to the styling.
...it looks very mascular...
Do you mean muscular?I think the W 210 was not a particularly good design. What was wrong? Let's see:
1. The round headlights clearly were an afterthought. They do not flow at all into the front fenders. The joint is rather abrupt, as though two stylists worked independently on the front and side and never reconciled the join between the two.
2. What's with the goofy shapes around the side view mirrors? Mercedes would probably say it's for airflow management, but it looks ridiculous and ungainly; other carmakers did a lot better at the time, and still do.
3. The transition from the front fender to the beltline is all wrong. Again, the "two uncommunicative stylists" hypothesis rears its ugly head.
4. The W 210 is slab sided beyond belief. Surely some creativity could have been applied to this expanse of flat sheet metal, without being garish...
5. The high boot line is almost as bad as the 300E. It looks like a fat person's butt, not muscular at all.
Those critiques aside, the W 210 is reasonably presentable. However, they could have done a lot better.
The W 211 corrects these criticisms. It's clear that considerable finesse was applied in making it a whole.



