I had a 2003 E320 for 3 years. Liked it. But when the lease was up decided to try an Acura. Really liked my Acura RL. The new RLs are really, really ugly. So I went to my Mercedes dealer to see what they had.

Just pulled the trigger last night on a 2009 E350 with P2, sport pack, pano, split folders, and auto trunk.

Got the car for $4000 under invoice and a screaming interest rate of about 1.4% on a 4 year lease.

Picking the car up on Friday. I'll post some pics!

 

The guy I bought my E3504matic from did the same thing. He only lasted less than 6 months with the RL before he admitted defeat and bought another E3504matic

 

Welcome to MBWorld forum; a great place to be.

 

Welcome back

 

Here are the pics as promised...

 

Niiice, love the profile view....it looks like the back is lower

 

Welcome back to MBWorld. Congrats on the E-Class, very beautiful car.

How was your overall experience with the RL? How did you find it compared to your old E-Class and to your new one? (Used to have a bunch of Acura's)

 

Congrats! Nice clean car.

 

I really liked my RL. It does not have the substantive feel of an MB. It was a little smaller inside (although the RL actually was a little wider than the MB). The trunk oin the RL is tiny. And I had a few little annoying little breaks on the car. Like the door pull on the car - cracked right off. The inside is a little plasticky.

The engines are comprable. The Acura has a little more hp, but its a bit thrashier and the transmission is not as smooth as the MB tranny.

One thing I will say about the RL - the Nav unit was substantially better. It was easier to use. What took 1 button push in the Acura takes three or four in the MB.

The real-time traffic in the Acura was awesome. I will really miss that feature. It was quite accurate and could really be a life saver when the roads are clogged. I could see those red lines and know I was in for gridlock.

What is funny, is not very many luxury cars have that feature. Only Acura and a few others.

The Acura wasn't as nice looking. And the overall interior materials were - about on par with MB.

The AWD system in the RL was also very cool. Very sophisticated and effective. MBs 4matic is good, but not as sophisticated. Also, I found the 2WD version to actually handle a little better (and it go much better gas mileage).

I really have nothing bad to say about Acura. My 06 was a very good car. Honestly, if Acura had not ruined the car with a hideous redesign - I would have leased another one. The Acura dealership was very, very nice and helpful. I considered an MDX (the large SUV) but I just don't like SUVs and the MDX gets poor gas mileage (14-15 in the city)

I certainly have nothing nice to say about Lexus. I went to drive an LS460 and GS350 and the people at the dealership were rude, unhelpful and when they quoted me a lease, they had a 14% interest rate on the car! When I told them that was a ludicrious rate for today's market, they acted offended that I dare even think to question them. The guy even said to me at one point, "well, this is a Lexus you know. Not an Acura." I replied with, "no thanks." and left. What a jerk.

I also tried out a Hyundia Genesis. Nice car. Its definately going after the luxury brands. Lots of nice features. But, I found the front seats to be uncomfortable (they would not go far enough back) and the dealership was extremely unplesant to work with. When I was at the dealership to test drive, the sales guys were grinding away on this poor young couple buying a Sonata or something. They were absolutely screwing these two. The dealership was cheesy.

The deals on a E350 were so good I just could pass it up. I can always get a Garmin or something to overcome the NAV issues. And maybe they will have a software update that fixes some of the annoyances.

One thing I will say, the E350 with the sport pack is the best looking of all of them.

Well, I got 4 years on this lease. I am looking forward to enjoying it.

 

Its because of the slant of my driveway, that's all.

 

Very nice. Yes, the E350 with AMG sport package is very beautiful. I actually find the E-class to be one the best looking MB's, along with the S and CL. Ya, the technology in Acuras are amazing, very sophisticated, the best out of all luxury cars IMO. I've never liked Lexus either.

 

Thats the problem when companies that normally sell cheaper vehicles to their customers bring in a (near) luxury vehicle to the stable. They treat all their customers the same way... like cattle. When you spend a lot of money on someone's top end luxury vehicle, you deserve to be treated like Ladies & Gentlemen who are dropping a substantial amount of dough. You are buying the Luxury car car AND the Luxury ownership experience. They can provide the car, but not the pruchasing/ownership experience because they are used to selling feed to cattle.

Nice car! Enjoy it!

 

I too have had an 06 RL and now have an 05 E500, and agree with most of what you said. My main compaint with the shawd of the RL was that it leached too much power from the engine and the mileage was not good for a V6. Until Acura produces a rwd drive version I do not see myself going back. Were you ever on acurazine?

 

Yeah, I never got great mileage with the RL. It was a tolerable 17-19 all the time. But for its size and engine, it should have done a little better.

I would consider going back if they make the RL look better. The new Acura designs are hideous.

One thing Acura did nail was the nav/radio. The Nav unit in the RL was far superior to the MB Comand.

Yes, I was on Acurazine. I don't think I posted much.

 

Just curious, did your Acura come with leather?

(I still don't understand the use of MBTex as standard in a car like the E-Class; C Class, yes, okay I understand that.....)

ps, congrats on the new car. Enjoy!

 

220S- All of my Acura's including a 2002 RL had Leather. Real leather, not vinyl.

 

i too have owned acuras and now I'm on my second benz....and Acuras are really nice but once I went German I never went back. My favorite RL was the one that came out in 99 or 00...it was sweet at the time and very on par with the S that was out at the time... The new TSX is sweet too if you get one fully loaded with the body kit. I actually think it's one of the nicest interiors out there. The new RL looks like an older accord. Pretty ugly. Honestly though I didn't like the one you had too much either. Your new E is sick!!! Love those wheels..getting 19s of them within a month.

 

I had the RL you mentioned (same body from 99-04) and honestly, it wasn't on par with the S out at that time, IMO. My $.02. It was nice though, and had a different feel than the Acura's out now, although the new TL feels (and smells) like a German car. At an Acura dealer, I saw the 09 TL (new body) and the 08 TL (old body) side by side and the difference between the interior was night and day. The 08 seemed like my RL. Very Japanese. Not good considering it was new and felt like my 7 year old Acura. The new TL felt NOTHING like it. I could've sworn I was in a Benz (well, kind of.)

 

Yes. THe RL seats were a little better. But honestly, I don't notice a huge difference with the MB Tex.

 

i had my years mixed a bit...i meant the late 90s s-class. AS far as looks and features, if you had a fully loaded 99 RL with nav it looked better than the s class. The next s class was definitely a step up, but i HATE that body style. It's so ugly. Espicially in that ugly *** bluish tinted silver color with some 16 inch chrome rims, limo tint and covered in dirt... hahaha.

 

When RL should get redesign? I should be off my lease in two years, so it is good to have an option to consideration only W212.

 

That's what I thought. I just personally dislike vinyl (hot/sticky in summer, etc..)

And despite the 'argument' that MBTex lasts longer, I like the wear and patina of leather, esp. over time. And leather can be conditioned, dyed and repaired. Like having an old vintage jacket or comfy chair.

I'm guessing this will be the same (MBTex) on the new W212(?)

I had to look everywhere to find a 2009 E350 with leather. I ended up getting lucky and found one (P2, pano, parktronic, trunk close, leather, etc..) at a dealer 40 miles away....

 

Sweet ride!! Can't beat the 211 with an AMG package.

I've been looking at tons of new cars, studying them, etc. Preparing for what my next move would be when I'm ready to get a new car (whether it would mean trading my 211 or keeping it along with a new one), I like to study cars, almost obsessively, and honestly cannot find anything that has as little flaws as the 211. I think that's its beauty, that it doesn't try too hard, but in turn delivers very little flaws design wise. Lots of people are trying hard on the gimmicks but a lot of those elements turn me off to them and have me feeling like I would get SUPER tired of the car after a short time. My E has me in shock at how it still feels like I just bought it.

Hard to beat the overall feeling in the interior too from my experiences.