Which E-class has softer suspension? W212 or W211?
bearing in mind that if both cars have 17'' wheels and both are luxury option.

 

according to consumer reports (for what it's worth), the reviewer stated the w211 handled better than its successor. this leads me to believe the w211 may have had a firmer suspension.

i assume you haven't had the chance to test drive both?

 

That's so subjective and a tough comparison without knowing if they compared the W211 350 to W212 350 or W211 550 to W212 550 and in the case of the W212 each of the Airmatic settings might actually be different between the two models.