Unfortunately, A)most of us own one or the other, not both, so we can't compare, and B) We chose the one we do have so we are obviously in favor of the one we picked...so it still comes down to a test drive. Its a sunjective decision.

You've got a lot of good opinions on this topic so far but I'll add mine to your posting. The early E-500's had a different calibration to the suspension with VERY noticeable differences between the three settings. Firm was super firm and you felt every bump but vehicle handled well in the turns with less roll. My second E-500, which was a NAV replacement vehicle at the end of the 2003 model year, had a decidely different suspension feel to it with hardly any differenc in road feel in straight ahead driving in the three positions, but improved handling on curves and in the mountains with the firmer settings. They also improved the throttle brake interconnect and did away with the low speed problems encountered in the early models.

Now, to get to your basic question. In my opinion the new E-500's are significantly better than the E-320's in handling when maneuvering (i.e. rapid turns with either acceleration or braking) but not much difference when you are moving straight with moderate turns. My friend has a 2004 E-320 and agrees with this opinion. SO, it depends on how you want to drive the car. If you take it easy most of the time, you won't notice much of a difference, BUT if you are an agressive driver, the E-500 is the CLEAR winner, in my opinion. Since I live in California, I haven't driven a new CDI vehicle but seriously doubt it could keep up with me in the mountains near where we live.

[QUOTE=Double Eagle]You've got a lot of good opinions on this topic so far but I'll add mine to your posting. The early E-500's had a different calibration to the suspension with VERY noticeable differences between the three settings. Firm was super firm and you felt every bump but vehicle handled well in the turns with less roll. My second E-500, which was a NAV replacement vehicle at the end of the 2003 model year, had a decidely different suspension feel to it with hardly any differenc in road feel in straight ahead driving in the three positions, but improved handling on curves and in the mountains with the firmer settings. They also improved the throttle brake interconnect and did away with the low speed problems encountered in the early models.

QUOTE]
I couldn't agree more about the pre-nav cars and the replacements with respect to the lack of difference between the settings. I had both, and they were night and day. Even in my E55 the differences in airmatic are slight at best. Not to throw a wrench in this but unless I have completely lost my mind I thought I had read somewhwere that the E320 actually pulled better numbers on some handling tests due to the lower weight of the 6 vs. 8?

Both husband and wife are driving the same generation of E-class sedan? You really like this car a lot. I still remember the time I and my older sister were both driving the fifth generation of Honda Accord sedan, haha we loved that style. I really can not answer your question because I don't have a E-class.