MaxBuck

Thought I would get the views of the unbiased denizens of this forum on the choice of my next vehicle. I am currently evaluating the following as possible replacement for my 2002 Acura TL Type-S:

MB E500
Acura RL
BMW 530 or 545
Audi A6


Each has pluses and minuses. Audi rides like a truck. BMW is unavailable with AWD. Acura is a great buy but lacks the excitement factor. Benz a little pricier and has had reliability issues.

Any persuasion from you all for (or against) the E500? Another question I have is what kind of fuel economy I could expect from an E500 4-matic? How much penalty as compared to the RWD version?

Thanks in advance!

Ormond2004

BMW is showing an AWD 5 series at the Detroit Auto Show. I am in Fl, and have now AWD experience. The Acura seems like the best "value."

Omegaonne

I liked the Acura RL. My family had 2 bimmers and they had a crap load of problems. I had an audi, and hated it. Other than the benz, I would choose the Acura.

luxury1

The eternal question... I think most people on this forum would say Mercedes but that is just a guess :p

I looked at the same choices and here are my thoughts:

MB E500 - Love the luxury and sport mix. Highest prestige of the group in my opinion. I don't know if I could have anything but a Mercedes for my car now that I have had one.
Acura RL - New and will turn heads for this reason but it really looks like a grown up honda accord which I hate. Good value.
BMW 530 or 545 - Great sport (and I just owned two) but the inside bores me to death especially when compared to Mercedes. Plus I REALLY dislike i-drive.
Audi A6 - Kind of sleepy but nice. Kind of a practical german luxury car.

Anyway, the good thing is all are great and you won't go wrong with any of them but obviously I am a Benz fan... Good Luck!

Barry45RPM

I have wondered aloud many times (even at an Audi dealership) "Who buys an Audi?
When comperably equipped, an MB & the corresponding Audi class are about 5 - 9 thousand apart in price.

They offer similar styling, ride, "feel", fit and finish, etc, but the Audi lacks ANY special prestige whatsoever. Its a nice car, nicely excecuted period. Sitting inside of one, you'd think you were in a Benz... Many of the electronics are made by the same people using the same engineering/logic, so its not like you are getting a German Luxury car with rock solid Japanese electronics. Isn't the monetary difference spread out over 4 -5 years worth driving the Benz? Its not like by buying the Audi, you are getting a "more dependable" Benz!!!??? If you are not getting dependability with your German car, arent you better off with a Lexus or Acura level of perfection AND their resale value than with the Audi?

Fastbuck

I'm afraid there is no one here fitting that description.

Double Eagle

Two years ago I looked at all the cars you are considering and ended up buying the E-500. I also looked at the BMW 745(hated the iDrive system) and the Lexus 430. The Lexus is, in my opinion, the next best car to the E-500 and both my sister and brother have one. However, I found the Lexus a bit stodgy in styling and not as good a performer. I was unimpressed by the Acura and Audi. I was one of the lucky early buyers who had their cars replaced for free since I'd ordered the Nav and they decided in May 2004 to replace our cars instead of retrofitting them with the NAv as they'd hoped to do.

khaug

Could you accept something a bit smaller? The current (E46) three-series BMWs are wonderful cars and have a 4WD option that's been around long enough to work the bugs out. This is the last year for the E46, however, and the next model will be afflicted with the hideous Bangle styling and i-drive, which, IMO, have ruined the 7 and 5 series.

I strongly suspect that any German car these days will be considerably less reliable than comparable Japanese models, alas. The Japanese cars are certainly better values, if one doesn't weigh prestige or sportiness highly.

Good luck.

lorinserbenz

Buy the E500, once you own a Benz NOTHING will be as good. I tried Infiniti, and a luxury american SUV (Denali) and they didnt satisfy me. Yes Acura probably makes a more reliable car, but no matter what its a jacked up Honda. The new 5 series is flat out ugly and Idrive is IGAY. I drove a new 7 series and almost wrecked it trying to set the A/C. The Audi is cool, but no one knows what the heck it is, and if you told them how much it cost they would think you were crazy for not getting a Benz or BMW.
Get the E500, you WONT regret it.

LIONHEAD

I was dead set on getting a BMW 545I with SMG when it first came out. Some don't like the Bangle look but it wasn't too hideous to me. After 3 visits to the BMW dealer, I just couldn't warm up to the interior and the materials used was not up to par for a $60K plus vehicle IMO.

I like Audis. After someone I know bought a S4, I have changed my perception on them. With their racebred R8 racecar, their technology is now trickling down to the consumers. I've heard you can upgrade the ECU on the RS6 and boost the turbos to around 800-1,000HP. I haven't seen the redesign A6 but my buddy's 2002 is nice. Overall styling, I still like the E Class inside and out.

The 2005 Acura RL is a great buy. If it came out a year ago, I probably would have purchase it over the E500 and save the additional $$$ for a sports car. The performance is up to par with the E500 and using only a V6. With NAV and AWD standard, you can probably purchase one nicely equipped in the low $50K.

guru

I test drove the Acura TL before buying an E320 4matic. The Acura drove and handled like crap, the 61/39 weight distrib really shows....Hopefully the new RL is a better car, the old RL had a plastic-feeling interior.....

Vivek

What's the weight distribution for W211 E320 4Matic?

guru

i think

lennylam

I was in the same boat as you 2 years ago. I used to own TL Type S. But the tranmission failed twice, so I decided to check out MB E-class, BMW 5- series. Finally I picked E-class because of the new style. I don't want to put any negative image to MB but I need to say - the car is un-reliable. I have visited the dealer for 7 times (1 time is for service - 1 time for service and repair - 5 times for repair). Based on the calculation, my car needs to be in the dealer every 3 months.

Actually if you can wait for 6 more months, you can check out Infiniti M35 or M45. It is nice car. You can check out M concept in Infiniti web site. I think this car is available in Japan now so I think once the M arrived in US, all the first year glitches should be addressed. I am planning to get rid of my E once the warranty is up.