Hi everyone. In December I started car hunting and this board has been very useful. I recently took delivery of a 2005 E500 w/AMG sport package. I have logged about 2800 miles, and am ready to offer my initial impressions. This is my first Mercedes. For reference purposes, my two previous cars were: 2001 Audi A6 4.2, and a 1998, Lexus GS400. Before settling on the E500, I also test drove an E320 and C55, BMW 530 and 545, the new Audi A6 4.2, and an Audi S4. From a pure driving standpoint l liked the C55 and S4 best, and the BMW 545 second. Ultimately, I decided that the C55 and S4 were a little two small (as a CEO, I often drive clients and vendors in my car, and the back seats were not quite big enough, and I race bicycles and my bike would not conveniently fit in the trunk of either of those cars). Although I liked driving the BMW, I couldn't get over the Bengal exterior and some of the cheap parts on the interior. I did love the seats though. The new A6 had the nicest interior, and it drove great, much nicer than my last A6, but I just didn't like the HUGE grill, and there were no incentives and the dealers weren't super motivated to move product. Even though MSRP on the A6 4.2, BMW 545 and E500 were in the same ballpark, the E500 turned out to be the best lease value by a large margin due to high residual, factory to dealer money, MB leasing incentives and motivated dealers.

General Impressions:
Asthetics: I love the looks! There really aren’t any details visually that I really dont like, although I wish the grill looked just like the CLS (I just installed a CL style grill but the finish is not quite as nice as an actual OEM part). The interior is also totally elegant and for the most part very well laid out. The seats are comfortable and the optional fold down rear seats are wonderfully engineered. I also have the active ventilated seats, and i like the perforations, but I have not noticed that the fans really do much other than make noise. I have the AMG sport package, which i love, but i also wish that the package came with the white gauges that are part of the appearance package.

Drivetrain: The 5.0 engine has a lot of torque and pulls strongly nearly to redline. Valve noise seems a little high, is this normal? The 7G transmission is for the most part great, but I do wish that when you put the suspension in sport mode, it would also speed up the transmission response and hold a gear longer.

Suspension: The overall ride quality is also quite good, and the handling is respectable. The airmatic is cool, but I wish there was another, higher performance setting, or at least a little more difference between sport 1 and sport 2. I also wish there was a little more road feel and feedback from the steering wheel. Overall, however, the tradeoff between performance and ride quality is commendable. I am also impressed by the wet weather performance. This may have more to do with the tires than anything else, but it is much better than I remember my lexus to be in the rain.

Electronics: I am in the audio business, and I can say that I am happy with the sound system. It really is pretty good for OEM. I wish the center channel could be backed down about 2db. It is not independently adjustable. The aux input is great, and sounds great with my ipod. I am impressed with the signal to noise ratio. I cant wait to install the iPod integration kit. The rest of the comand unit is a mixed bag. the NAV is ok, but sure seems like it is not as nice as that of some of the Japanese cars, such as the Acura. The xenon headlights rock! My last two cars had xenon, but not also on the high beams.

Overall: The car is awesome! It has just the right combination of performance and luxury. (well, almost... I think the E55 has the ultimate combination, but it was just too much $$ for me to justify).

Problems:
I have a few minor problems that I hope to have addressed at my first service. Any useful advise here would be great!

WIndshield wipers: The chatter horribly. I have tried cleaning the windows with a variety of cleaning products, and have also tried Rain X. Not only do they chatter, but they do not do a great job of evenly removing water. I have read that this is a common problem with some E class, and the only great solution is to replace the wiper blades and arms. This seems like there may be a design flaw.

Steering Wheel. It appears that the steering wheel is not exactly straight when the car is driving straight.
The drive dynamic seats click every second or so, alternating between the left and the right. Granted, it is not very loud, but this is very annoying. Is this normal?

There is a “clunk” that happens when accelerating somewhat aggressively from a stop. It happens generally just before the first shift. It is hard to say where it is coming from. Maybe a motor mount, or maybe somewhere else in the drivetrain. Any ideas?

 

"Steering Wheel. It appears that the steering wheel is not exactly straight when the car is driving straight."


Is this to the left (car pulling to the right) Do you find you have to force to stay centered on the road..

 

Noisy wipers, pulling to the right and motor mount problems are all frequent problems with early W211s, although I thought they had been sorted out by now. I don't have any experience with the last two and from what you describe, you may be experiencing something different. The bad motor mounts (reportedly) made a ticking/clicking noise, not a clunking. About the wiper blades, though - if you go to the dealer and complain, they should replace the wiper blades and/or arms for you under warranty - or at least our dealer did.

I've had my E500 for 18 months now. The early '03s have a bad rep for reliability, but ours has been flawless, apart from just a few very minor things like the wipers and a software glitch in the audio system - both fixed. You won't regret your purchase.

 

No problem with my early production 2004 E55 on any of the above. The 2003 SL500 did have noisy wipers but not the E55, perhaps rainx is to be blamed? I only use it for my side and rear windows, never the front.

 

my 2 cents as a fairly recent owner from several other MBs.

i am somewhat unsatisfied with the w211 steering in that i frequently have to correct the wheel during what should be smooth maneuvers, such as a nice wide sweeper. the wheel seems a bit oversensitive and must constantly be ticked back.

re the airmatic, it definitely feels a bit artificial on all settings, over small bumps at low to moderate speed, you can almost feel the car doing a little bouncing over each wheel. the combination of the 2 with the e500 power gives the car a jittery feel to me. i felt a c320 i drove when shopping was a nicer ride, even without airmatic. just my taste i guess.
however on curves the car does certainly outhandle my old w210 , and the w211 does tighten up at higher speeds.

hoffy, you or ne1 else have similar observations?
j.

 

What tires did your car come with?

In terms of the tracking of the vehicle, it does seem to be a general Mercedes trait to pull to the right.

The 03's had a more distinct difference between the airmatic settings, but you are right, now there is such a little difference. I do have to say that the E320 feels a little more balanced, without the airmatic.

The wipers have consistently been a problem. Mine go back and forth between being quiet and loud. Really depends on the quantity of rain coming down.

Hmm, the clunk. I think I know what you are talking about. It seems more like a rough shift, although I don't hear anything.

 

Congratulations and best of luck! Not to worry, all the problems that concern you are easily correctable and @ 2800, covered by warranty.

 

Thanks for all the comments. In answer to some of the questions:

The tires are Continental SportContact 2. I am pretty impressed with them.

I did a little more investigation as to the "clunk" sound when accelerating. I put it in tiptronic mode so i could isolate whether it was a shifting problem. When in first gear, the clunk seems to happen around 2000-2500 rpm under swift, but not neccessarly full throttle acceleration. It is somewhat subtle, and seems to be coming from the rear of the car, but it is hard to tell for sure.

The wipers had the problem before putting on RainX, so i am pretty certain it is not the RainX.

In answer to the steering wheel question, the car seems to drive straight, but when it is going straight, the wheel is aimed ever so slightly (a few degrees) to the left. I guess this may be the same problem others have mentioned. Is this something worth mentioning to the service writer?

 

Nice research. Have you considered S-type?

 

My wipers clattered. Drove right back to the dealer, quick replacement/adjustment. Been fine ever since.

My car pulls to the left when the hand is left off the steering wheel. It is apparently a safety feature. We drive on the left side of the road, and should you fall asleep, you would curve off the road rather than to the right and into oncoming traffic.

 

Oh really.. Who told you that?

 

That seems too far fetched....

 

The valvetrain noise is elevated in all of the modular MB engines.

The clunk may be coming from the differential. Are you using sport mode or comfort?

 

RJC,

I mostly use sport 1 and sport 2 modes. It does seem like the clunk could be coming from the diff. Is this a known issue? The car is at the dealer right now for its first scheduled service.

thanks.