Ormond2004

I find it rather odd that there are no new owners yet on the board. Do you think that there is a lack of enthusiasm for the new design or that it is the poor economy?

sosh

Not many retail vehicles have been delivered at this point. I for one will order one for delivery on or about Feb 1. There seems to be lots of interest and some orders at this point. Think that it will be a good successful model.

MOZART

I'm waiting for the 4MATIC to come out in September!!

K-A

To me it seems to be the softest response to a new E-Class since I can remember. I'm sure a lot does have to do with the polarizing design (and generally non-enthusiastic response to it) in comparison to the previous E's, along with the Economy, etc.

chilledbenz

I think it has more to do with Mercedes trend of delivering the first batch of cars fully loaded. All those options are nice to demo, but the price sky rockets quickly when you start checking all the boxes. I'm sure now that the "demo" cars are out there, they will start in on customer orders and we should see people that have gotten their orders filled start posting soon.

K-A

What is interesting though, is that a fully Loaded E350 is pretty damn close to what a base W211 E350 was (not really, but close enough), so you'd think that should be extra incentive to get them there.

I dunno, my personal slight theory on this is that M-B took notice of how the response to design was, weighed it against the response of E's of yore, and priced it accordingly.

petee1997

I have a 212 on order. Back in 2003 I bought a 211 and drove it two years. Nice car but problematic. This new model resembles the new generation C class and if that is any indication how sales will perform,I would think it will do quite well. I drove the E coupe and thought it was a great. The four door has not arrived in Canada,therefore I was unable to test drive. However with 5" more wheel base it will drive even better than the coupe. From what I've read, this new model has been tested more miles than any previous model for reliability and durability. This baby is supposed to be bullet proof. Time will tell. Body styles are subjective and for some change is hard to accept quickly. In two years from now the 211 will look dated and opinions will move forward. These cars are mostly owned by a more mature population and things must grow on them. Personally after looking at 211's for seven years it is certainly time to say adieu. It will certainly never be a classic.

chokaay

That is true... but one should also take into account what a W211 E350 costs right NOW with respect to the W212 (not only what the W211 launch MSRP was). It's nice that MB brought the price of the E-Class down to make it more affordable, but a similarly configured W212 is still going to cost anywhere from $10,000-$25,000 more than a similarly configured W211 right now (depending on your area, what model of E-Class, what options you get, and what kind of deal you can negotiate with the dealer). Right now dealerships aren't very flexible on the pricing of the W212, but with the $10,000-$12,000 Market Support + dealers wanting to get rid of the W211, a brand new similarly configured W211 would probably cost significantly less than a W212.

Also keep in mind that in the U.S., this generation of W212 DOES use some "left over" parts from the W211 due to overstock/surplus (the engine is the most significant one). In other parts of the world, the W212 uses a newer direct-injection engine, while in the U.S. the W212 E350 uses the same 268 HP V6 found in the W211 E350's. Some other parts are re-used as well (but probably will eventually change in the next few years depening on supply/stock). This helps MB keep the cost of the W212 down (at least for this generation), and so that may contribute as to why they could lower the price in the U.S. compared to other countries...

Wig

What is the base MRSP of the 2010 E350 4-Matic in Canada? (Not yet posted on MB Canada's website.) Also, do you mind telling us whether they are prepared to discount much? Thanks.

E3LAL

I don't know about that. At my two local Mercedes dealerships, each one only has one car fully loaded. All the others come with P1. I'm looking for one with the driver assistance package but none of the cars have them. Also for the regular buyer, the cars at my local dealership are hidden. You wouldn't know they are out.

petee1997

Base is 62,900.00CAN. However the car comes with more base equipment than the US car. 4Matic ,Pano roof, Parktronic,Sport package,no charge metallic paint, are all standard equipment. Excluding freight the car should retail for approximately 68,475.00 with the options I chose. This is the equivalent equipment of your base car 4 Matic with package 2 plus Blind Spot monitoring and Lane Keeping Assist. Factoring in 15% exchange rate,this car is similarly priced to the US model.
I have purhased several cars from this dealership group and the discount was significant. We have always dealt on a cost plus basis and they have been more than fair.

MBNUT1

Personally after looking at the W212 for 10 minutes it will certainly never be a classic.

Oh Cool

I just ordered an E550 with all the goodies, should be in end of August.

K-A

Lol. This is definitely true. I think the W211 will be a classic certainly, the only thing hampering it would be the Reliability horror stories from the first two years.... Fortunately they got their a$$es in gear on time. Indeed we have been looking at it for 7 whole years, and it's still getting #1 Rankings in many places against its competition, still is a strong seller, and still has a relevant and respected design. The W212 has too many current-trend/blending in gimmicks, it doesn't take a genius to predict that it will look dated sooner than many past M-B models, which kept with more "traditionally-M-B" themes. Also, the lines and theme of the W211 are classic through and through, the soft and elegant lines, etc.

Anyway, that's my opinion on the matter.

rkao

I've actually seen 3 W212 E350 sedans in the 'wild' here in NJ: 2 white and 1 black.

My brother saw one as well locally here in NJ.

And I just checked the inventory at my local dealer online, they seem to have close to 60 2010 E350 and 12 E550 sedans, plus a few coupes with either engine.

It's true that Canadian cars usually have more 'content' - I noticed that when I was living in Toronto.

According to friends in the automobile business there, because of the lower volume the importers (e.g. BMW Canada, MB Canada) ticks many of the options boxes available, even some that may not be available on U.S. market cars, and make them standard features, of course it also means that some combinations or options get left off the list.

I remember an American instructor at a BMW Club driving school in Toronto telling me that the headlight washers on my '99 BMW M3 (standard feature) isn't even offered on U.S. cars.

rkao

Pardon my cynicism, but I don't think any recent MB product efforts can be considered a 'classic'...classically speaking anyway...

IMHO, the last real classic MB generations were the W124 300CE coupes and the E550 saloon, and the R129 SL.

Those were the 'old fashioned' Mercedes-Benz vehicles driven by the engineers, then then stylists, then the accountants.

Products since then seem to have reversed the above order of priorities...

chilledbenz

I was thinking more along the lines that in this economy, people aren't going to buy a fully loaded car. So those that went to their dealerships around launch time would have encountered fully loaded demo models and if interested would have then ordered a car of their choice. It's nice to see that at least one person has found a P1 equipped car so soon, which means they learned their lesson from the C class launch and are getting less optioned cars out sooner. Color choice could also play a part in this as well, as the first round of cars are usually Black, White, and Silver with Palladium coming in a close fourth.

As for the Driver Assistance Package, I'm willing to bet that most dealers aren't going to check that box, so your going to be hard pressed to find one on the lot. Also might want to check with a dealership and see if there are any delays on that package. The S class night vision package was delayed nearly a year before they worked out the bugs and found it suitable for production.

Also, what gives with having to wait for 4matic cars? Same thing happened with the C class, I had to order a 4matic and then wait. Although with the E class they are showing 4matic under the options in the build your own, the C class didn't even show the option till months later.

Dema

Is 4matic still no price option?

Oh Cool

+ $2,500 for the 4matic.

Kieffer

I think the crappy lease numbers might have something to do with it as well. I suspect a lot of E's are leased. I was going to lease a loaded E350 coupe when my C350 lease is up in October. But unless the rates are more reasonable at that time, I'll be looking elsewhere.

DCist

W211 - Classic, soft, elegant, curvaceous, classy, ample, beauty, lines, BETTER plastic...through and through...and through...and through....and through....sounds like a freaking tampon commercial - give it a rest K-A....will you!?

We all get it. You love/like/beginning to doubt your "lady" E.

It might be best that you and your tinted window CA creation move to the W211 forum for good. There you will feel at home discussing....well....nothing really. Because, after all, W211 did not register with anyone for the last 10 years anyway.

W211 will be an MB classic...on its own terms. Like any other MBs before. But W212 will carve a better niche in history...that is for sure. It is a better car. Period.

DCist

Second that! Mine (E550 P2) is coming end of August/first week of September.

K-A

Take the flame suite off man, it's getting too hot in here.

You're right, the W211 didn't register with anyone these past 10 (?) years. Good God man.

AMGTTV8

since when has 4-matic been a no-cost option in the us?

silberrosa

Not so sure about that one...The engines in the US version of the E-Class are the result of the sulfur content of the fuel. The engines which are used in Europe are direct injection (CGI in MB speak) and are designed to work only with the ultra low sulfur fuel as distributed in ECE communities. Since this fuel is not available in the US, we get the port injection motors. Clearly, this is not easier for them given the many variants which are required by fuel quality all over the world but its part of the business. I'm sure the next generation of direct injection engines will be able to handle the sulfur content of US fuel...or, perhaps by then, our fuel is no longer "dirty" as it is today.