ash_cpe

E Class 2nd on mid-size premium category and MB 3rd overall, check it out.

http://www.jdpower.com/autos/ratings...e-#page-anchor

K-A

Wow! M-B was right when they said they were intending to Engineer these things like they used to. M-B also "stated" that the W212 will have "The Best Resale Value" of any car in its market, which is a weird prediction.... And especially weird considering M-B's have always lost value rapidly. I think that prediction was made due to them determining it will have near "Perfect" Reliability, all things considered/comparatively speaking.

Just like the '07 S-Class, and '08 C-Class, this is the first generation of M-B's in about 15 years where the first model year doesn't need to be avoided/is about on par with the rest of the generations MY's.

El Cid

Glad the survey I completed helped with this rating. I had narrowed my choice down to E350 and Lexus LS. Deciding factor was LS was 15K more and while had a few more features, none I was really interested in.
I scored mine a 4 on the accessories, but not for quality-just difficult to use COMAND. Everything else I scored at the top except a 4 on ride also.

K-A

I figured the Command would be what kept the accessories at the lower level.

DerekACS

Actually, a number of automotive reviews have complimented the E Class "Command", saying it is more intuitive than BMW's 'iDrive".

K-A

I think it's a cinch to use. But people seem to have problems with these Command/Idrive type things, especially Owners just getting into some of these cars, so they usually will drive the ranking down in that dept, I've noticed.

LawRens

Impressive! Just goes to show that MB picked up the ball and is getting back in their game. The w212's are absolutely delicious in terms of eye candy! And iirc, COMAND was always easier/better to use than BMW's iDrive?

Ninjaryder

Unfortuntely it will take a couple of years to discover how reliable our E's really are. JD Powers is nothing but a biased business publishing misinformation IMO. Just look at how well some of the POS cars did & how some of the world class cars were average or below . CR on the other hand has been spot on with reliability information for me. The 2008 E is now rated a "good bet" but there are no ratings later than this. Resale on these vehicles will be based on a # of things: supply & demand, demographics,incentives & changes on later years, economy, ect. I treat vehicles like relationships, if they
take more than they give then I move on to the next one.

K-A

Yeah, I'm using the W204 and W221 as basis' for how I assume the 212 will fare, Reliability wise. And given that M-B tried to further the "we're back to building cars like we used to" motif with the W212, I'm assuming it should be a Reliable car, for a Benz. Little quirks are a given though, really impossible to completely avoid when it comes to a complex car.

I think JD, CR, etc. all rated the W211's final years as Top Picks, so M-B was already on the ball during the later part of their life cycle.

El Cid

I subscribe to CR, but they have some issues of their own. Biggest problem I have with them is that they refuse to tell you the standards they use when they review a car. They give you a number from 1-100, make a few narrative comments, add in a couple of pros and cons, provide a chart that does not match scores and that's it. E.G., why is Genesis a 92 and E350 is a 79 (down 10 points from last review BTW)?
Agree that JD P gives too many high scores so it can sell its reviews and takes them too early.
Having completed the last four CR car surveys, they have some limitations as well, but at least their sample size is large - or they will not report.

Ninjaryder

Price/value is what determines the grading curve IMO. Remove the badges from a genesis & an E & the differnence is a better audio system(Lexicon) . Even the grill on the front of the genesis was styled to look like a MB. I still laugh because I see a w212 on the road almost everyday but never see the genesis.

LawRens

Give it five years, things will change big time. After all, Hyundai is going the same route Toyota/Lexus did, and look where it got them.

And I never get to see w212's where i live... Maybe i don't go out enough

220S

+1 .... but with some reservations on CR's info, too.

People do like to read these things because it gives them a fuzzy feeling inside if their brand did well and they can therefore sleep at night. In the real world it means very little.

JD Powers is a big business. Not too sure about being 'bias' necessarily, but this whole ratings ranking stuff is simply a major profit generating business.

The only way to truly know reliability and depreciation is over time in the real world. And that info isn't available until after the fact. Therefore, we have to take all the info over a decade or so and extrapolate it. If a manufacturer went through a bad period, that data gets tossed in the mix. e.g., the data on Toyota will reflect the issues they had recently. In addition, economies in the real world shift and that makes predictability difficult.

So, the "info" means not a lot when shopping a new car other than, "Gee, maybe the odds are better with Brand X because of past history and hey, look: the new version survived its first 90 days in the world after birth."

In the meantime, this 90-day initial quality stuff simply means the manufacturer assembled the car correctly like they should be doing in the first place.

MBStar

Re CR: While their reports and prognoses have some value, I keep them in
perspective. We'd still be driving 1967 Dodge Darts with slant six they liked so
much, if we always followed CR's advice...

Germancar1

There is nothing wrong with JD Powers way of rating quality. This is the first 90 days they're looking at here.

Look at the JD Power Dependability survey which measures 3 years of ownership, Mercedes was nearly at the bottom during the worst years, but have pulled up to average now. That is where the real "meat" is, the 3-year dependability survey.

Consumer Reports is good for reliability I guess now since they "recommend" several Mercedes models now....lol.

Their road test though are for people who like Lexus' and Buicks.


M