People who prefer the sport end up buying the sport and people who prefer the luxury end up buying the luxury. People here are just stating the reason why they chose one over the other, they are not criticizing one or the other, the only person doing that is you.
FYI the E-class is considered a "SPORT SEDAN" as well as a "LUXURY SEDAN" people like choices and MB likes sales. If the sport E wasnt an option maybe some of the E buyers would have bought a BMW. Some of us like a little of both which is what I fell I get with my E550 sport.
The only person laughing at people and "their" "own" "personal" "preferences" are stuck up "know-it-alls."
I believe the OP just asked for peoples thoughts and he didnt ask Luxury owners to ridicule Sport owners for their choice (and vise versa).
It must be that time of the month for you... Back.. Away.. from the Keyboard my friend. Come back in a week.

 

Don't the Sport models have the equivalent of the Sprint Booster already built in as standard?

Can't we all just get along?

 

definitely wasn't criticizing...just confirming that it was that way you see it......

 

I agree the W212 isn't a "Sport Sedan", and even in Sport trim, it's a "Luxury Sedan", with sporty characteristics here or there (the suspension is almost a bit too rough for a Luxury Sedan- on rough roads, IMO).

However, I think the AMG Sport styling sticks with a Luxury look, but adds enough sporty pizzaz to keep the car looking dynamic, while the Luxury, is pure classic M-B luxury appointed.

Interior wise, however, is no contest, leaning toward the SPORT!!

The Luxury interior has one nice thing I like over the Sports: The availability of a white headliner. Other than that, IMO nothing looks worse than a tan dash, and tan floors (however, again, it gives a pure, classic, classy, Luxury look). The Sport is perfect *to me*, because it gives me a black dash, black floor, black center stack, but almond/tan seats and accents: Ultimate luxury and adds flavor IMO. To note, I think the all black interior also looks stale and stagnant. I just like 2-tone interiors, with black being used on the mentioned areas, and any other nice color used for accents.

MCF: I understand what you're saying. But if I'm not mistaken (and I might be, so if so, forgive me), but didn't you get, or consider a Sport/Star grille on your car?

IMO, nothing dumps on the stately/luxury look of an E, like a Star grille, and *especially* on a Luxury model, I can't think of anything more improper toward the original intent, character, and classiness of the car, not to mention, being an awkward combo (Luxury trim, and Star grille).

 

That's like what I said about straight leg pants and short hair when I was wearing bell bottoms and sporting a mullet.

 

Maybe it's an age thing, I'm 37 so getting the sport model in anything I get is a no-brainer for me, especially if it is a no cost option with the MB, other brands charge for the sport package. As for the interior I think the brushed steel/dark burl walnut looks good, especially with black interior.

We are just stating our opinions, not criticizing anyone's choices, however putting down one's choice to mod their car with wheels and lowering kits seems a bit needlessly condescending. As nice as the factory cars look, a few mods can definitely make it look better and it has nothing to do with sport vs. luxury.

Sport sedans certainly are not a fad, haven't you noticed performance and handling keeps getting stronger and better, wheels and tires are getting bigger and nicer, and MB, BMW, Lexus, Infiniti all have in house high performance models.

If I could, I would like a seperate luxury car and sports car as stated before, but many of us don't have the luxury of being able to buy a specific car for it's singularly intended purpose and have to find a multi-purpose car and I think my E550 Sport P2 satisfies my luxury, sport, tech, prestige, safety, performance needs perfectly.

 

I live on the edge of the city and when I ordered my 211 8 years ago I ordered it with the elegance pack mainly for the extra ground clearance. I was never happy with high speed stability and wished I had ordered the avant-garde pack.

My E500 has the Avantegarde pack ( read E550 with sport pack to you guys) and so far seems much more stable at cruise with no ground clearance problems.

Bill

 

Addressing the issue of ride comfort in Sport vs. Luxury models. In the E350 this is probably a consideration. In the E550, however, it is not. The E550 has the airmatic suspension found in the S series. It has a comfort and sport setting. In either setting the ride is smoother than in the E350. Although the ride is more "cushioned" it still gives one the feel of the road.

 

HI. I'm new to the forum. I might have some perspective on this topic. I just got my Indium Grey e550 sport 4matic on Tuesday. It replaced my 2000 e320 4matic and I also own a 2001 e55 with a full Kleeman mod package(compressor, headers, 525hp). I originally bought the e350 4matic 3 weeks ago with the luxury suspension. After driving it for 800 miles I decided that the seats were less than comfortable for me and that I was insane to not get the e550 4matic to get the leather seats, V8 and airmatic suspension for in Mercedes money terms, not that great a pay up. So I went back to my dealer and pleaded to not impale me on a trade back. We agreed on terms and off I went to test drive the e550 sport that they had in stock. I was intent on getting the luxury due to the fact that I live in Warren, New Jersey not far from NYC and the roads are less than perfect(they often suck). I was afraid that the sport suspension with the 18 inch wheels would have a hard ride and my 57 year old body would get too beat up on these roads. My e55 with 18 inch rims has a fairly hard ride and kills me on bad roads. I was also concerned about the greater chance of blow outs with less rubber on the 18 inch rims. I was extremely pleased with how comfortable the airmatic suspension was in both the sport and comfort modes despite the 18 inch rims. The car handled much better than the e350 as well. Unfortunately they did not have an e550 luxury to test drive. Time was of the essence and it was fill or kill on the trade. So I did the swap to the e550 4matic with the sport package. The only downside of not having the 17 inch rims is when one hits a pothole or a really deep rut there is no getting around not having more rubber. Otherwise, the airmatic suspension is amazing. If the handling give up of having 17 inch rims was small I might have gone with a luxury to have the extra rubber for the crappy roads. But it was not an option in my case. The differences in trim and color combos is not a big deal to me. The luxury and sport E's are both gorgeous. So my bottom line is that the e350 luxury was great in all ways, a great car. You get more with the e550 sport with the adjustable airmatic suspension and a more sporty drive. The airmatic suspension is very comfortable on even fairly rough roads. If you are concerned about blow outs and want to soften the ride just a bit, get the luxury. If you are willing to give up the extra cushioning that 17 inch rims will give you, get the sport, it will no doubt be a little more fun to drive. My e550 happen to come with the drive dynamic seats. Great option. A back massager and the drive active inflating side bolsters are amazing(they inflate and deflate as you corner left or right)!! That's my story and I'm sticking to it. We are all very fortunate folks to be on this forum bantering about sport versus luxury. Happy New Year!!!!!

 

I totally agree!!

 

ngerstman: awesome write up and decription of your cars.....welcome to the bwoard!

 

One more observation. When I first drove the e350 4matic luxury, it seemed to drive like a much bigger car than my 2000 e320 4matic. I concluded that the new e350 drove more like a scaled down S class than a slightly bigger E class. I was't thinking that thought in a negative way, I liked the e350 luxury a lot. Going to the e550 sport, I feel less that way, the car drives smaller than the e350 luxury. Different flavors, different driving experiences, both great.

 

Welcome ngerstman - Nice to see someone else the wrong side of 50 on this board.

I think the combination of value, ride, handling, silence and size is unsurpassed in the M-B range. I can enjoy it in my most commonly driven ride.

I still think the sport (avant-garde) compromise gives great high speed stability for the long runs I regularly do but I also prefer the wood interior of the luxury.

Some years ago I purchased a W211 E320 and chose the interior over the handling and spent the next four years unhappy with the high speed nervousness. After the car was delivered I found out I could have ordered the wood interior with the sport suspension in Australia at the time.

Still when the sun shines - which it does most days in My part of Oz - the dark wood in my avant-garde shows up a golden grain.


Bill

 

Hi Bill. The sport package in the U.S. has the same wood trim as the luxury. The only differences are some different body trim and color combos on the interior. I agree that the sport package gives the best of both worlds in better handling while still a great Mercedes ride. As I said before, if you live in a world with varied road quality as I do in the greater New York City metro area, you must decide if you want what I would think is a modest upgrade in handling with 18 inch rims versus the additional rubber of the 17 inch rims. That's what it comes down to. There is no one in the auto industry that has ever made as good a suspension for real world drivers as good as Mercedes. While I respect BMW, I will gladly give up the go cart handling for a more comfortable ride!! Too bad you don't get the wood interior on the Avant-Garde package Down Under. I would feel exactly as you do. I love the Mercedes wood.

 

I still have wood but it is dark stained birds eye maple and you really only see the grain when the sun shines directly on the surfaces.

Then it sparkles withna golden grain.

Being an old conservative and growing up in cars with real wood I still like Burl Walnut even though many (Jeremy Clarkson et al) consider it passé.

I agree whole heartedly about M-B's ability to travel rough roads with aplomb - nobody else seems to come close and this is a feature that goes back many decades with the brand.

Bill

 

Some exterior and interior pics of the "Sport" and "Luxury" would be cool to see side by side.

 

You can see the most detailed comparison of E-Class Sport vs. Luxury here: Mercedes-Benz E-Class Sport Sedan vs. Luxury Sedan with side by side pics. This article explains the difference meticulously.

Actually, when you open this article, the first picture you see is Black on Black Luxury Sedan. I think this is exactly what I'm going to replace my current 2008 E350 Sport with. The only thing I'm going to add is P2 package, which will give me Daytime Running Lights LED's in the front bumper.

Usually, like most other guys, I automatically go for Sport. But this time I test drove both and I think Luxury ride feels so much better. I did not notice any advantages of going with Sport, maybe slightly better handling, but handling of Luxury is perfect anyway.

Luxury also has better ground clearance, which is big plus, because I don't want to scrape the Sport low bumper all over the place. I think all these side skirts and front body kit is a bit of overkill for an E. It makes a serious car look a little "Mickey-Mouse". I used cars with body kits before, but Sport E styling does not appeal to me at all.

Black Ash wood of Sport does not look like wood to me, my wife thought it's a plastic. Burl Walnut in Luxury stands out very well especially on Black interior. I don't need to prove or explain every time that it's a real wood - because it's obvious.

 

The P1 Package now comes with the Daytime Running Lights (Hockey Sticks) included. Hope that helps.

 

First, thanks very much for the helpful reply. That was the best comparison I have seen. I ended up purchasing a 2010 E550 with the sport package and the AMG wheel package. I am happy with the looks of the car. Since the interior has the natural/java leather two tone package, the ash works just fine for me.

I have a couple of questions, and if they belong in another thread, I would appreciate a pointer. My car has the P02 package (as well as the driver assistance package) so I do not have the three spoke wheel which I would have liked. Given the daytime running lights, I guess I do not have fog lamps front or rear. Is that the trade off?

Thanks
/jon

 

Unfortonatley, you needed to get the "wheel package" to get the three spoke steering wheel. LED's up front replace the fogs...however you should still have a rear fog light.

 

DRL's are standard on Sport, but for Luxury - you have to get P2 and LED's are Linear (not hockey sticks). I'm actually talking about E350 Rear Wheel Drive. I'm not sure about E550 or 4 Matics.

 

I think I have the wheel package as part of the sport package. I do have the 18" AMG wheels on the car that in my view do help the appearance. I think I read in the information you sent that the 'sport wheel' is not available with the sport package when you also have the driver assistance package though I do not know why.

Also, I can not find a control for the rear fog lamp. In reading the manual just now it says " Vehicles with front fog lamps: Rear fog lamp" That may mean that if you do not have front fog lamps you do not have a rear fog lamp. No big deal, just wondering.

Last item about ride. Even in sport mode in my car, I do not find it too stiff, but I am used to BMWs which are generally less supple than their MB counterparts.

 

 

first thing, the E550 Matic is not staggered wheels, I have the mocha two-tone interior with black carpet and black headliner. There’s no question that the sport looks a hell of a lot better than the luxury. I’m not sure about the suspension difference that’s been unclear but my car has the button to switch to comfort ride… she’s black with 2 tone interior, mocha tan leather with black dash, carpet and headliner. Extremely sexy looking car especially at night when the interior amber lights are on! Sport all the way…

 

Holy necro bump!