Tjdehya

Hello all I got into a 2009 E550 p2 pano roof last year. I went and took a look at the 2010s today and I am in love with the interior. I loved everything on the inside except one thing. The rear seat headrests obstructed my view. I don’t know why but I just hated looking in the mirror and seeing them.
I just wanted to hear form the W211 owners who traded up for the W212 what do you love and what do you hate? What did they make better, what did they make worse. What additions did you like and what did you have in the W211 that you don’t have in the w212?

I am thinking about holding out for a 2011 but if I get a good deal I will take a 2010.

Thanks

K-A

Too much for me to get into right now, but I've written on my detailed views between the two extensively in the W212 section here.

To keep it quick, I love both interiors for very different reasons. The W211's for its softer, elegant, and rich feel/look, and the 212's for its sturdy, confident, "bigger", and luxurious vibe. I find the W211 has some better/softer materials in quite a few areas, and the W212 as well, so I think that area is subjective. As for build quality/fit & finish, the 212 is superior to me.

Driving wise, the 212 handles far more precise and confident than the 211 (I had a pre face-lift to note), and it feels stronger and more "bank vault". I'd say picture the 211's driving, and just make it better in every area a bit, and you have the 212, a great evolution.

I miss a lot of things from the 211, but couldn't be happier with the 212.

LaicepsYdobon

Good thread ! As my current lease is ending I'm starting to look around slowly to see what I would like to get next and I had a couple of question regarding a move from a W211 to a W212 also. Let's keep this thread going for future potential W212 drivers...

Tjdehya

Well no luck finding an 2010 E550 but there are tons of 2010 350s available.
One thing I think I will miss from my W211 is the cornering lamps.
I think everything else is an improvement.

YYZ-E55

The 212 has cornering lamps - they are integrated into the headlights.

speedingclass

Moving up from a 2008 model there was quite a big difference. Notably:
-WAY better Comand system. Ipod, everything works much better. Only negative is that the radio control thing switching channel to channel using the knob is very slow compared to S Class (2007). Other than that I prefer this new Comand vs. the 2007 S or the W211.
-Storage in the middle is much useful
-Larger glovebox, smaller in the back (center armrest)
-Better fit and finish
-Doors more solid including door handle (not so cheap plastic squeak feeling)
Negatives:
-Annoying rear seat headrests blocking view
-Top controllers feel cheaper
-Don't like the fact NAV doesn't work while in motion!
-Center A/C for the back gets scratched/color changed way too easily. Backpack scrape= change in color.

Although some of the materials were not as pretty- for example the I prefer the 2008 wood compared to the one we have since the brown seems a bit darker and not like a lighter walnut shade, the fit and finish makes it up for it.

DerekACS

What ????
Surely, you're not serious that the NAV will not work while the car is moving ?
If it doesn't, what would be the point of having the NAV ?

You also mentioned the rear headrest blocking rearward vision. I couldn't agree more with you on this retrograde change from the W211. The drop down headrests were a brilliant feature on the W211.

K-A

Yup, one of the many Nannies on the 212 are no Navigation input while driving. I can't stand that, and the fact that YOU CANNOT CONTROL THE LIGHTS YOURSELF!!!! What if you don't want them to blaze on while parking your car in your garage all the time (or when starting it up), can't be good to prolong the life of the EXPENSIVE Xenon's.

Also, remember the 2011's now can't be moved while the door is open at all.

As for the headrests. It doesn't really bother me as I always had my W211's up anyway. I guess with black tinted windows, the headrests are the least of my concern, haha. It was a good "form follows function" design where the 211 could fit the headrests back there. If I were to guess, the W212 doesn't have room to drop all the way back, because the rear windshield is "flatter", and maybe designed closer to the seats or something.

DerekACS

No NAV input while driving makes sense from a safety angle, but I understand your frustration. Does this mean that the voice activation does not work either while the car is moving ?

As for the no drop down headrest, IMO, this is just a cost saving change.

TomFromCT

I read that the US DOT is the culprit behind the headrests. The gubbment decided that headrests could no longer be made fully retractable.
Too bad. The increased visibility with the rear headrests down was a better safety feature than keeping the headrests up for the rare occasions when somebody is in the back seat. But what do I know? I just drive cars, not a desk in Washington.

YYZ-E55

NAV POI can be entered when the vehicle is in motion, address cannot. LINGUATRONIC works in all circumstances (and works well, I might add).

The drop-down headrest elimination is for safety reasons, not cost savings.

gres817

Am I the only one that noticed that brake dust is almost non-existent on 212 (compared to 211)?

I think there is a lot of improvements over 211, but I still did not get used to
lighter steering wheel (211 was just perfectly tight).
It took me one month to start appreciate slightly bigger "useful range" on break pedal (but maybe that just in my head )

Tjdehya

Well if you guys remember the W212 is around $5000 cheaper than the W211. So I would agree that the rear seat headrests are a cost saving measure. But I do wish that drop down headrest was at least an option.Thanks I am happy to hear that. I assumed that they didnt have them because looking at the W212 without LED's I thought that one light was fog and the second was cornering lamps. So are the W212 double lights DRL and Fogs?

petee1997

Personally I use only liguatronic for Nav and many other functions. As another poster mentioned, it really works well and you can use it 100% of the time for all functions while in motion.
One improvement with 2011, they now give you a seperate manual for the linguatronic. It walks you through correct commands, language and functions. It certainly helps making the system a better experience while driving.

DerekACS

Thanks for the clarification on how the Nav system operates.

But, I strongly disagree with you on the rear headrests. The drop down feature on the W211 enhanced safety by improving rearward visibility. Now in the W212, that enhancement has been eliminated with the result that rearward visibility is always compromised. The fixed headrest might be a bonus for the occasional back seat passengers, but they are a hindrance for the driver, 100% of the time !!

No question in my mind that this was a cost saving change, just like the elimination of the fabric cover in the trunk, beneath the parcel shelf.

ESIX3POWER

Thats not entirely true.. You can still input a destination while driving, but you will have to do it by using voice control. I have done it, and it works perfectly..

YYZ-E55

In the event of a rear-end accident with the headrests not in the upright position, you are injured. Period. You can believe what you will about cost savings, but cost was not the driver in this instance (for once). You should direct your anger at federal safety regulations and the US legal system.

speedingclass

Sorry, yes I meant the passenger could not adjust NAV while in motion. After a certain point in finding address (haven't done much with POI yet) it just puts a warning sign to say you need to stop the car in order to work with the NAV. Personally I don't use voice control...that's why.

As for the headrests they do feel better sitting in the back with them on vs. the 2008 model in my opinion. And instead of dropping them down, you can drop them down to lowest setting.

Thankfully there's the camera to help with backing up with the rear headrests blocking some of the view, but that's not completely reliable on of course!

K-A

NO!! I can't believe I haven't mentioned that either.

So far, my W212's brake dust is non existent compared to the brake dust plague my W211 had. I wasn't sure if it was the wheels (i.e they don't show them as much) or something, but so far (unless I haven't payed enough attention and am wrong), it seems this car has WAY less brake dust.

Ah yes, you guys are right about the Voice Command. Yeah at least they do give you the option to do it, and it IS a nice safety feature all in all.

speedingclass

Agree with K-A! Break dust is very little if any. Makes hand washing the car much easier.

Dema

Just swapped 09 E350 for 10 E350 (exact same options no signature change). Some impressions.
1. The car looks and feels bigger. Actually it is.
2. Interior got nice improvements. Actually W211 interior simply sucks from point of usability. I guess Chrysler influence. So what got improvements:
a. Got nice arm rest and cool storage, even with LED illumination inside.
b. iDrive style command is cool. Unfortunately no improvements in electronics itself, updated navigation even worse (MB should learn from BMW here) however accessing all functions now much easier and intuitive.
c. Voice functions improved and you can operate navigation using voice in motion.
d. Like column shifter, much cooler than BMW have
e. Steering wheels controls more functional and more informative now
f. Access to voice function from steering wheel is awesome
g. All controls are visible now
h. All controls are visible in direct sun light, climate functions and display are just awesome.
i. Steering wheels itself is nicer
j. Interior feel is more luxury
k. Disappeared small storage next to glove box, however glove box is spacious and has place for iPod or other DAP
l. Cup holders got improvements (I do not use them)
m. MBTex has the same crappy feel, I wish get leather.
n. Still has glitches in Bluetooth and no luck to get address book from phone (BMW gets it without a problem) I guess here is no improvement as I mentioned
o. There is a compass in mirror
p. No auto dimming for right mirror (I have impression W211 had it)
q. A/C is less noisy and more efficient
r. Interior illumination looks very cool ambient lights are everywhere.
s. H/K stereo, it sounds better, more crispy and transparent sound.
3. Driving impression. To be honest, my W211 had sport package and current W212 has just AMG wheels. So the new car feels less stable especially on high speed, a bit bloat. I have multi contour seat now, so I feel better in turns, actually there is some feel that W212 can do sharper turns without starting drifting and squeaking tires. W211 had better brakes, at least it stopped faster, so now I need to keep distance.
4. Car has better sound isolation, feels quieter.
5. No braking dust (surprise)
6. Exterior look. I think that W211 looks nicer. However if I see W211 and W212 side by side, I think W212 looks better.
Conclusion: I did research and compared many makes in the same market niche as Volvo S80 V8. Audi A6 Quatro, BMW 535i, Acura RL, Infiniti M37S, Lexus GS 350. So from interior and feel my range is:
BMW 535i
E350
S80
A6
GS 350
M37S
RL
From driving impression
GS 350
BMW 535i
E350
A6
M37S
RL (didn’t drive though)
So E350 didn’t get top in my evaluation,. However E350 was the best value.
I wished to compare also, Jaguar XF and Cadillac DTS, but had no time.

speedingclass

That's a lot of changes you noticed! I certainly agree about the steering wheel. It's of a nicer leather like as seen in the S Class (with wood, unsure of regular).

For another change there's also more black plastic everywhere in the center stack. The buttons are harder, not of the soft press variety (but look nicer in my opinion) and the knobs for the AC vents are hardier as well.

K-A

Dema, good stuff noticed and I agree with almost all of it.

A couple things to single out:

The wheel is SO much nicer, and feel amazing with the Nappa leather. The cars wheel is such a strong representative of it, I cannot stress how much the nicer wheel of the car makes driving it so much better. Not only does it feel like it's made of iron, but it has a such a soothing material.

I am shocked though that you think it feel less stable at speed, to me it's the opposite more or less. Also to note, if your W212 is a "Sport" and not a "Luxury", it uses the same Sport designation your W211 did.

Handling of the 212 is indeed more precise, and you have even less of a fear of the tires breaking loose, or even squeeking, when pushing hard on a turn.

The W212 is SO quiet, and I love that, definitely quieter than the W211.

I remember a debate about which car had a better sound system, and the W212's to me is better hands down, much more crisp, transparent, and just sounds more high end all in all.

After comparing the disappointing Leather used on the W212 to the MB-Tex, I actually don't find there to be much of a difference, and I don't mind having the Tex. I was very against the concept of sitting on actual Tex since M-B had a great idea before with the Pre-F.L W211 where they put genuine Leather on Tex cars... But honestly it doesn't bother me, and it feels Luxurious enough to me so far.

A/C is much better and more substantial, also definitely less noisy than the 211's screaming unit, and the positioning of the vents are superb, compared to the not-so-great angled positioning of the 211's, not to mention the relatively small vents it has.

Looks wise, it's funny, because it was the moment I realized that while I did like the W211 on it's own more than the 212, and didn't like the 212 at the time period, I noticed that I couldn't convince myself out of realizing how much better the 212 looked when I parked my 211 next to it. It was that day (I remember it so well), that I decided I had to stop trying to convince myself.

That said, although the 212 has a more interesting right now, and "cooler" look, that I want to walk up to, or see parked in my spot more, I still recognize the graceful beauty of the 211, and how although its proportions are showing some age and not as taut as the 212, on its own, I still almost admire it from any angle more than I do the average 212, which I have to catch at the right angles to look in awe. The 211 is just a pleasing design, and frankly, IMO an '09 with the AMG kit, in White, with a Pano roof, is a gorgeous car, that I still will drop my jaw to. That said again, I couldn't be happier with my 212, especially aesthetically. There isn't a car I park it next to that has a sharper, more detailed, and more cutting edge form of sheetmetal sculpting and dynamism, I think it almost looks like a sculpture, with how detailed, defined, and sculpted it is.

Also, and I'm cringing at even saying this, but I think I like the column shifter, I guess it just fits the E-Class. It gives the car a very Luxurious, "old-school" confident feel I dig, and also, the airy space in the cabin due to it, adds to the Luxurious, sense of occasion feel to the inside.

Dema

I am glad to hear that most people on the same boat. One more thing to admit, it is working back tilt down on reverse passenger side mirror.
Still do not trust back view camera, I have impression it gives not enough wide view, so still turn head back.

Dema

One more thing I noticed today when washed my car. New keyless go doesn't have mechanical buttons, so when I spray water over door handlers, car started multiple cycles of locking unlocking, so I had to remove keys over proximity of keyless go. I had the same problem with BMW and was proud that MB doesn't have such problem. Now it has.