I happened to drop by MB dealer and saw the new E350 4-matic wagon - W212. It's a beautiful car from the outside with it's 18" wheel options, as it should be for $66k. However, if you spend even 10 seconds inside, you'll quickly notice that MB definitely doesn't make them like they used to. Perhaps the chassis, engine, and transmission of pure 2011 - but the interior comes right out of a $20k economy car.
Man, what a disappointment to see what you get for $66k nowadays. In fact, even comparing it to the $28k CPO/pre-owned 2008 E350 parked in the showroom, the pre-owned felt more luxurious, especially the quality of the leather and interior. Lastly, I really do not like the shape of the seats for the W212 - both the front and rear. They just feel ROCK HARD and the leather(ette) seemed much stiffer, even in comparison to prior MB-Tex cars like my faithful W124 E-Class Cabriolet.
Anyone else share similar feelings?

 

Not to say that there aren't areas for improvement, but I disagree. The swooping wood trim piece in the W211 was very nice and elegant, but all other aspects of the "old E" pale in comparison to the W212 - especially when you factor in the price drop.

 

Don't have a Merc prior to really compare. However, coming from Infiniti and Lexus, I find my 550 to be in superior standing. Leather does not crack or easily manipulated. Fit and finish is outstanding. Perhaps its the interior color combo that made it look a bit off. Everyone has a different opinion of whats pleasing to the eyes.

 

To each his own...I am really happy with the interior. No issues here.

 

Although this is based more on the W212 E63, I felt the same way. There is very clear and obvious cost cutting going on with the E63 interior. The salespeople won't admit it very readily, but they see it too. My dealer said he was "embarrassed" to show a repeat customer the new W212 E63. The headliner, the seat leather, the floor mats; all have been reduced.

It's disappointing. But maybe there's a positive side to it. MB now realizes that customers notice these things. They talked about this on the AMG forum run by AMG and MBUSA, and said they are now doing something about it. There already have been changes made for 2011. And this will improve even more so especially as the Designo program improves, too. It may be that they are promoting the Designo options by downsizing the interiors, but at least one can improve the car through Designo options. But some of the stuff that was removed is now being returned as standard equipment. A big example is that they returned the alcantara headliner for the 2011 MY. If people weren't complaining they wouldn't have done so (it's not like there was a worldwide alcantara shortage in 2010, LOL.)

But this sort of downsizing of materials is showing up in other makes, too. The auto industry is developing a whole new paradigm to remain profitable. BMW, Porsche, Audi have all been slowly and quietly eliminating stuff and substituting less costly materials.

 

I agree with you that the downgrade on the E63 was ridiculous for a car with that price point. (Canada base price $106,000.00). MB shot themselves in the foot trying to boost their margin on that one.
However I think the people's E class is good value for the money in a very competitive segment of the market.

 

100% agreed...but the interior is still a far cry from what a Mercedes should look like

 

There are two aspects as quality materials and interior ergonomics and feel. If to compare it to previous generations of Mercedes, I am confident that ergonomics is much improved and everything in right place, easy to rich and control. Overall feel is on top. Quality material is hard to evaluate until you own a car for several years. Comparing to Japanese competitors, I can tell that GS or M interiors look cheap. I could say that only interior of 5 series (F10) is comparable to W212. I still own W210 and W211, but unfortunately didn’t have luck to compare to W124. But I believe as any antique it looks and feels awesome.

 

I'd say since this is my first MB, and pretty much my first nice car; I'm pretty blown away...........

it beats my VERY first car: A 1984 Ford Grenada! lol

 

Honestly, I've gotten so many wows, people turning their heads, some guy pulling next to me on the freeway, pulling his windows down, honking, and "thumbs-up"pping, etc., its kind of surprised me. Of course, it's a Benz, so it needs to be understated, so when people who know me get up close to it, or inside it, they really appreciate it even more-so. This is in California, where E-Classes are everywhere. Of course, it still is a new body-style, so design-longetivity aside, it's to be expected. My W211 got some compliments and occasional "stares" up until I sold it. I feel, as long as it's clean, sharp, and got maybe a few clean-up "tweaks", any nice body M-B will always be a stand-out car on the road, regardless of how many others of the same model there are.

The interior thing has been discussed like crazy. The W212 clearly went after the "wow effect", popping smoke, etc. I don't know anyone who's been in it who says they liked the W211 interior better. And it's the designers knowing how to do that. I recently sat in a W211, and now notice how small and "fragile" things in it seem. However, I credit a lot of that to design trickery. I.e, the 212's "largeness", etc. You have to have a really detailed eye/touch, and know both cars well, to realize where they cost-cut.

However, when you get down to the specifics, a lot of attention to detail, and "places you won't look" type of refinement, isn't on par with the 211. Namely in plastics replacing carpeting in quite a few areas, etc. Fit in finish is definitely better in the 212, it does feel more solid/long-lasting/durable, and a lot more security inspiring/strength oriented/"executive" per-se.

To conclude, what I can say is, one definitely isn't better than the other in all respects. Which in a perfect world, a new body should beat the old one in every way. I'd say that I love both equally enough that I couldn't pick which interior is nicer, as they're polar opposites that stroke you in different ways. If I could mix some of the best of each with each other, it'd be perhaps my favorite interior of all time.

I will say, that the perks of each, make me feel more than happy and fulfilled when behind the wheel of them, and you really do stop noticing the down-points, due to the up-points outweighing them.

 

Just test drove a W212 and a C207 E550. Gotta agree that the fit and finish is better with less rattle. The interior is very quiet with windows up. The leather is not as soft as the E55's but I think the W212 / C207 wins in the department of more solid handling, more ergonomics, and electronic gadgets. I like the iDrive like navigation console. I think the W212 is a step up from W211 in almost every way.

 

Yeah, fit/finish and ergonomics are much better, more thoughtful, and more comforting in the new E's. Also, the new ones are SO quiet, as was the W211, but fortunately, that is an area where they took what worked, and just improved on.

 

This is by far my biggest dissapointment with my E.. My # 1 is the excessive!!! amount of hard cheap plastic around the wood strip on the door panels.. Its way too much.. I love the flat bottom steering wheel though! It really adds to the dash..

 

First off a very eloquent and thoughtful post by you K-A as usual

I love the exterior of the W212. Personally I like it better than anything in this segment (BMW, Audi, Jag, etc...). Been seeing a ton of them around town and New York City. Still not loving the wheel choice for the luxury models (I find them a little too busy for my taste) but a notch above the rest regarding the exterior.

Regarding the interior it's a whole different story for me. When sitting in or driving a W212 the interior is superb. The tactile points are all really nice material and a lot of through was put into them. No squeaks, no rattles and it has a certain bank vault like feel to the car, just like the old Benzes. However when I look at the interior I'm left a bit disappointed. My biggest gripes are:

1) The metallic bezel around the air vents. In my eyes it disrupts the flow of the dashboard. And it reminds me of the Optimus Prime logo from my childhood because of the shape. Weird I know but its my b***h list

2) The COMMAND ***. BMW's iDrive *** is very stylish and sturdy. Ditto for Audi's MMI ***. Why did MB put this cheap looking thing into the car ?

3) What is up with the gauges in the dash ? Seriously, they could not come up with a better design ? There are too many tick/hash marks on the bloody things and they just look cheap. They look like they've been lifted from a current generation Volvo (here's a Volvo pic). And why does my wife's C-Class have the same dashboard gauges and layout as the E-Class ? Why couldn't the E-Class get a nice dash similar to the S-Class with the video screen. The F10 5 Series has a very nice Black LED screen that it shares with the 7 series.

4) And since I'm on the dash; how high were the engineers when they decided that both the C-Class and the E-Class line up need that ugly silver monstrosity around the dash to create that tunnel effect for the gauges. That cheap plastic single handedly destroys the dash and cheapens the car for me. What is the purpose of that thing ? To reduce glaring from the sun ? I've never had that problem with any of my Benzs before. The luxury model doesn't have it but it just makes the dash look even more awkward.

5) The top of the dashboard needs to be made out of better material. Someone commented that the car looks and feels like a basketball and I had to agree with them. Cover it up with MB Tex as standard and give an option to be able to get it with real leather that is hand stitched. That hard plastic makes it look like a top of the line domestic rental not the bread and butter vehicle of MB.

Despite my complaining above I really do like the W212. Like I said the exterior is awesome and when driving it the inside is very nice. However when someone looks through your driver side window the inside doesn't look as nice as a W211 or any of the older generation cars. The person who was in the charge of styling at MB has retired (regrettably I don't remember the gentlemen's name) and the new design head is taking the company in a different direction. My family has had Benzs since I was born (I'm 36 now) and I've had Benzes too all my life. I've been raised "old school" when it comes to styling. This new change of design is not really sitting well with me and according to the posts on this board many other people as well. I just wish the interior of the new E-Class would be more like the new 5 Series. That being said I'm going to keep on the tradition and stay faithful to MB because they do make fantastic cars. They just need to bring some styling back to their interiors.

Thanks for reading and sorry about the length of the rant; I was on a roll

 

Bravo! great job at explaining all of my exact issues with the interior of the 212 E Class..

+1 on the gauges, Have you looked closely at the pins inside ? gas,mph,rpm,etc..They look super cheap and i dont even think they are straight,atleast not consistent with the each other.

Im glad i really love the exterior..

 

I completely agree that Volvo S80V8 interior is really well refined, steering wheel with wood accent looks awesome and really nice clock in corner of gloves box.
However W212 interior is really modern, contemporary. I’d say that I consider gauges look really cool. I like them more that W211 or W210 have. Some people can’t accept anything new, they always consider that something in past was good. Mercedes is trying to test new design decisions on C class first and if they are accepted then move them on high end models. I can admit only that no good highlighting of speedometer, so if you go in a small tunnel, speedometer becomes blacked out for a moment. It is common problem for all E classes tho. I agree on material on top of dashboard. W210 has it nicer.

 

You gotta be kidding me? In LA? For real? Are you sure it wasn't just your skirt stuck outside the door that the guy was giving you the thumbs up on, LOL j/k

Seriously, nobody looks twice at anything on the roads in LA. Last week I was in a work mate's 360 CS and nobody honked, waved, or bothered to even attempt to notice us. The only time that people have ever 'gawked' was when a filmmaker I know took me out for a spin in his Lotus 7 (a real one.) And I think that was because it was not only really loud but looks completely not street legal. They were probably giving us the finger, but we had too much wind in our faces to notice if it was one or two fingers...

K-A, what's going to happen when you upgrade to that RR Phantom? Maybe you'll be able to lead all the rats out of town.

 

LOL.

That really happened, some guy in an older Lexus SC literally honked like a crazy f*** on the FWY, I almost freaked out since I thought something was maybe up (with the car, or the guy), and he's just sitting there with this exhilarated look, and thumbs upping, then sped off. It was interesting, to say the least.

Then yesterday, I'm standing at my car talking to a friend, and some guy in a G-Wagon drives by, totally starting at the car, and mouths "nice car", this was a Benz guy though, to be fair (I jock the hell out of nice AMG Pack W211's still, for example).

I've had a couple other scenario's. But, I didn't get it to, nor expect the car to "break necks", or I would have spent that money on another one that tries for that, and that is a lot more rare. My car is super clean though, so it does really "pop", if you know what I mean. A lot of people appreciate and get attracted to a nice sharp car that's clean enough to stand out from the crowd, and got a nice color scheme going, etc.

How'd you know about the Phantom? Actually, I was looking up prices on the new Ghost's. Thought it was gross in pics, but saw one in person, and damn! Still a biiiiiiiiit out of my price range, and a bit high for a 7-Series ().

 

I just picked up my 2011 E350 4matic about an hour ago. My first impressions are similar to the OP. Although I came out of a 2008, and the interior is a dramatic improvement over the one I had, in terms of form and function (although it's going to take me a while to get used to the shifter), the dash and doors look VERY plastic. In mine it shows more since the sport package has those areas in black (the test drive car was a luxury model with "mocha" instead of black that didn't look as cheap).

It seems they added a load of technology, and lost alot of the nice material quality feel. Again, compared to the previous it's good, but compared to a comparable Audi or BMW it looks cheaper.

That said, in the hour or so I've been driving it, I like it a lot better than the 2008 I just came out of.

 

Not sure that I'm buying in to all the criticism on the W212 interior. Unless I'm missing something, there is no "cheap hard plastic" on the doors, console, or dashboard top as some have been describing. From what I see, the material used around the interior is deeply padded on mostly all surfaces I inspected, even the glove box door. Not saying it's premium quality, but definiitely not "cheap" IMO. And I fully expect that the MB Tex will look new for years to come.

 

I am with you. I have no Idea as to what crappy interior these guys are talking about. We are all entitled to our own opinion so I guess some people would be better off buying an S instead of an E.

 

I am with you guys. I have found the quality of materials to be actually better than my old S211. The Leather is better as well. Especially the leather wrapped around the steering wheel is much better than the 211. The steering wheel leather is a much higher quality leather and feels better to the touch.

 

Yeah, the wheel on the W212 is outstanding, it feels like it's made of iron, and has a nice thick feel, with very premium leather. MUCH better than the 211's.

Very smart to do that, as the wheel is a good representative of the car, since our hands are always on it.

 

Looked at Lexus LS, Lincoln, Infiniti M, Acura RL, Audi 4 & 6 and others. Only one with a better interior design and quality was the Lexus LS460 @ $15,000 more. Even then, I did not like the instrumentation, controls, layout, etc. near as much as I do the E. Seriously considered a 2009 E, but when I saw the 2010, it was no contest. 2010 interior is much more impressive to me.
Will agree that carpeting and mats appear a little thin for this class car, but otherwise everything else looks good. MBTex appears to be good quality and could tell you stories about leather in three cars that I had with it. So that may be a wash.
BTW, have had several friends ride in it and they are impressed with interior-and they think it is leather just like in their cars.
As for the COMAND knob, it's a nice chrome knob that works. Not sure what else you could add to it.

 

Hi.

Anyone have any good night view stories? How do you like it if you have it? I myself am looking forward to playing with that thing.........
One of the coolest things I've seen on cars as of late..........

also want to make some youtube videos with the rear view camera, LOL.....

stay young