2012 E-Class changes - No Airmatic
http://www.benzonly.com/article30.aspx
No Airmatic

Still no confirmation for Canadian E-class model, I checked with my salesperson. I hope they include Airmatic for E550
The two things I like most about my car are the airmatic suspension and the engine - in that order.
The new engine better be good or an E350 would be a better bet.

http://www.benzonly.com/article30.aspx
No Airmatic

Still no confirmation for Canadian E-class model, I checked with my salesperson. I hope they include Airmatic for E550
I'm glad more people are confirming the changes coming in 2012. The 2011 E550 Luxury I ordered arrived on April 25th. I believe I got the last slot the dealer had for 2011 orders.
Cons:
New engines sound weird! It reminds the sound of old Turbo Diesels. Based on the sound, some folks may even think they have some problems or malfunctions in the car. But don't rush to Mercedes service department just yet, because this sound is normal for these new motors.
--
This is a longshot, but has anyone here actually had a chance to hear one of the new engines?
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Besides, 4Matic is proven to eat more gasoline than RWD. And when you try to call your insurance company, the 1st question they ask: is it 2WD or 4WD, and as soon as they hear 4WD - your insurance premium is raised...
People (me at least) in this price league do not give a damn about a few hundred dollars extra a year for gas or insurance. If one or both are an issue, then one should stay with E350 and save at least $8K on admission price. Period.
I don't think the E550 coupe ever had Airmatic, it doesn't have it now if it ever did.
The E will also have to wait till 2014 before it gets the new Parktronic http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADJ175QwiSM
Besides, 4Matic is proven to eat more gasoline than RWD. And when you try to call your insurance company, the 1st question they ask: is it 2WD or 4WD, and as soon as they hear 4WD - your insurance premium is raised...
Your driving habits likely make a far bigger impact on gas mileage than does 4matic.
Funny, my insurance co was more interested in the optional safety equipment. I don't remember 4matic being an issue at all. And knowing a little bit about how insurance is priced, the only thing I can think of that would raise the premium is the additional cost to repair or replace, which would not be significant I would think. In fact, if 4matic owners were statistically safer drivers (or a statistically safer demographic) -- plausible perhaps -- then it might go the other way.

When refering to "second" cars, it was meant as a reply to a different poster talking about sports cars and high performace cars (as correctly noted above by someone else, E550 is none of the above - its a luxury car with a kick *** power) being RWD.










