Originally Posted by SolidGranite

The black plastic against the white paint looks cheap. Might look better on a darker color but would be best if that section were also painted.

Originally Posted by BenzE350

I decided on an E350 because I wanted a change of pace and MB offered very attractive lease rates. I certainly didn't expect to be so disappointed in the car.

Originally Posted by mac jones

Warning OFF topic nit-pick follows:

I just bought one of these and have noticed a harshness. Mind you, I avoided the 18" wheels as I new they would be bad and can't even imagine them on certain rough roads. I really don't understand how this large wheel size thing has gotten so out of control. Sure the handling is improved a lot but the risk of wheel and tire damage, Not to mention the dental work you'll need. 17" are even bad.

I think 16" wheels would be the sweet spot for the regular E350's. I just bought this, and frankly, if it continues to bug me (I just noticed it last night) I will sell it and buy something I know is smooth for half the price.

Just reality without cool-aid. These cars carry such a mystique it's hard to get a grip on what's real.

Originally Posted by ngerstman

Very surprising that you think that the e350 with 17 inch rims is a harsh ride. I believe that a majority on this forum would disagree with you. There is always going to be some trade-off between handling and softness of the suspension. If you want a Cadillac of old soft ride, then go buy a Lexus es350 with has a soft ride but drives like crap. The e350's are the best, most solidly built "e" ever. Give the car some time. I think that over time you will come to appreciate its balance. Regards. Ned.

Originally Posted by CEB

I think BMW just set out to fix what Bangle broke and they did an awfully fine job.

I think the F10 is one of the best designs out there right now (especially with the M-Sport bumpers) It looks better than the 7 series or the 3 series. From a design standpoint BMW has a winner.

Originally Posted by K-A

Actually, contrary to popular belief, Bangle WAS very much the head designer of the F10! He also was the head designer (obviously) of the F01, which the F10 is a practical twin to. With the F01, he sent Karim Habib to Italy to study Italian Coachwork, which IMO shows very well with the elegant and smooth lines in the F01/F10. Adrian Von Hooydonk was working under Chris Bangle while the F01 and F10 were being Designed, and by the time Bangle resigned, the F10 was already a frozen design. From my understanding/from what I've heard, the new 1-Series might be the first car penned fully under Von Hooydonk's watch.

Bangle helmed some of the ugliest car designs I've seen as well, but he definitely had the talent, it was just about how he chose to apply it. I wish he stayed with BMW, as the F01/F10 showed great promise into how he was about to refine the messes that he created (that oddly revolutionized car design as well).

I agree with you and Stano though. The F10 is a gorgeous design (except for the front IMO, the front to me just looks like BMW decided that they couldn't design anything nice around the EU pedestrian regulations), very classic, elegant, yet still relatively aggressive and dynamic. I find it to be a better balanced, easier to digest design than the W212, a more conservative and possibly more timeless design, but not as interesting or arresting IMO, which is why the W212 generates more interest from me.

Stano: That car looks great. If I had an F10, I would get it setup just like that, meaning, White 535i M-Pack. I'd probably do the same style mods that I have on my W212 as well. I'm on my second W212, and it's really my favorite car for me, but if I move onto another car from this, even though the E is my #1 pick, I'd probably force myself to get the F10 setup the way I want it, to experience something different.

Originally Posted by K-A

LOL. Not to worry Tonvic, I chose the W212 twice over the F10. I'm mainly posing a hypothetical situation where if I had to get out of my E early, I'd try and "experience something else". To be honest, the E is my cake in this segment, and the only real car that has me lusting for it.... as odd as it sounds, is the Panamera. Too costly, and I still think the E looks better, lol.

You know what your choice must be.. the winning side! Our side!

Originally Posted by ngerstman

Very surprising that you think that the e350 with 17 inch rims is a harsh ride. I believe that a majority on this forum would disagree with you. There is always going to be some trade-off between handling and softness of the suspension. If you want a Cadillac of old soft ride, then go buy a Lexus es350 with has a soft ride but drives like crap. The e350's are the best, most solidly built "e" ever. Give the car some time. I think that over time you will come to appreciate its balance. Regards. Ned.

Originally Posted by Busta Riles

The 2012 E350 is a pleasant car to drive, & a very peppy engine compared to the 2011 E350. The biggest difference i noticed is the instant power on the new one. The new V6 doesn't have that typical "hesitation before you go" behaviour that they have had since '06. I actually find the power to be adequate to drive....if my wife wanted one.

Many people who come in will say, "I don't think i need to spend the extra $10k for more power", when deciding between the 350 & 550....okay...maybe.

I have now owned 5 E-Classes since i started selling Benzes and just ordered my 6th.

1999 E320 (great car)
2004 E55 AMG (amazing car, currently for sale)
2005 E320 4Matic (nice car, very underpowered)
2007 E550 4Matic (good car)
2011 E550 4Matic (wife's current car...twice the car of the '07)
2012 E550 4Matic (on the way)

Here is my assessment:

The E-Class is the best all-around car we make for someone who wants to be practical, drive a really nice car, and have the ability to carry 4 adults (or put kids in the back). It is my favourite car. Nobody makes a better car for the money (my money, anyway).

The E55 has been the best car i've ever owned. I actually thought i would keep it a lot longer than 3 years...but i have a pending sale on it because i NEED the new 4.6L. It is quite possible that the Airmatic suspension is the best feature on that car (aside from the mind-blowing torque).

Take an E350 out for a drive & go over some rough road, over some speed bumps, etc. Then do that in a 550. No comparison.

The ability to raise the car is a big bonus as well, if you live in an area where you get a lot of snow (i do). You want to put 19 or 20 inch wheels on the car (i do)? The Airmatic makes up for the roughness of riding on rubber bands. You want to lower the car (i do)? 15 minutes with a master tech & you can keep the car within factory specs, but still drop it about an inch. The majority of customers who buy an E are not putting 20's on & slamming the car, but for guys like me who like to tastefully mod, AIRMATIC is extra awesome.

The 550 also comes with real leather, not Artico/MBTex. The ventilated, drive-dynamic, multicontour drivers seat with massage function cannot be ignored either.

If you lease the car, the difference isn't really $10,000 either...cuz you're only paying 40-50% of the price over 3 or 4 years anyway. Youre actually only paying $4-5000 more.

Once you've owned (OWNED, NOT DRIVEN) a car with Airmatic, I think it would be really tough to go back to a regular suspension. There were rumours that the 2012 was going to have regular suspension in it...which is why i snapped up our last 2011 for my wife. I thought the Airmatic was more important than the new engine. Mercedes-Benz tricked me.

Sorry for the long post. I feel like a broken record, puking AIRMATIC all over you.

I would not be buying the 2012 E550 if it didn't have Airmatic, period. I'd step up and get the new CLS.

Dude, get the 550...you will not regret it once you own it.

Originally Posted by ash_cpe

So does the E 550 2012 have Airmatic as standard? or optional?
Thanks!

Originally Posted by MCF

MANY on this forum have complained about the poor ride of the E350 on rough roads. It has little to do with the wheel size, it is apparently the very poorly designed suspension on the Sport trim.

Originally Posted by CEB

I think BMW just set out to fix what Bangle broke and they did an awfully fine job.

I think the F10 is one of the best designs out there right now (especially with the M-Sport bumpers) It looks better than the 7 series or the 3 series. From a design standpoint BMW has a winner.

Originally Posted by Tjdehya

I disagree. My neighbor had a BMW and for months I thought he had a 3-series, it wasn’t until one day when we were both leaving the house at the same time and I was directly behind him that I saw the 535 on the back. If I wasn’t directly behind him or seen the side profile (the 5-series would look longer than a 3) then I wouldn’t have know that he owned a 5-series.

The 1, 3, 5, and 7 are synonymous with Short, Tall, Grande, and Venti from Starbucks.

Originally Posted by CEB

I remember seeing your post on Bimmerfest and noted the underlying current of looking down on the MB. All the Bimmerfest forums have the tendency of looking down on you if you haven't been "drinking enough of the BMW Kool-aid"

That said, each car has advantages and disadvantages. The MBs advantages and disadvantages come from not being on the bleeding edge of technology as the BMW.

My take on advantages and downsides:

BMW

Technology - side and top view, soft closing doors etc (you didn't specify that your car had the tech package and premium, but it must with the HUD) The nav is head and shoulders above the MB in user friendliness and BMW's iDrive is tied with Audi's MMI for ease of use - something that cannot be said for the COMAND (hell, MB can't even spell Command right )

Handling - along with the electronic gee-whiz damping controls and the big engine, the car will easily out handle the E550 (and possibly the AMG)

Included maintenance - the BMW includes all of the required maintenance including wiper blades and brakes for 4 years/50k. Any added MB maintenance will not include brakes.

MB

Ride - the ride of the MB is far, far better than that of the BMW. Even when fitted with 18" wheels and the Sport pack, the ride is luxurious compared to the quite punishing ride of the M-Sport combined with those outrageously horrible Goodyear LS2 19" "maypop" wheels/tires on anything but the smoothest of roads.

I would NEVER consider a 550i MSport for NY roads. You'll need the wheel and tire insurance - on a very regular basis even if you go to another brand of tire. Ultra low profile and Kabul like roads don't go together.

Comfort - see above

Reliability - MB for the win. As I said in another post, BMW has this unfortunate habit of providing the US market with bleeding edge technology that doesn't play well with US fuels.

The high pressure fuel pump issue which to date isn't resolved (after 5 years) and their introduction of start/stop technology.

The significantly higher failure rate in the US of the HPFP can really only be attributed to US fuels. While other countries have seen HPFP failures, the rate of failure is insignificant in all other countries.

While start/stop technology has been around since the 80's (didn't work well then with carburetors) and has been used for the last few years in Europe very successfully, the effects of start/stop and US fuels on catalytic converters is untested and unknown. Will we have premature catalytic converter failures just outside the emissions warranty (or even within it?) Nobody knows for sure which is one reason why other manufacturers haven't rushed to implement it here. It is a great way to save fuel and pretty seamless to the driver, but the downsides could prove inconvenient at best and expensive at worst.

I've owned pre-Ford Jaguars, Rovers and oddball cars (I owned a GMC Typhoon in Germany with virtually no dealer support even possible)but my 335xi has to be the most unreliable cars I've ever owned. I would love to be able to slide into a 535xi, know where all the controls are, look at all the gee-whiz stuff and marvel at the handling dynamics on a winding country road but the frequent dealer visits over niggling problems that are endemic to BMW and cannot be resolved don't make the ownership experience pleasant.

Let's not even talk about the LS2 19" tires fitted to the 535/550 Sport/M-Sport versions.

I was soooo close to a 2012 5 series - great trade for my 335, good price on the new car and optioned pretty much as I wanted it (white/cinnamon, premium, tech, cold weather [heated everything plus folding seats] and Sport. Sitting in the dealer's office I asked myself "do I really want to do this all over again?" and walked away.

Coming from a Volvo, the OP knows about Volvo problems but not about BMW problems. If he did then he wouldn't consider anything but a base 5 series without any of the fancy doo-dads that'll cause problems down the road - like bigger engines with turbos.

Just a perusal of the two forums speaks volumes. The BMW forums are filled with serious complaints that involve the car breaking down on the side of the road while the MB forums have complaints abouts rattles, squeaks and questions about how to doo stuff that the manual doesn't clearly explain.

Make no mistake, the 5 series is a wonderful car when running properly (just like early English two seater sports cars) and there are many things that I'll miss about BMW - the iDrive, nav and the cruise control with auto braking to keep your set speed even when going down hills but I'd much rather drive a car without that, but also without monthly visits to the dealership.

Originally Posted by rogert

The reason why COMAND isn't spelled COMMAND is because its an Acronym for COckpit MAnagment and Navigation Device. I'm sure you new this and you were just testing our knowledge.

Originally Posted by Tonvic

Well, it is the same ref E350 and E550 - you have to see the rear to tell.

Originally Posted by Tjdehya

Wow! Really!!! You felt the need to post this?
You are pointing out the fact that the E class looks like another E class?

Originally Posted by Tonvic

In the same way as you are saying that even two diferent classes can look the same.

Originally Posted by ngerstman

But the e350 and e550 are the same class just different engines. The point was that the BMW's all look the same across classes at least in his opinion. I wouldn't push this point even if you don't agree with the visual assessment of the BMW's. Regards. Ned.