Originally Posted by mbluver111

Thanks for your helpful answers. I will test drive both the luxury and sport sedan to see which one I prefer so I can make my final decision. By the way, those of you who bought a new 2011 or 2012 model, did it come with a 50,000 mile warranty or 100,000 mile warranty?

Originally Posted by CynCarvin32

I have been waiting to see if anyone posted about the differences between the 2011 and the 2012. I will start by saying the 2012 (in my eyes) is light years better. The small changes really addressed all I disliked with my 2011 and its now a car that can compete with BMW and Lexus without feeling like Sunday nights left over dinner.

I had a 2011 with 17k miles and MB had a mind boggling 8 month early pull forward to I got into a new 2012 for nothing out of my pocket other than the 795 acquisition fee.

I noticed 3 great changes that I think made the car distinctly better. These things are small items but when taken together I feel the whole character of the car changed.

1) The 34 hp difference is huge. Sure the E63 drivers will still laugh at the E350 but the old 3.5L motor was very long in the tooth and it lacked low end torque, refinement, and its MPG rating was deplorable.

The new motor loves to rev, makes an easy 6 mpg more on the highway, and has low end torque that feels as if there were a small turbo on board. I think the motor alone is worth the added cost.

2) The transmission is 100% improved. The 2011 car could not get into 7th gear fast enough. The motor lacked torque and it shifted at 1500 rpm because Obama's MPG regulations forced them to take all life out of the car. When you wanted to actually make a quick start the transmission slopped around wondering what gear to use and it still upshifted before actually getting into its power band. Every time I drove the car I wanted to write a letter to MBUSA saying how revolting the TCU tune was for a car in this class. I think the transmission killed all ability to enjoy the car as it only cared about keeping the MPG rating out of the gutter. Also, to top it all off, it still had all sorts of 7g shifting issues that have been around since 2004. The new 7g plus is fantastic. When you want soft seamless shifts its perfect but also wakes up at WOT and actually snaps off redline shifts in an effort to keep forward momentum going.

3) Ride and Handling: Again a small change here has made the car feel more solid, more responsive and more stable on uneven surfaces. I know ball joints were changed for 2012 and the shock/spring rates clearly were modestly revised. Every year MB will make small changes to the suspension and this update really feels nice. The old car became sloppy if the road surface became rough as you pressed along a twisting road. The new car still feels connected with the road and tries to react a bit more like a W204 and that is a good thing.

Sure I could talk about the NAVI system being better and everyone seems to be tied up in the LED lights for some reason. I think those items are almost pointless to discuss but the three things above really made the 2012 a great car. The 2011 was a fantastic car quality wise but the 2012 is just a step better. Buying the old car saves you a couple bucks in a lease payment but the updates make it worthwhile to get the latest and greatest.

2012 is a better car. And the 2013 will be even better with the coming facelift and other interior improvements. Time never stands still.