steph280

My DD is a 2012 Cayenne and it's leaps and bound better than E class in some ways, but inferior in others. I've been in the new X3 and while it's nice, it just doesn't have the feel of a luxury car. Its ride quality is more comparable to a GLK.

We much prefer our E-class on long hauls.

oggie

I hope you don't tell your wife that you tried her competition...

K-A

Are you talking about a W211? 'Cause the W212's ride quality, although harsh over rough patches, is vastly superior to the W211's in terms of solidity and feeling like a iron Bull especially.

I checked out an X3 recently. The sense of luxury and idea behind it just doesn't compare to the E. Also, I find the interior compares to the new 3-Series, who's interior is "eh", not great, but not bad. The X3 SHOULD be smoother over bumps than an E-Class Sport, as the E is a lower car, and being an SUV, by definition the X3 should absorb the really rough stuff better I'd think.

gIzzE

My last car was this....



Avantgarde on 17's and was like a magic carpet ride wise.
Pluse it had a much nicer driving position than my W212, and it had far better steering feedback too, none of this variable crap! I find the variable rack fine in town, but a pain when pressing on, just come back from a 3000 miles trip across Europe and when pressing on doing 120mph the variable rack becomes a pain and almost dangerous. At those speeds the way the steering tightens up as you move it further seems plain stupid to me.

This is my current car...



I went with the avantgarde on 17s again as I just adored the ride on the W211 (after 15 years of BMWs) but this is not as composed imho.
Get a rough surface and it doesn't soak it up any where near as well. I keep trying to convince myself that it is more 'planted' more 'focued' but if I am honest with myself it just isn't as nice as the 211.

Still a great car, but a few little niggle that mean it is not as nice as the outgoing one, for me.

K-A

We with the gasser pre-2012's aren't stuck with the variable steerings from what I understand, so I find the steering of my W212 like a nice improved evolution of my W211's (both AMG Sport models). More direct, firm and confident.

With the W212, M-B tried to pander to the "sporty" crowd whilst keeping the E Class "comfort ideals" intact. What we got as a result was a Jekyll/Hyde type of character.... smooth on smooth roads, but too harsh on harsh roads. The W211 just concentrated on being smooth. I think the W212's merits put its ride far ahead of the W211's, but the 211 definitely doesn't have such hardcore fighting characteristics within it (i.e the W212 can't make up its mind sometimes as to whether it's a firm or soft ride).

On the plus side, the W211 is still as gorgeous and timeless today as it was when it came out.

gIzzE

I do think that both Mercedes and BMW are trying to appeal to more of the people more of time.

We had a new 5 series touring, the F11, and although it was far more comfy than the old E61 touring it didn't feel like a proper BMW, it was dumbed down, it did everything well but never excited.

I think the same is true of the new E Class, it is trying to be more focused, but at the expense of ultimate comfort, a few of my customers have the current E Class and they all think the same.
I want a Merc because they are wafty, they are big comfy mile munchers, and they are loosing that slightly.

I am sure Mercedes know what they are doing, but if I was to buy again I would have to think long and hard what to go for.

Also, not being able to position the steering wheel properly and see the cluster is a **** poor design.
Get the wheel in the right position, so I can rest my wrists on the top of it and I can see I am doing somewhere between 20mph and 140mph!
My dealer has said a few people are starting to mention that.
Combine it with the silly amounts you have to turn the wheel and it can start to get tiring.

But anyway, this was a thread about the X3, and as much as I thought I would never go back to BMW they do tend to get a lot of the 'driver' stuff right.

gIzzE

I should add, that in the UK we no longer get the Elegance as they do in Europe, this would allow us to have the 'traditional' Mercedes ride if we wanted it.

K-A

Totally agreed on both counts.

Also, about the X3's chassis. It IS on a 3-Series chassis. BMW basically makes one car with a bunch of different shells these days anyway, i.e the exact same chassis for every car, but modified in size for some. The X3 however is on the EXACT same wheelbase as the 3-Series, so it's literally a high up 3-Series. The 5-Series has a longer wheelbase which is shared with the X5 (F10 might be shared with the upcoming X5, unless the current X5 used that chassis before the F10, which I'd believe since again, BMW recycles the same chassis for all its cars, broken up into different size segments).

BetterTomorrow

I have 11' X3 35i and 10' 550 4Matic.
While X3 is relatively quiet and smooth, it does not come close to my E Class with airmatic. I do not know about 350 without airmatic though.

On a similar note, I had 08 X5 4.8i with variable suspension and that was really nice. It had two modes like my E but I think it rode better than my E Class on both Sport & Comfort modes. I do not feel "safe" on comfort mode in my E because it doesn't necessary feel "soft" but feels way too floaty. In X5, sport was nice and tight, comfort was truely comfortable without feeling wiggly.

The most comfortable (and feeling safe at the same time) ride for me was 04' Audi A8 with dynamic air suspension. Sporty when it needed to be but always confident and comfortable.

BenzV12

This is weird

Your pics suggest me that you must be a wagon person

El Cid

Comparing a small SUV to a mid-size sedan seems strange. However, good comments on pluses to the X3.
Had an opportunity to really push some BMW's around a test track. The X3 was very impressive. In fact, it performed a whole lot better than the Z-4 I drove. Opinion was shared by some other people as well.
Hope your review sells some X-3's. South Carolina needs all the manufacturing jobs we can get.