K-A

I'm assuming you're talking about the previous generation of the 5 Series. The XI is also the least sporty combo you can get, throws off the dynamics and performance of an especially I6 BMW a lot.

Yes, the E550 has a beastly motor, but no M-B 6 cylinder has the guts of the BMW I6 Turbo. As well, of course I assume people get the context of my comment. The W212 is not a sporty car at all, as my friend who drove mind said, it "feels like an old Cadillac", and that's entirely the point. The E550 will mask this better, however the E350 isn't sportily intentioned at all. Nothing close to a 535i with M suspension and the Sport Auto option, and that's even considering the fact that the new 5 is much softer and more luxurious than the previous (harder) 5.

The E is many things, but sporty isn't near any of them. Mine drove like boats who swayed largely through turns, boxy interior setups with no driver orientation whatsoever, with a center stalk shifter, (as C&D said "it has a column shifter and it drives like it does"). Again, yours being an E550, with possibly a more grounded Airmatic setup (I felt the Airmatic didn't add a sportier feeling but that was on just test drives), you'll feel a much "sportier" feeling than your run of the mill E350, no arguments there.

There's just a massive, massive amount of misinformation about the 5 Series on this board, namely from members who've never driven or considered them (i.e just buying the newest generation model with the Star on the hood) or had early versions (even early versions of the current generation were night and day different than the recent 2 years who showed massive dynamic and technological advancements).

GregTR

Well aren't you just the godsend to help us all out and tell us how it really is? Thank you! What would this board do without you? I thought only MB would do "massive advancements" on a facelift to help them sell their polished turd. BMW? Never!

I, for one, never thought I'd move away from the roundel after my E90 which I found the best car I've ever owned in terms of driving characteristics and feel. Too bad nobody cares about wagonistas in the US any more...except for MB.

K-A

Well I agree with you on that. BMW left you know choice. Unless you wanted the "5 Series GT".

The F11 (5er) Wagon is really a well resolved and beautiful car and BMW gave a joke to an already weak U.S Wagon market with the 5 GT.

Actually the advancements to the F10 by 2013 were technically, drive-wise much more so than any changes to the E. The E facelift was all reconstructive ly cosmetic, I found it drives about identical to the pre-facelift, maybe a little better resolved, but hard to notice any differences.

The 5er got an actual M suspension, and lots of fixes by 2013 that resolved almost every issue the early models had. It's now had 2 major iDrive improvements which says a lot because even the 2011 F10 iDrive (which feels archaic next to the 2013 and especially 2014 version) is far more advanced than the newest W212 COMAND, IMO, and has that much bigger, much nicer screen to boot.

A lot of this IS due to the fact that the W212 has been a very consistent and reliable product since its inception, so the changes are stuck to overwhelming cosmetic changes. The F10 was always regarded as highly as a Sedan can be for its styling, but early models were reliability and dynamic disasters. BMW never wanted to mess with the former, because they felt their creation was perfect in that regard, but the latter got extensive refinements which completely changed and "fixed" the car.

Dema

Actually for interior ergonomics Volvo will be my favorite.

Munich77

No kidding.... considering Mercedes Benz reportedly spent close to a billion Euros on the face lift....

For me it was an easy move away from the Roundel. My family has driven BMWs since the early 1960s (in the old country). In 2008, I finally joined the clan with an E60 535 xi - meaning that with the exception of the E39 a member of my family has had every generation of 5 series. The car was nothing but trouble - so bad that I got rid of it because I could not deal with the headaches anymore. What disappointed me the most is how poorly the car wore. A water pump at 50K miles? Interior trim pealing after 5 years on a car that was babied? HPFP problems...etc. etc.

DerekACS

Oh, really !!!! You obviously have ignored the recent comparison test in Car & Driver, Nov.2013, where the 535iX came in LAST ! The editors made some very disparaging remarks about the 535iX :

"The 535iX has lost touch with what made us gaga about the model. It's the car's deportment that leaves the lumbering impression. The steering system feels distant and a little slow witted. It feels heavy footed and clomps loudly over broken pavement."

These statements confirm my own impressions, having taken two test drives; the 535i is a boat, much like a Lexus. The steering is pathetic and there is no feeling of any connection to the road or to the wonderful engine that does its work in almost complete silence. Car & Driver has zeroed in on the reasons why the current 5 Series is selling so poorly compared to the E Class.

Rather than waste your time and that of forums members here with your caustic verbiage, why not save your praise for the deeply flawed 535i for the bimmerfest forum or some other BMW fan base ? It was only just two short years ago that you were praising the merits of your brand new white W212 -E350 that you had just purchased. Now you seem to have ample time to slam the E Class in every English language Mercedes forum on the planet, from the USA to the UK. What is the motivation for your extreme vitriol ?

By the way, I have owned and driven BMWs for most of the past 30 years: the current 535i is a dynamic disappointment for the brand. It is superior to the E Class only in list price !

FastE

This is my first Benz. I drove a 535 and 550 new off the lot, and decided against them for space and performance. Different opinions!

Don't get me wrong - the BMW's are great cars. But if you love them so much - go to a BMW forum....

marvinlee

I liked all three cars: Audi, BMW, and Mercedes, plus some from other nations. I ordered a Mercedes E550 as the best overall fit to my preferences. I see little resemblance between my E550 and the excellent Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham d'Elegance we had for so many years. The E550 rides harder even with air suspension set on "comfort," corners far better, has much less room inside, particularly in the back seat, and gets better fuel economy. I think of it as my high powered compact car built to higher precision than the Cadillac. I doubt that the Mercedes will be as reliable as the Cadillac in the long term, but it has been flawless so far.

usamuscle

I was also in the same boat. And ended up buying the e550. Bmw does handle and brake better but that's it. I drove a 2013 550 and believe the14s are a little different both nice cars though

GabrielNov

This...BMW does have more of a sporty feel (and their idrive/nav is easier) besides that the Benz is such a great car.

Michaelmccraw

Hi,
I'm new here. 1 month ago I drove a 2002 Nissan Sentra (Spec V). I had that thing for 8 years and was happy with it for what it was. It was finally time to upgrade. I have always been a BMW fan from growing up in South Carolina. My buddy used to have an E36 M3 and I loved it.
I test drove a 2011 550i with Xdrive then went up the road and drove a 2010 E550 with 4matic. The Mercedes was the hands down winner in nearly every category. The BMW was slightly more energetic from a stop. I liked the BMW a lot and it was definately beautiful and fun to drive. But the Benz was better, more comfortable, still plenty of power with the 5.5L. It was a close race but it wasn't a photo finish.
Bear in mind also that I was fully prejudiced against the Mercedes. I only drove the Benz at the pleading of a co worker who convinced me that I'd be doing myself an injustice if I didn't at least give the other German car a try. I was really only taking the E550 out, so I could go to work on Monday and say I hated it and that's why I got the BMW. Instead I bought the Benz on Friday. I love it.
So that is my 2 cents.

svmagnum

Lol registered just to answer this post. My lease on bmw 750xi expired in January so I had lots of experience with the idrive. Its pretty much similar body as 5 series. Same inside and same engine. Maybe not the same size of the car but considering that without badges you can only see the difference when you put them close to each other, I believe it can be viewed as same. I now have '14 E550. Mine has advanced drive assistant and bmw had tech package, so all the gadgets are there for both cars. I think E class is better when you compare the two.


My impressions:

1. Heads up display - in my opinion best feature in a car. I got so used to it that I almost never looked down on the dashboard. Especially amazing when navigation is on. Their speedometer bottom screen (where all the info like e class center screen is located) was non existent to me because I sit low and steering wheel blocked all the view. As example I used to forget im out of fuel 2 seconds after the one and only time it blinks on heads up. Big problem because I didn't see yellow sign in the bottom and heads up just showed it once. I even once ran out of fuel and had to walk to gas station because of it. I really considered not buying Mercedes just cause it doesn't have heads up display and going for Audi. Taking a new BMW not an option because BMW lost any differentiation in interior between classes whatsoever. So no matter if its 3 series or 7 series, inside its all the same.
2. Driver profiles: In bmw you have 1 key and your wife has another. When your wife opens driver door all the settings automatically switch to hers. It senses who is the driver by the key you carry. In MB no such thing.
3. Center console preset buttons. In BMW you can set them to anything. Eg you can make "1" "Navigate home" and 2 "Call wife" no matter in which screen you are. In MB you have to be in telephone screen in order to use them as speed dial and in radio to use as presets for stations.
4. For Mercedes the speedometer center screen sucks! Why cant you automatically switch to nav when guidance is activated? All the car options are on the speedometer. I think they should be in command? You have 2 things that should actually be in the middle - 1 digital speedometer and 2 navigation. Rest of displays like your fuel efficiency should have their own place in a command when you need them. And trip counter and odometer have their own screen - that's too much space wasting. Very annoying and not user friendly.
5. Command - it should've been discarded and forgotten back in 2004 maybe. Every single other in car system is far more advanced then Command even in ford focus. Thank god it looks like they are throwing it out. I think new c class has it redesigned. Im not sure though.
6. Idrive has its own negatives. But after getting used to it - its pretty useful. Compared to Command its way way more user friendly. They both do the same thing, have similar features, but command is very ugly and has a tiny screen. Both have knob that spins and selects function. But in BMW buttons like navi and radio are in front of the knob and are very useful. Faster to switch around screens. (Btw in new BMWs they stole the idea for using your finger to write a number or address from Audi so it is even better now.) Audi's system is way better then both.
7. Navigation - bmw navigation will take you on a huge detour in order for you to take highways only, while MB navigation seems to want to save money for me and avoids toll roads at all costs, only when its absolutely necessary and no other highway in a radius of like 5 km (both are set to fast).
8. BMW 5 series and 3 series and 7 series look the same and come with similar options - I hated it. Mercedes all very different.
9. BMW Night vision - most useless thing ever. You have to literally stare at middle screen vs road in order to make use of it. Same in Mercedes. Mine doesn't have it - wouldn't even pay $100 for it if it had an option to have it.
10. Adaptive cruise control ---> BMW in 3 years of having it - never stopped working. Rain or shine because it has a washer on the sensor. When you use you windshield washers it washes it too. Mercedes on the other hand was inoperable in a first snow storm I drove in. Also if Mercedes fully stops you have to press the lever to make it go again every time. BMW has a 4 second delay. So you actually have to be stopped for 4 seconds before it keeps going. So in stop and go traffic on a highway you almost never have to do anything on BMW, but on Mercedes you have to press resume every time. But steering assist for Mercedes is awesome.
11. Mercedes active steer assist and active lane assist. Whose idea in Mercedes I wonder was to stop the system when you are not holding steering wheel. Lets say I am driving the car and I fell asleep. Or even worse something happens to me and im unconscious. Instead of following the curvature of the road as the car CAN do. It will instead slam me into the guard rail because the system sensed no hands on the wheel and stopped following the marking of the road. (Why not keep it active, but slow down the car instead so if there is some issue it wont crash but will come to a complete stop)
12. So user interface is pretty much the only good thing bmw has.
    1. Mercedes massage seats actually do the massage. BMW active seats just raises one half of bum and then lowers it and 2 seconds later raises another (that's all you actually feel)
    2. Mercedes active collision prevention systems will actually fully stop the car. BMW will mildly slow down and you will still crash no matter what speed.
    3. If the car senses collision Mercedes will adjust the seat and headrest and tighten the belt. BMW will only tighten the belt.
    4. Pedestrian detect etc non existent in BMW.
    5. Brake assist same on both cars. And BMW has an extra set of tail lights that light up brighter then stop lights when in senses emergency braking. Mercedes starts flashing taillights (illegal in Canada btw so disabled)
    6. 360 camera - BMW doesn't have a 360 camera. It has a 270 camera. You cannot see front of the car. Mercedes has 360 camera as an option including front side view. Both I found very useful.
13. Drive: BMW USED to be faster and more fun car to drive, while Mercedes was always more technologically advanced but softer old man's car. I don't know how the rest of the line up but on E550 it changed now. I have a huge smile every time I floor the E550. It drives and handles amazingly and air suspension is good too.

Conclusion: Mercedes is still way more technologically advanced car then BMW in terms of ALL the features (besides heads up) but it is horribly packaged and presented in the car. S class has refined user interface worthy of Mercedes, however all other classes don't. In BMW all classes use the same system hence they enjoy the features and interface of their flagship vehicle on a lower level models that's why on 5 series it would be better then E class. But if you would compare interface of new S class vs the 7 Series, bmw would loose in everything.


Someone in Mercedes should spend some time redesigning the outdated interface then it would regain the market share I believe. And educate consumers on what the safety features are!! I don't understand anyone who is buying $70-80K car and cheaps out the extra $1500 it costs to put in advanced driver assist - worth every penny not only by the fact it might save your life or someone else's one day, but the stop and go cruise control is worth it alone.


E550 is much more fun to drive and more technologically advanced! And in terms of features it has more. Its just bad interface implementation and a little less refined but it wins in everything. Just to summarize: BMW is underdeveloped version of Mercedes with better user interface. Just like apple and pc. Apple looks nice and catches your eye but if you want true power and features you go with pc.

finman

great writeup KVmagnum,

I agree with many of your thoughts. I moved from a 535 to a E550 and am very happy.

The run flat tires and the transmission were too distracting for me... felt like driving a 4 wheel drive truck after 30 percent of tread was gone..

I test drove a 2014 550 i and found the problems still there...

first time in 20 years I have not owned a BMW. I have owned the M5, M3, X5 4.8, 735, etc and BMW has really messed up with the tranny and run-flat issues on the current 5 series IMO

Munich77

I did a similar move - albeit from an E60 535. I could not handle the constant BMW problems anymore. I had an F10 535 xi as a loaner and was not too impressed by it - the standard seats were uncomfortable for both my wife and I. I am very happy with the move to MB and I am not looking back.

GregTR

Great comparison write-up, here are my $0.02 and corrections:

It's the same on Audi with the driver profiles that saves everything from seat position to radio presets and A/C settings. I miss this feature greatly on the E-class. But I do love the memory seats on the passenger side which is something I never had before.

Given that I like a lot of presets, I'm also more of a keyboard vs. mouse guy in the computer world, I don't mind the presets being feature dependent as I get a lot more presets this way.

I agree that most of the display modes in there suck, including radio and phone, I could live without them ever being there. I took me a day to figure out that there are actual settings screens in the dash before I could adjust the lights, I intuitively assumed all those settings would be on the Command too. But I personally like my trip display from start/reset as well as the live ECO display and I use the Driver Assist display a lot too. The command does have a fuel consumption page, BTW.

The only other system I have used is the MMI in the Audi A4 and the system in the Touareg. I'd say the Command is better than either of those two systems and is very intuitive. I don't really see it missing anything, I'm even more impressed by the way the voice control works. I think it's clean, simple and functional, in a very German way which is right up my "engineer alley". There are small things I think could be done better but not enough to get annoyed by it much. Maybe the MMI is better in the A6 but in the A4 it's way more of a pain in the rear, it is far less intuitive at least for me.

Based on what the new S and C class look like, I'd say get ready for more similarity and "same sausage, different length" from MB too.

The Mercedes system also stays active for 3 seconds and resumes on its own. Maybe it's that extra second on the BMW that makes the difference. Steering Assist is indeed awesome.

I would find it far more distracting if the car decelerated on its own if I let go of the steering wheel. The system disengages because it is not meant to be auto pilot. It's meant to augment you steering and taking the grunt of the steering force required off of the driver but it was never meant to drive the car for you even if it theoretically could. I played with the system enough to realize that sometimes it will not keep you in the lane on its own even when it's engaged and the steering wheel icon is green. You need to steer. It would not make sharp(er) turns by itself either. At first I felt the same way you feel but now I'm perfectly fine with using it the way it was intended to be used. Oh, and under 18mph it does not disengage on its own, you can let go of it completely in stop and go traffic.

Not entirely true. Mercedes system will decelerate at -0.5G on its own without user interaction if a collision is inevitable within 1.6 seconds. It will set the alarm at 2.6 seconds if my memory serves me well. If you need a higher rate of deceleration than that you will hit whatever it is you're about to hit without user intervention.

Dema

Great observations, I completely agree that BMW are more driver's cars, when Mercedes are sill in search. So not surprise that MB cars are about 10% cheaper equal equipped BMW.

Tjdehya

Part of the reason is that BMW forces you to pay for Maintenance while MB gives you the choice.

Dema

It looks like BMW pushing extra earned money in advertisement, watching Sochi Olympics and endless BWM advertisement.

And you can't fall asleep without car notices that, at least it happened to me few times and all time I as awaken by noise coming from car.

K-A

Lol, this is funny as I've recently found that M-B is the "PC" and BMW is the "Apple".

However, my conclusions are far different than yours, as I'd never have a PC over an Apple product, and I probably won't choose an M-B over a BMW again until they can catch up to BMW in the various ways they've been surpassed. Calling an E Class more "technologically advanced" is simply inaccurate on so many levels.

We should all enjoy our cars, but let's not lie to ourselves....

Dema

MB and BMW are very equal cars. MB will give you a little more luxury feel especially if you move to S. BMW will give you a little bit more sporty feel especially if you move to 3 series. MB styling is somewhere superior to BMW. Interior of MB looks better, although ergonomics can be not the best. I owned several BMWs and always wonder why people pay some extra for BMW (at least for lower grade models, 7 is still cheaper than S)?

I can't accept Mac and PC comparison since I always drive Linux. Maybe it is Porsche?

K-A

With the 5 VS E, the BMW is more rigid (an astounding 30% more rigid than the E), gets a higher safety score (especially by NCAP figures), is much sportier, is MUCH smoother, much quieter, more luxurious and refined materials, much bigger screen, much more advanced tech and features, etc.

Design is subjective, but IMO there isn't anything more lacking in originality or identity than M-B's current crop. M-B aren't leading in design at all these days, more so following tons of trends and combining them onto their cars. To me, the facelifts of the 5 and E tell you everything. BMW designed a car they will stand behind and claim "it was perfect from the beginning", ensuring a timeless and well regard in the future, while M-B seemed so unhappy and un-confident in their own design, they decided to change all the things they were pushing when they first designed this body style. Now both W212 "versions" look like awkward kit cars of each other.

BMW has been considered a design leader for quite some time, and now Audi (for some odd reason) seem to be taking that crown. M-B hasn't been regarded as a design leader for some time, as they have ceased to be copied (instead do the copying) and can't make up their minds about their own design identity, sloppy changes constantly and about-faces, building no modern theme, etc. Those aren't traits of a design leader whatsoever.

Of course, again, design is subjective, but these are reasons why I chose BMW over Mercedes (though mine were between 6 cylinder variations which makes an even larger difference between M-B's ho-hum and noisy V6 and BMW's incredible and distinctive I6 Turbo). But I fully understand if someone finds BMW designs not to their liking, "boring", all the same or whatever, makes sense. To me, though, they look balanced, timeless, distinctively BMW and confident. M-B to me are lacking all those things these days.

finman

is much sportier, is MUCH smoother, much quieter, more luxurious and refined materials, much bigger screen, much more advanced tech and features, etc.


Really? i find my E550 MUCH SMOOTHER, luxurious and refined than my 535 was

KA... you keep coming on here and saying the same things, which is fine... but very subjective.... I rarely find anyone that thinks that the run flats on a BMW are more smooth and quiet than regular tires but to each his own.

W210

I hated the throttle delay on the 535i, as well as the clunky transmission on my 750Li when coasting to a stop.

Not too impressed with the BMW brake-hold either, pressing the button on the console is so unintuitive and clumsy compared to the quick jab on the brakes to have the feature kick in.

And the orange dash makes me fall asleep. And why can't I close the BMW trunk from the driver's seat like I can in the Mercedes?

K-A

My E's were anything but smooth. My 535i handles drastically better yet still swallows up road imperfections in a way my E350 didn't get near. This is with a better handling car (that's frankly not "supposed to" be as smooth) and larger wheels and RFT's. Roads that made my E's shudder, rattle, flex and sound like they wanted to fall apart, my F10 glides over, I to this day am in disbelief of it. The type of RFT's makes a big difference, mine being Pirelli P-Zero's are a new addition and seem to be getting much better reviews than the typical RFT's that have apparently plagued BMW's.

Your car has Airmatic, so results may vary, but the F10 has a much more isolating, and much stiffer chassis than the E Class, being that the 5 is based on an exact yet shrunken 7 chassis, and the E on an extended C chassis. Also, the 5 Series chassis was designed from the ground up to also be used by the Rolls Royce Ghost in a larger fashion, which is why I think it's so above and beyond in quietness and isolation. Recent tests showed the 5 Series getting lower db's in sound tests by a pretty wide margin (in fact, the E wasn't one of the better performing in class, while the F10 5er was best in class in this regard) in all different sound db areas tested. Makes sense to me as I realized when I switched, how much quieter and more serene (and still more sporty) the 5 was.

You must not have had the ZF8 on your 7? Before 2013 models, the 7 had a POS old GM tranny, and the 5 Series has had the new (flawless) ZF 8 speed since launch. Early models suffered from some lag from what I hear, but by 2013+ that's been sorted.

I actually love the BMW's brake hold feature. Everything on it seems more "tech" while the M-B is more "analogue". None is better than the other as they both have their place and fans, but M-B's version seems pretty crude and undeveloped to me in comparison.

svmagnum

Name features on BMW more technologically advanced then in MB?