I have not driven either one yet but if the sport is anything like the 2012 sport e350 then the ride is way to harsh for my taste. So I am wondering how does the luxury suspension compare?

Anyone here driven both that can priovide their feedback?

 

I'd be interested in this question, too.

 

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The Luxury will drive like a Buick.

 

Are you saying that from experience?

 

Thanks. That all makes sense about the ride being about the same on flat well paved roads and more like Buick on rougher roads.

 

LOL, the luxury drives like the S class, it's like driving a boat. Seriously, I test drove both just to make sure the difference and the luxury has a softer more subtle ride but makes the car feel floaty like a big car.

I opted for the sport because it is alot sportier and drives better, but the ride is a bit harsher.

 

I've driven both, go for the sport, you will not be sorry. After a few days, you will not notice the "harsh" suspension. My wife drove both and went for the sport because it makes the car feel more "controlled", now she wouldn't think of anything else.

 

This was back in 2010, but I test drove three different Sport models and wouldn't buy any of them because of the ride. And I'm talking average city streets, interstates, etc. Drove a Luxury pn same test streets and interstate and ordered one. Much better ride in all situations. They don't call it the comfort suspension for nothing.
As for handling, it handles better than other cars I have owned (except for Rx-7 and 300ZX). Regardless of suspension, it's an MB/German/Sports sedan so it will handle well.
One factor is that Luxury has 17" wheels with larger sidewall tires. These make for more comfortable ride.
BTW, I used to own a Buick and my car drives nothing like that! No floating and excellent contact with road.
You will notice the ride as long as you own the car. So, take a Sport and a Luxury for long test drives on variety of surfaces.
Personally, I think a lot of people get Sports version because it sounds cooler.

 

I've been there! I too, tried the 2010 E as a replacement for my 2006 E. I did not like the sportier ride and they had no luxury in stock. I ended up getting a BMW 535 because it seemed to handle bumps better and it had better tech back then. Two years later, I am not happy with my sporty ride.

I agree, marketing a car as more sporty wins over calling it comfort. And most people think bigger wheels are always better, too.

 

I found the 2012 e350 bluetec considerably harsh in the "sport" version. Even short trips were annoying as hell and this is while also driving a 2011 f10 535xi with sport package. It did not handle anywhere near like the 535 and yet I felt bone jarring experience only from E.

So from this point onwards its either luxury or Airmatic until MB addresses this harsh with no real sporty benefit ride issue!

 

AIRMATIC is much harsher (even in comfort mode) than the luxury steel suspension is. The only real benefit of AIRMATIC is the auto leveling if you're hauling (which is why it's standard in the rear of the wagon).

 

I dont know what would drive you to that conclusion but you are sooooooo wrong!

Keep in mind that the sport models comes with 18's while the E350 lux comes with 17's in addition to the softer suspension (I dont know if that changed for 2014)

Any way one of our butts needs calibration because my Airmatic on 20s still rides much smoother than an E350 Lux on 17's.

 

I agree, airmatic on my 2012 s is butter smooth.

 

My e550 with airmatic is very smooth and comfortable...probably the most comfortable and best handling Benz I've ever had and this is my 9th one over the last 25 years

 

I wonder if there is a noticeable difference b/w the airmatic ride of S vs E ? I have never driven E with airmatic....

 

I felt the opposite. As time goes on the brutally harsh Sport suspension on the W212 Sport will start to rattle the car up, and will just ruin the Luxury-Car experience this car is supposed to have. It's far too jarring, IMO. I always said my 2010 and 2011's were perfect ownership experiences however the horrible ride quality and overall dynamics were almost enough to threaten to ruin it.

Out of all the cars I've driven, I think the W212 Sport suspension has perhaps the worst dynamics I've ever experienced. This is simply due to terrible engineering geometry which made what are great attributes on one type of road terrible on another, thus affecting the holistic experience.

The W212 is the only car I've ever driven that is as harsh as a sports car over rough roads, but floats like an old Cadillac through turns. Mercedes managed to give it two of the worst attributes: Floaty and rolly-polly when you want it to be stiff, and harsh when you want it to float. They got it backwards. The car is simply confused in this case. A good suspension gobbles up harshness and is tight through turns, which is also the case with my M Sport 535i with the new mechanical M suspension. It's smoother over bumps by far, yet turns like a sports car in comparison. I hate to say that here, but it's true, and Mercedes needs to fix their suspension dynamics if they want to use the word "Sport" on their Luxury Sedans and not sacrifice the "Luxury" aspect of it. On smooth roads, the W212 Sport rides sublime, however, as it's floaty and supple yet feels pinned down and solid. Though, when you turn, it sways exaggeratedly and when you hit rough patches it sounds like it wants to fall apart.

The Luxury version is too floaty overall, yes, but at least it feels like it knows what it wants to do and the dynamics have a vision. It's soft, it's floaty, and it makes no apologies for that.

Maybe the facelift W212 Sport fixed these problems, but I drove one and it acted identically to my pre-facelifts.

 

I had the E350 Bluetec Luxury version and found the ride to be near perfect. I have driven the Sport version as well. While I do not find the ride of the sport version objectionable, I think the Luxury version of the Agility control is how an E should feel. Just my two cents. Anyone who says it drives like a Buick has not driven it.

 

Or they haven't driven a Buick!

Bluetec is not on the menu for 2014 MY. I'm not feeling an extra 3mpg city is worth a $4,800 premium. In my book, 21mpg for 302HP is impressive.

 

anyone driven the airmatic on both E class and S class? Can you comment on the ride difference if any ?

 

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Not sure about the 2014 but the airmatic on the 2012 E550 4matic with factory 18" is pretty sweet. I enjoy the ride in the comfort mode very much. Sport mode I reserve for more aggressive driving.

In either case, the ride is much smoother than a sports car, say a 911.

 

I was talking about the steel suspension cars as of course Airmatic has its own characteristics. However I have also heard Airmatic drivers complain about even "more" harshness than the steel suspension cars, but that seems to be a big debate as lots of Airmatic drivers say it's totally smooth as you said.

The 991 911's are actually pretty damn smooth! When I had my W212 I would go on the Porsche boards and a guy who got a 991 911 said it was smoother over bumps than his E350 "Sport". I hated hearing that because I believed it and it offered yet another example of the W212 "Sport" having the worst suspension dynamics out there.

 

K-A - not sure if you said this, but there were comments in this forum that the 2012 and 2013 sport models were not as harsh as the 2010s and 2011s.

 

Gone from a Mini JCW to a AMG sport Eclass 2014 Estate. So airmatic on the rear.

Its way more controlled than the mini. But that was FWD also. One bump on a corner and it would jump out of line.

Sure it wallows more but its huge compared to the mini.

The rear is well controlled through sweeping bends and the front hooks up just fine.

Coming from previous cars I'm very happy all things considering with the 2014.

It's firm yes. Harsh no. But if you dont want firm then don't buy "sport" :-/

As for a 911 being better... how much was his Porsche ?

S