Convince me an E Series is better than a 5 Series BMW or Audi A6
12-27-2015, 01:16 PM
#26
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Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Cleveland OHIO
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01 ML55AMG 04 ML500 03 ML350 08 ML63AMG
All BMW look the same to me, any model is same look. If you had bmw for all them years, just try something new for a change.You might like it, seats not very comfy but the rest of the car is amazing!!! good luck with your new ride!!
12-27-2015, 02:24 PM
#27
MBWorld Fanatic!
The only thing I don't like about mine are the MBTex piece of **** seats. F MB for using such crap material in a 50k car. Other than that I love the car. I had some alignment issues that my good alignment shop took care of. The seat heater broke on the drivers side that I fixed. Drivers seat ripped also.
12-27-2015, 03:47 PM
#30
Senior Member
I tend to prefer BMW a little over MB but the wife is more of a MB fan.
Although I don't have a problem with MB tex in my current or previous MB. I don't climb into my 335 and think "This leather is so much better than the MB tex". Its just not a deal breaker to me but I know it is to many others.
Although I don't have a problem with MB tex in my current or previous MB. I don't climb into my 335 and think "This leather is so much better than the MB tex". Its just not a deal breaker to me but I know it is to many others.
12-27-2015, 05:00 PM
#31
Super Member
Never had an issue with seats in this car. I have done multiple 10 our days and not a bit of discomfort. The active massage is awesome. If the one you are looking at has that, all the better. The only seat that is more comfortable to me than what is in the E is what is in my S class. Both are very comfortable.
12-28-2015, 06:30 AM
#37
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12-28-2015, 07:31 AM
#40
MBWorld Fanatic!
You really are not able to make an actual point, are you? Oh yea, you really owned me, inpressive...I'm done, carry on lil fella
12-28-2015, 11:04 AM
#44
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2012 E350 sedan
A6 vs E350
My thoughts based on my car search for my wife 15 months ago. First, I have owned Audi TT roadsters since 2001 and love them. I've had A4 and A6 as loaners when I take my car in for routine maintenance and I liked them too. My wife has a bad back, so seat/ride comfort was paramount and after searching about a dozen brands, it came down to the A6 vs E350, She liked the seats and ride in both. (She found the BMW seats too hard so she never even drove it). Here are the factors that swayed us to the E350.
Price. The MSRP of a new E350 is about $10K higher than the A6. On Audi, a 6% discount on MSRP is about the limit you will be able to negotiate (not including trade-in which always muddles the true cost). MB offers massive discounts, almost 20% if you are a decent negotiator. Still, a new A6 costs less than the MB. Personally, I wanted to be in the $35K range so we were shopping for low mileage (under 10K) 2012-13 CPOs. IMO a CPO E350 is one of the best car deals around. You can get a very low mileage 2-3 year old car that is still under warranty for about 40% off of MSRP. That means the "driving it off the lot" depreciation on a new MB is about 20%! Plus MB is always offering incentives on their CPOs that are typically worth an extra $2K-$3K. You also get an extra year of warranty. So even if I were interested in a new E350, unless you had money to burn, IMO the CPO route makes the most financial sense. I car shop in SoCal because prices on luxury cars are much less than here in Vegas. There were dozens of CPO E350s in my price range but the CPO A6 was about $4K higher. An Audi CPO also gives you 2 extra years of warranty compared to the MB's one. So summarizing, a new E350 is more expensive that a new A6 but the converse is true for a late model low mileage CPO. That means the A6 has better resale value.
Maintenance cost - My CPO is still under free maintenance (thanks to one of the several CPO incentives I got) but talking with my service advisor, routine maintenance of the E350 is over double what my Audi dealer charges for my TT.
Style - The A6 exterior styling is very bland. IMO the E350 wins this easily.
Performance - There is a hidden factor in the costs above. The base A6 has a very peppy 4 cylinder engine while the E350 comes with a 6. IMO, and in the opinion of most professional reviewers, the A6 4 cylinder provides all the power you ever need. If you want a 6 cylinder A6 you have to upgrade trim level and pay extra for the 6 and the MSRP becomes about the same as the new E350 but because of discounts offered, the new MB is cheaper. However, a A6 CPO with the 6 adds several $K to the CPO price. My wife and I agree that for general driving, performance of the E350 and the A6 4 is a wash.
Comfort - It is almost impossible to find an E350 anywhere in the Southwest that is not a sport model. I had a lot of concern about this initially but the ride of the E350 sport is very smooth, as was the A6. What drove my wife to select the E350 was one button! The E350 comes standard with electronic lumbar adjustment on both front seats. The A6 does not have this on the passenger seat. When we go on long trips, which is frequent, my wife prefers that I drive and the E350 passenger seat was much more comfortable for her bad back with the lumbar adjustment. To get electronic lumbar adjustment on the passenger side on the A6, you have to move up to the highest "prestige" trim (and the 6 cyklinder engine is now standard) for an added $4K in MSRP and $2K for a CPO.
The end result is that we are very pleased with the E350. My wife has had full size cars for about 20 years and the E350 has the most power, best handling, best ride, and best gas mileage of any she has owned.
Price. The MSRP of a new E350 is about $10K higher than the A6. On Audi, a 6% discount on MSRP is about the limit you will be able to negotiate (not including trade-in which always muddles the true cost). MB offers massive discounts, almost 20% if you are a decent negotiator. Still, a new A6 costs less than the MB. Personally, I wanted to be in the $35K range so we were shopping for low mileage (under 10K) 2012-13 CPOs. IMO a CPO E350 is one of the best car deals around. You can get a very low mileage 2-3 year old car that is still under warranty for about 40% off of MSRP. That means the "driving it off the lot" depreciation on a new MB is about 20%! Plus MB is always offering incentives on their CPOs that are typically worth an extra $2K-$3K. You also get an extra year of warranty. So even if I were interested in a new E350, unless you had money to burn, IMO the CPO route makes the most financial sense. I car shop in SoCal because prices on luxury cars are much less than here in Vegas. There were dozens of CPO E350s in my price range but the CPO A6 was about $4K higher. An Audi CPO also gives you 2 extra years of warranty compared to the MB's one. So summarizing, a new E350 is more expensive that a new A6 but the converse is true for a late model low mileage CPO. That means the A6 has better resale value.
Maintenance cost - My CPO is still under free maintenance (thanks to one of the several CPO incentives I got) but talking with my service advisor, routine maintenance of the E350 is over double what my Audi dealer charges for my TT.
Style - The A6 exterior styling is very bland. IMO the E350 wins this easily.
Performance - There is a hidden factor in the costs above. The base A6 has a very peppy 4 cylinder engine while the E350 comes with a 6. IMO, and in the opinion of most professional reviewers, the A6 4 cylinder provides all the power you ever need. If you want a 6 cylinder A6 you have to upgrade trim level and pay extra for the 6 and the MSRP becomes about the same as the new E350 but because of discounts offered, the new MB is cheaper. However, a A6 CPO with the 6 adds several $K to the CPO price. My wife and I agree that for general driving, performance of the E350 and the A6 4 is a wash.
Comfort - It is almost impossible to find an E350 anywhere in the Southwest that is not a sport model. I had a lot of concern about this initially but the ride of the E350 sport is very smooth, as was the A6. What drove my wife to select the E350 was one button! The E350 comes standard with electronic lumbar adjustment on both front seats. The A6 does not have this on the passenger seat. When we go on long trips, which is frequent, my wife prefers that I drive and the E350 passenger seat was much more comfortable for her bad back with the lumbar adjustment. To get electronic lumbar adjustment on the passenger side on the A6, you have to move up to the highest "prestige" trim (and the 6 cyklinder engine is now standard) for an added $4K in MSRP and $2K for a CPO.
The end result is that we are very pleased with the E350. My wife has had full size cars for about 20 years and the E350 has the most power, best handling, best ride, and best gas mileage of any she has owned.
Last edited by VegasE; 12-28-2015 at 11:07 AM.
12-28-2015, 11:26 AM
#45
MBWorld Fanatic!
The c7 A6 is the sportiest of the three cars, but since you are not happy with it, sportiness is probably not your top priority. As far as the seats goes, the A6's seats are horrible, I believe Audi started offering optional sport seats in the 2016 A6. Mercedes' multi-contour seats are pretty nice for the half of the price of BMW F10's multi-contour seats and Audi's sport seats. Quality wise, you simply cannot beat Mercedes, every knob or button I touch is higher quality than my old F10 5 series and Audi C7 A6. The E class is gear toward comfort instead of sportiness. If you want something more sporty, you might want to consider the CLS, C class or the E63 amg.
The only option I really wish I had that I don't is the Dynamic seats. They really adjust and hug you with air pockets, and they inflate to support you as you turn. If you haven't tried one with these seats, I highly suggest you do, it's really cool, especially if you drive this car aggressively, it makes up a little for the somewhat soft suspension.
12-28-2015, 11:36 AM
#46
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2010 E350 Luxury Sedan, Engine 272 (V6)
1. I have had vehicles with leather seats. MB Tex is just as good IMO. It is high quality vinyl.
2. Drove a car with Dynamic seats as a loaner about a year ago. Very annoying every time I rounded a curve or changed lanes. Finally turned them off and left them off. MB's regular seats are very supportive as designed and constructed.
2. Drove a car with Dynamic seats as a loaner about a year ago. Very annoying every time I rounded a curve or changed lanes. Finally turned them off and left them off. MB's regular seats are very supportive as designed and constructed.
12-28-2015, 11:38 AM
#47
MBWorld Fanatic!
1. I have had vehicles with leather seats. MB Tex is just as good IMO. It is high quality vinyl.
2. Drove a car with Dynamic seats as a loaner about a year ago. Very annoying every time I rounded a curve or changed lanes. Finally turned them off and left them off. MB's regular seats are very supportive as designed and constructed.
2. Drove a car with Dynamic seats as a loaner about a year ago. Very annoying every time I rounded a curve or changed lanes. Finally turned them off and left them off. MB's regular seats are very supportive as designed and constructed.
12-28-2015, 12:03 PM
#48
Out Of Control!!
12-28-2015, 01:19 PM
#49
MBWorld Fanatic!
The "standard" real leather seats in my E550 are comfortable, even on 8-10hr drive I never felt fatigued. They are not super plush, but they just seem to fit right, same as my old CLK430. The leather feels a little stiff to the touch, but when you sit in them they feel perfect. Any BMW or Audi I have driven feel like sitting on a plank, even the BMW seats that adjust 50 different ways. The exception was an old 2000? A6 that my cousin had. I remember driving that once and thought the interior was very comfy and amazing. Maybe I was just excited to drive such a car, since it was probably the nicest I'd ever driven at that point.
The only option I really wish I had that I don't is the Dynamic seats. They really adjust and hug you with air pockets, and they inflate to support you as you turn. If you haven't tried one with these seats, I highly suggest you do, it's really cool, especially if you drive this car aggressively, it makes up a little for the somewhat soft suspension.
The only option I really wish I had that I don't is the Dynamic seats. They really adjust and hug you with air pockets, and they inflate to support you as you turn. If you haven't tried one with these seats, I highly suggest you do, it's really cool, especially if you drive this car aggressively, it makes up a little for the somewhat soft suspension.
12-28-2015, 03:29 PM
#50
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2010 E550 P2 w/AMG Sport Package + Pano, 2015 Nissan Pathfinder
Many of my friends and in-laws have BMWs. So I don't drive them often but I ride in them from time to time. I feel as though the MB is more comfortable ride wise and has a better look in the interior. I can't really vouch for or against Audi since my experience is limited in them. Also, since I don't personally drive BMWs much I can't say if they perform on par with the Es currently. I guess you best bet is to test drive them all and let wifey have a crack at it as well.
