MBNUT1

Good call on the wood selection. The M276 was in the pre-facelift (12-13) Sounds like the only functional improvement was the transmission. The appeal of the facelift bodywork change is entirely in the eye of the beholder.

The reason I ask is based on my experience with the W212 vs other Mercedes I have owned from a driving experience / (durability/reliability) it would certainly not qualify as one of the best Mercedes ever made and I wondered whether I was missing something in the facelift version though a smoother shifting transmission would improve my opinion of the car.

Comparing it to the W211 I owned it certainly handles better but at the expense of ride quality and it isn't as quiet. They improved the reliability with the evolution of the M272 and the abandonment of the SBC brakes. Agree that the M276 is a noteworthy improvement engine wise but not a big fan of any V6. The W212 feels more solid than the W211 and certainly more solid than the W210 but to me those cars didn't feel nearly as solid as my W201 and this car feels delicate relative to that.

Don't get me wrong its a nice car, best car Mercedes ever made, I don't think so.

LILBENZ230

I have not had any reliability issues with any of my Benz cars. I did 146k miles on my W203 and it never let me down, and it should have been the least reliable.

I am only at 39,000 miles on my 2016 E350. What issues or driving experiences are you having?

I see you have a 4Matic, which I also despise. Way back in the day when I was shopping for my W211, I found the most beautifully optioned one in the perfect color and went to buy it. I had already been test driving them, but none of them had the P2 I wanted. This one did, and it was also 4Matic, which at the time didn't mean anything to me. I knew it was AWD but figured it'd be the same... until I drove it... and was heartbroken. The 4Matic seemed to suck the life out of the car. It felt so dull compared to the RWD ones I'd driven. I ended up giving up P2 to get RWD because I couldn't stand 4Matic. I have since had 204/212/205/213 4Matic loaner cars and still hate it and will absolutely never own one. It's weird because I've owned a Q50 with AWD and had no issues with the AWD (though the car was dreadful), but it did operate in RWD mode until slip was detected. I have also extensively test driven Acura cars with SH-AWD and while I don't like the cars, I thought that system really livened them up. And our Macan has AWD that is pretty transparent, I can't tell it takes away from the experience even if it doesn't add to it.

In terms of "bank vault" feeling, I think all Benz doors sound fine. The W212 door is much heavier than the 2020 W205, but I think both sound good. To me the E-class does not feel delicate at all. It feels.. almost.. industrial? For lack of a better term. I mean it is the bones of a livery car overseas, so I'd expect it to be robust. My 203 was a tank, I put that thing through hell.

MBNUT1

I agree that the W205 is a tin can compared to the W212 and the doors thunk fine which is why I own the W212 rather than the W205 that and the iPad. You honed in on the my primary issue with reliability and that being the 4matic. 2 transfer case rebuilds and one replaced front differential. My A4 driveline was trouble free for over 220K miles. Perhaps the additional front end weight of the 4matic is causing front end wear and reducing the sense of solidity that I have experienced in the past. But it goes beyond that I never had to replace motor mounts in any of my cars. In this car they are a consumable. Split seats faded wood I've worked on my cars and I can tell you this one is more fragile than my W201. My indy would say the same.

The bottom line is the the W212 was a lot cheaper to buy and more fuel efficient than a W124 would have been and they have had to cut material content to achieve that.

Having said the above from a value proposition I think the W212 is a great value particularly used. It is an exceptionally nice car for the money.

LILBENZ230

I actually really enjoyed the 2020 C300 I just returned. It had the AMG night package, digital cockpit. The new rectangular screen is much better than the pre-facelift W205 and has full screen AA/CP.

It sounds like some of your issue is indeed 4Matic. I don't care what anyone tells me, and there are a lot of people on here with different opinions, the 4Matic cars do not drive the same. They steer differently and it adds a level of complexity/expense I am not interested in (even if it drove the same).

Engine mounts, that's just a fact of life with Benz. I knew that going in. These new hydraulic mounts are wear items. I have real leather and open pore wood so I've avoided the other two really common W212 issues right there.

No doubt the W212 is more "fragile" than a W201, but those are incomparable really. The W212 is an order of magnitude more complex in basically every way than the old W201. Those were great cars, but times changed.

cetialpha5

Believe it or not, I prefer driving my W211 over the W212. Although the W212 is also nice. Has the auto high beams, and dynamic seats. Otherwise my W211 has real leather and I just like the styling better. It's a little smaller and feels tighter to drive. The steering wheel is better, easier to grip and the real leather in the W211 is nicer than the Mb-tex in my W212. Seems like the road feel is better in the W211. It's also easier to get into and out of, I always tend to bump into the side bolsters in the W212, don't have that in the W211 so easy in and out.

MBNUT1

What I noticed when I drove the W211 and W212 back to back is the steering was heavier (more Mercedes like and to my preference) on the W211 but the W212 handled better (cornered more flatly). My wife prefers the handling of the W212. She hated the way the W211 handled. She said it reminded her of her mother's Tennessee Walker horse, rode smooth didn't want to turn.

MBNUT1

Good to hear that you liked the 2020 C Class as I prefer a more compact sized car.

cetialpha5

Oh and I can see on the W212 they started removing features that were on the W211. Like there's an assist when opening the doors, they kinda pop open once you unlock it. They did a better job with keyless go on the W212, the sensors don't go bad like the buttons that rust out on the W211. There was a little business card holder that was nice on the W211.

As for the 4matic that others were complaining about, I've had my W211 for 6 years now and the W212 for 4, only issue with any of it is the slightly worse gas mileage. Otherwise great in the snow. I've parked on a lawn that was covered in snow/ice, no issues with getting stuck, just give it a little gas and it goes.

DFWdude

I like all of the W212s...

nc211

All I know, is that I love the snot out of mine and really appreciate all of the detail that went into designing it. It think it’s a timeless beauty that is aging exceptionally well. When you drive the new one, a person can definitely tell that it feels like the last of the E Class generation of feeling heavy. The way it is able to apply the torque curve is impressive. Not a lot of gear hunting and a deceptive amount of power coming out of that V6. Truly do love the car. Perfect? No, but no man made machine ever is, especially a car. But stoke the ole’ ego still? You bet...

MBNUT1

W212 didn't make Topspeed's list of best Mercedes of the decade

https://www.topspeed.com/cars/what-a...-ar188326.html

kjb55

I recently totaled my W211 and am in the search for a 2015 or 2016 W212. The video says the ventilated seats just circulates the interior air, that there is not a cold a/c vent to the seat. Is that true?

arcnspark

Just came from a 2011C300 4matic with 84k miles to my 2016 E350 rwd. The c did feel smaller and was a little more nimble. The wad was great in the snow and never gave me a bit of trouble. The E has the polished wood trim. As has been said prior, there seems to be some issues with the trim. Exactly what are they and is there anything that can be done to prevent the problem? So far as day by day driveling both car felt quite solid on the road. BTW - my indie recommended the V6 over the turbo motor. After my turbo A4, I vowed never to have another.

MBNUT1

If you have the burlwood trim it will fade to a grey color over time.

​​​​​​


Pretty huh.

DFWdude

The burlwood replacement dash on my 2016 is now 2 years old and looks like new. And I live in very hot Texas. Go figure.

MBNUT1

Ok so your 2016's faded as well? The reason I ask is that on the 2014 S class the wood faded as well. As part of that discussion one of the board members said his 2016's wood was a lot darker new than his 2014 implying that there had been a change in 2016. Maybe by 2018 they had a changed formula. Who knows.

cetialpha5

It might be the luck of the draw. Some people reported that the replacement was fine and others said the replacement faded again. But it was only covered under the original warranty not under cpo or extended so there was probably only time to get one set. Maybe parking it in a garage helps. The wood on my W211 still looks fine. Basically the theory is that whoever supplied the wood for the W212 didn't use even UV blocker. It's a very thin veneer and some have taken off the top coat very carefully and redid the wood. You probably need to find some master wood crafter to do a job like that. Good choice with the V6, that's a 302 hp vs 241hp on the turbo 4. Even the older M272 had 268hp.

Bern6389

Has anyone tried to just sand and reclear? I used to work at an interior shop and the milky part of the wood was from the clear coat used, not the actual veneer.

DFWdude

My 2016 was a Ft. Lauderdale FL car its first 2 years, and the OEM wood faded in just that short time. (So much for the theory that MB had solved the issue by MY2016.) The faded areas were the wood on the dash... no fading on the door panels or console, because (I think) the side and rear windows were well tinted. I do not know if the women who owned the car garaged it. Or whether it sat under the sun on a parking lot during the work day.

I had the dash panels replaced in May, 2018, under warranty. These panels have not shown any sign of fading since. I live in a similar hot, southern climate (Texas). I do garage the car when at home. I don't park throughout the day on an exposed lot, only while shopping. I did treat the wood once with "Mercedes-Benz Interior Care" -- a Meguiar's product -- because it's label says it provides UV protection. I applied a layer, let it dry, then wiped off the haze. So far so good?

I've written a dedicated thread on steps I've taken to protect the burl walnut in my car... https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...ion-works.html

There are lots of commercial treatments that offer UV protection, including dedicated UV protectants used on outdoor furniture and ceramic decor, like SunGuard UV Protectant. I have not tried this product, yet.
And another...

KEY08

Yes, that is how it works. If your cabin is not cool, your *** will not be cool. These are not cooled seats; just ventilated.

ygmn

Pretty much all car manufacturers call them VENTILATED seats now... and suck air from behind and underneath

LILBENZ230

Also it should be stated that the ventilation is very subtle. I didn't realize how subtle it was until I experienced the ones in the Macan - much stronger in terms of moving air.

It's still better than nothing, though. It's enough to prevent getting sticky with the seats on a hot day.

arcnspark

Re: ventilated seats.
Is the wiring already there, just waiting for the motor and switch?
Can’t believe that there would be a special wiring harness for just one option.

cetialpha5

If you're thinking of just adding it, you can't without changing the seat cover. That open has holes in it for the air to flow through. The regular seats don't have that. And yes, Mercedes makes lots of options that you can't easily add afterwards. The cost to add it afterwards in terms of parts costs is usually way more than whatever the option originally cost. Sorta like the seat cover, several hundred dollars if it's MB-tex, about a thousand if it's real leather. Real leather doesn't tend to rip like Mb-tex so not that big of a concern. Remember, Mercedes is a low volume car with lots of options, not a mass market car where many cars share the same options.

cx876

I wouldn't say it's the best looking MB, but definitely the best looking E Class to me,
however I hate the face-lifted W212, I love that quad headlight and the body crease on the rear door and quarter panel,
and the cost cutting in the face-lifted model interior just make it looks cheap.