wow that LWB looks great, America bring it over

 

if your mdx is around 08 it should have the 3.5 vtec 250hp awd i had one in my saturn vue redline and it was a quick little suv. I would defenitly agree being on the same performance level. The mdx is nicer the redline interior wise aswell but not as luxurious as the mercedes. You would think honda vs mercedes would be a dramatic diffrence, i have a 04 accord coupe and i would take it over most low end bmw mercedes and audis. Which is hard for me to say honestly. But i feel anything not atleast a v8 in a luxury car is lacking the true german experience.

 

 

 

I'm sure every salesman in America will love hearing those words come out of your mouth.....more $$$ for their pockets.

FYI- Every car manufacturer is using turbo 4's and 6's.....even the most American of all vehicles the F-150 has a V-6 turbo.

Buy what sings to you, but the 4-banger is the new V-6 equivalent and as 6 is to the 8 cyl

 

My '15 E350 sounded like a diesel to me, so Mercedes has already gotten me used to unpleasant-sounding engines. Coming out of a '15 E350, I thought my biggest complaint would be the 4-banger. It's not. Surprisingly, I actually don't mind the little 4-cylinder engine. The new transmission is light years ahead of the clunky, troublesome, embarrassing tranny that my E350 had. That transmission mates well with the 4-banger. I have the Acoustic Comfort package, so I don't have to hear it. The E350's engine didn't sound good to my ears either. I'm not a fan of the way direct-injection engines sound. All of them sound like rattle-traps, but that's what governments are mandating these days through their onerous regulations. I'm getting 37-39.2 mpg (6.35-6.00 l/100km) vs. the 32-34 mpg (7.35-6.92 l/100km), so the little engine's earning its keep.

So, what don't I like? Runflats/no spare tire, doors feel a bit too lightweight for my liking, infotainment system UI stinks, infotainment system is terribly laggy,

Properly kitted out (Luxury trim, P3, Acoustic Comfort, Multicontour seats, burl wood), I'll put the front seats up there with the S-Class. Having driven both side-by-side, yes, there is a difference.. BUT a $50k difference? No...and that's a problem for some S-Class buyers, especially with the S450 coming with the same V6 that you can get in the E-Class. I know of two people who are seriously thinking of getting the E300/E400 loaded up similar to mine over getting an S450. One of them has an S550 currently.

 

deleted - duplicate post

 

Isn't the spare under the load floor in the rear of the car? Where would you want the spare tire to be? You know that tire is placed there for a reason right?

M

 

The E400 Wagon has NO spare, anywhere, which is my point. If it had one, under the cargo area floor, where it belongs, I would buy the car.

 

Interesting that when they interviewed Ford mechanics and service writers over 90% they would buy the V-8 in preference to the V-6 Turbos. Reason? Dependability and ease of maintenance when something does break. I'd take their word for it. It always seemed to me that a highly stressed engine will not enjoy the longevity or reliability of an engine working at a lower % of it's capacity. The great enemy of all engines is the heat/cool cycle and turbo engines have always been susceptible to that type of operating condition diminishing their longevity. Now, if you never shut them off, they would be better off, but that kills the economy.

 

One of the nicest cars we have ever owned, was a 2004 E500 sedan with AirMatic. The V8 was SO smooth, powerful and it rode like a dream. It is such a shame that MB has removed the V8's from being available in the non-AMG E Class cars.

 

Well, since we're ranting, the Sport Packages with low aspect ratio tires make not having a spare even more inconvenient. They simply don't have the same cushion against the increasing deterioration
of our infrastructure. And if you damage the wheels while you're at it, you can kiss $1,000+ goodbye. If you look at CarFax, every M-B has had tires and wheels replaced at very low miles. And if your "lucky" and get a car with staggered tires and wheels, the adventure gets even more interesting and expensive, since replacement gets doubly complicated and you can't rotate them for more even wear.

OK, Ok, I know I have a car with the most staggered, lowest of the low-profile, most expensive rolling hardware on the planet. But I knew that going in and I expect to have my pocket picked at every turn but that's my conscious decision. For most M-B buyers the tire/wheel roulette wheel is an unpleasant surprise.

 

I've driven turbo cars since 1986. I wouldn't consider buying a car that did not have either a turbocharger or a supercharger. Such technology adds greatly to specific power and efficiency. In 60 years of driving I've never worn out an engine. Unfortunately many of the V-8's I owned were low power 5 liter gasoline hogs. Most produced less HP and torque than today's 2 liter turbo 4 cylinder engines. Long gone are the huge V8 5 liter engines that turned out a measly 250 HP at 15 mpg. They were reliable and easy to repair, but they were not efficient. I'll take efficiency over ease of maintenance anytime. After all when was the last time you replaced valves or rings in your engine?

 

OK, I'm always up for a low profile tire rant myself. IMO, the entire auto industry has lost their collective minds over gigantic wheels and tires with the side wall depth of a rubber band. It is just NUTS! OK, make the giant wheels and the crazy tires optional for the guys who must have them, but PLEASE, put 17" or even 16" wheels on the E Class cars. More and more, the auto magazines are sticking the blame for harsh riding cars squarely with 19" & 20"+ wheels and overly aggressive, ultra low profile, load rated tires. On something like a standard E Class sedan or the wagon, give me 17" wheels and a nice, deep side wall-------with a frigging spare!

 

Oh ok, it isn't even an option?

M

 

Unfortunately not.

 

There isn't even a well to store a spare. It is the same with the sedan.

 

I guess the spare tire is going the way of the CD player.

M

 

+1

Every time I drive my 2003 E500 I'm amazed by the smooth effortless power, comfortable ride and tight handling for a two ton sedan.

 

BIG difference between a Ford V8 and a German or Japanese V8, both in design and usage. Technology has changed dramatically. Metallurgy has gotten substantially better, which allows us to get more HP out of smaller engines. Engine management, turbos, etc. With aviation, there's still plenty of JT8D low-bypass turbofan engines in service today, but you're not going to find any aircraft manufacturer or airline pushing for new aircraft equipped with them. Instead, high-bypass turbofan engines are the norm, run higher temperatures and higher pressures than the low-bypass engines AND they're far more reliable than engines of old, so much so that we're seeing aircraft with only two engines instead of the 3 or 4 we used to see. Given the cost of an engine overhaul, or worse, accident, if airlines thought for a moment that these new-fangled engines weren't as good, they wouldn't use them.

My '04 Infiniti M45 (V8) had 225,000 miles on the clock when I sold it. I bought it new. By 225k, the engine's timing chain guides were getting a bit worn so it'd be a little clattery when cold, but still ran strong. The final night I had it, I had an emergency come up and was doing "55 mph" down the highway. Even at the century mark, the engine was still butter smooth. BUT when I think about it, out of all the cars I've ever owned, engine problems were never the reason for selling the car. With my 2015 E350, a faulty power system was to blame (BTW, if anyone wants my old E350, it's still for sale. PM me and I'll send you the link). My Infinitis both were traded with transmission issues, with the Q45 already being on its 3rd tranny and needing a 4th! With that Q45, the reason the car went through transmissions so often was the V8!

I also echo the desire for smaller size rims. I put 17" rims on my '15 E350. Even after 48k miles, not a single bite of curb rash on the rims. I went with the 17" again with my E300 and am glad I did. Runflats are loud and harsh enough. I do wonder how much of the ride improvement I notice on my E300 Luxury vs. dealer's sport E300 is due to 17" vs. 18" tires compared to the Luxury vs. Sport suspensions. I do miss having the security and reliability of a spare tire... but in all honesty, tires have gotten pretty darn good. The Q45 wore its spare tire a few times. My M45's TPMS saved me from having to use the spare multiple times after Hurricane Charley (nails) and after 225k miles, the spare never was used, despite the car being put through hell at times.

 

A little OT, but Ford announced it will no longer sell sedans in the USA....that's right, "sell". Taurus, Fusion, etc. no longer available in dealerships. Only Mustang remains. Otherwise trucks, SUVs and crossovers only.

 

Ford is also moving small car manufacturing such as the Focus line to China. Any sold in the US will come from there, not Mexico. So now Volvo, Buick, Cadillac and Ford will have models sold in the US manufactured and imported from China.