Vvvvvv

Reports show that the sales isn't very good and I've rarely seen any on the road when I've already spotted a few G30s... also picture thread has only few posts. The W212 was literally everywhere before the W213 came out. What's wrong with the new W213? What's about it that's so bad? Is it because the exterior design is basically the same as the S and C class and people don't like when it's not original like the W212? I don't understand. I'm interested in a midsize sedan and like the W213 over the G30 and A6 but needs to know what keeps people from buying it.

ua549

IMO sales of E Class are doing well. Yes, they hard to distinguish from the C Class and S Class models when zipping by on the road. I've mistaken many E's that I thought were C's. Even the model designation on the trunk can be hard to read. Was that a C or an E?

In February MBUSA sold a record 27,383 vehicles. I don't have a brake down by model.
In January the E Class sales were ranked third behind first place C Class and second place GLE.

Sales might improve with an E400 model. Since it is sold in Canada, one must blame the CAFE standards for it not being available in the US.

CanadianEKlass

It's the price, after that is the potential to take fire and the lack of availability of dual 12.3" inch screens.The 4 cylinder engine doesn't attract high end buyers because doesn't offer enough power, thrill and "image" associated with "look, I am rich".

unr1

4-cylinder is a turn off (even though every review I've seen says it's just fine)

design looks like a C class

expensive and lots of competition in the segment

sedans aren't as popular as they use to be

Vvvvvv

i think you summed it up very well. It's the era of SUVs lol. What car do you currently have if you don't mind me asking?

unr1

2015 E350. Love it but the lease is ending soon and I'll probably get an E300. I have yet to test drive it but I'm fairly sure I'll like it.

Bobby4919

I just turned in a leased 2014 E350 for a new E300. I love almost every inch of it. Do I care if someone looking at it can't tell it from a C or S? No. Do I care if it's a 4 cylinder. No. Although my wife says it sounds like it's knocking when she listens to it outside. If I'd wanted something faster I probably wouldn't have been looking at a sedan. Do I care that on my first road trip I wasn't blown off the highway and averaged 30MPG? Yes!!

Do I love the interior and the way the driver's seat nestles me between the side bolsters when I make a tight turn at high speeds? Yes! (Sarcasm intended).

Seriously.... if you're looking for blinding acceleration perhaps you should be looking for one of the AMG models. For me... this car is just fine.

It better be... .I waited 6 months (between parts shortages and order snafus) for it.

Mbracer26

Its not selling well because it has alot of drawbacks compared to the w212. For example, the radio controls suck and laggy, no spare tire with run flats car drives like a truck. Pot holes are its enemy. Low visibility, the windshield is almost the same size as the C-Class or maybe even smaller have to check that out.due to the small wind shield the car feels smaller inside, rear legroom is also less. Smaller gas tank, it gets a 17 gallon tank same size as the C-Class when the e43 gets a 21 gallon tank. The engine is not as refined and not appropriate for a car with this much weight. The major pros this car has going for itself is the interior design, will not be surprised if the updated C-Class gets the same instrument cluster and interior design in the next update. The New w213 is basically a elongated C-Class, unless you get the e43 Amg.

arnsbrae

What are the sales?

arnsbrae

I have a C Class on loan right now and while it may be okay in it's sector, it is a long, long way from a W213. It is much more noisy (engine and wind noise) especially when accelerating. It feels much cheaper inside and the boot lid feels like a plastic toy. The sound quality from the ICE is far inferior and the ride quality is "jiggly" compared to the W213. You can feel the shorter wheelbase when driving and the steering doesn't feel as solid, particularly in the straight ahead position. The ICE screen looks like a small iPad stuck on top of the upper fascia. Apart from all that, yes, the W213 is just an elongated C Class. Not.
The W213 feels like a car at least 1.5 sectors higher (and so it should). It feels a lot bigger inside than a C Class too.
By all means criticise the W213, but don't try to say a C Class is anywhere close because it simply isn't.
What are the sales figures you allude to?

michaelleongcl

it is no secret that the mid size premium sedan segment is shrinking. Nonetheless, the E class is still the segment leader in the US. 2731 5 series was sold is US in February 2017 while 3,471 E class was sold.

Feb sales
5 series-2731
e class-3471

YTD
5 series-3480
e class-7626

Germancar1

Another baseless, ill-informed thread about what isn't popular based on what you see on the road instead of actually checking the facts. Why do you people here constantly do this?

M

Germancar1

What? They can't sell an E400, but they can sell a gaggle of AMG V8 and V12s from C to S and everywhere in between? CAFE has absolutely NOTHING to do with MBUSA passing on the E400 Sedan. You do realize that there is an E400 Wagon, Coupe and Cabrio right? New E400 wagon is coming up as is the the coupe and convertible.

M

ua549

It boils down to the volume. A high volume of E400 sales will skew the CAFE numbers. The volume of AMG sales is minuscule compared to non-AG models.

Vvvvvv

wow! I never knew a C class was that bad.... was considering a C too, not anymore lol.

Vvvvvv

Well which car should I buy? It seems like every car I'm interested in has some obnoxious flaw... this is giving me headaches!! Maybe I'll just get a Range Rover sport...? Lol

wlwoods

At our dealership, The E300 is selling well. The 4 cylinder engine is impressive and has 273 lb/ft of torque- the same as last years E350 six cylinder engine.
One of our customers took delivery and almost immediately left for a 5,000 mile roundtrip drive to Colorado. He averaged 33 mpg overall including a drive up to Pikes Peak and high speed (80-90mph) interstate driving in the west.
If you need or want more power, the E400 six cylinder has 329 hp and 354 lb/ft of torque. Today I drove our first 2017 E400S Wagon. It is beautiful and a terrific vehicle! It is wonderfully balanced and looks great with the $500 Sport Wheel Pkg.

i2017MBE300

I believe it is because the engine option are far less than the other models. In US at first we only have E300 (the only option is we have is either the RWD or 4Matic). On this matter, people seeking for more powerful engine on the W213 will wait for the E43 or maybe the E63 AMG. Therefore, it is somehow reduce the sales for the W213 at the beginning. Also, W213 just released last summer, so till now it is less than 10 months in the market. However, from Mercedes I think what they focus on the W213 is not on the performance but the high techs they used on the W213 (that's why the Mercedes called the W213 as the masterpiece of the intelligence). You have to understand that they invest close to 1 billion euro for the development of the W213, this really shocks me.

Mbracer26

Yes it is a better driving car due to its longer wheel base compared to the C-class but its not an upgrade compared to the W212. Also, I compared the US petrol version of the car and not the diesel version, so the C-Class you had might be different than the C300 Vs E300.

Sales figure come from sales manager of a high volume dealership in the US. They are having a harder time selling the E300 due to the all the short comings I listed. Specially the hard to learn radio.

Btw, does the navigation give wacky directions if its not in eco route mode for other as a well?

Proeliator2001

Like others have said, it's best to read up on the subject before trying to offer an opinion on something that's facially untrue.

The below shows sales figures for the e class. Since July 2016, it's beaten previous years sales (month by month) 6 times and only failed to beat them 3 times (two of which were very close). That's hardly a failure or indicative of issues is it? Fair enough the old w212 was at the end of its life span so wasn't selling at its peak then but it had coupes, convertibles and estates in the model range, something the new one hasn't had.

​​​
http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2011/01/mercedes-benz-e-class-sales-figures.html?m=1

What the below shows is that the sector overall shrank over 8% last year whilst the e AND CLS shrank just under 9%. Again, considering half the year was with a run out model and half with a very limited range I'd say that's good going!
http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2017/01/usa-luxury-car-sales-stats-december-2016-year-end.html?m=1

Proeliator2001

Really can't understand why you don't think it's an upgrade over the w212. It has a better ride, better handling, way way better interior (albeit with iffy build quality), better kit, better lights, better looking sat nav (albeit clunky), better gearbox, massively better seats. The only thing I preferred on my w212 was the interior build quality. That's it. And maybe the better b pillar space but I'm getting used to rubbing shoulders now!

Just because in your market the engine is smaller than the last one doesn't mean that the rest of the car, or the car overall, isn't better. Also, I only ever had a facelift w212 which I understood to be far better then the original so a better comparison to make would be w212 gen1 to w213 gen1 and I'm sure the delta would just be that much bigger.

Anyway, at the end of the day, w213 interior can be illuminated in purple. For me, that's enough on its own to make it better than w212

ua549

The 2017 E300 does not perform as well as a 2016 E400. The 2017 E300 is indeed a performance downgrade from a 2016 E400.

I have several neighbors who have traded-in their 2014-2016 Mercedes for other makes because of the lack of a Mercedes W213 300+ hp engine option (E400) that is available in most other countries including Canada. The E43 is a rough riding and noisy car that most non-performance enthusiast buyers will not embrace - myself included. I purchased an E300 as a grocery getter for my wife, but I will spend my money on a BMW G30 or an E Class with an I-6 engine before I buy an under powered E300 for highway use.

Proeliator2001

Having driven very little on US highways I don't have the experience to put your comment in context so I have to ask, do people on the highway drive like utter arseholes where you live? I mean, do they routinely pull out right in front of much faster traffic thus meaning they need bags of power to speed up quickly enough to avoid being rear ended? Rather then, perhaps, waiting a few seconds for a more appropriate gap to open up?

I drive on busy motorways in the UK where idiots routinely leave only a cars length gap traveling at 90mph but my, positively asthmatic by your standards, 192 bhp diesel manages to gather speed quickly enough that my trunk remains in the same shape it was when it left the factory. Despite doing 100 miles a day on such roads and moving lane multiple times per trip. I genuinely can't imagine situations where is need 300 or more bhp. I used to drive an old jaguar xjr (first of the v8 models with around 370bhp) and that was comically quick to accelerate even with an auto having half the ratios to hand of a modern slush box.

As for needing 241 bhp to get the groceries, again I'm forced to conclude that so much power is needed in an effort to transport the very freshest vegetables and fruit possible from the shop to your fridge. Arriving home 20 second later in a less powerful car would certainly take the edge off that kale and seriously wilt the lettuce.

ua549

Traffic here (Florida) is quite dense. In my local residential neighborhood the speed limit is 45 MPH that is typically exceeded by 10 MPH. The traffic count during peak times is usually more than 8,000 vehicles per hour. The typical gap between cars is 3 to 4 car lengths (60 to 80 feet). It takes power to merge into traffic from a dead stop when there is an extra bit of space. On the highway between here and Atlanta traffic moves at 80 to 90 MPH with a bit more spacing. The two lane highway to Key West offers very limited passing space. Trucks travel at 45 MPH and cars at 65 MPH. The highway is typically bumper to bumper in both direction during daylight hours. It takes lots of power to pass those trucks very quickly to avoid oncoming traffic. That is where I fault the E300's passing power - acceleration from 60 to 80 MPH should be in the 3.5 to 4.5 second range for passing safety. Without enough power it takes an extra few hours to transit the Overseas highway from Key Largo to Key West. That is why I won't drive an E300 for other than grocery getting.

c4004matic

The c300 is not meant to outperform an E 400. Thats what the E43 is about. Thus the E 400replacement is a much better car in all respects despite just using a modified version of the same engine.