rraisley

I'm buying my first "luxury" car, and have pretty much narrowed it down to the upcoming Merc E350 or BMW 530i. I'm 76 years old, and hope this will be my last car. That is, I hope it will last me a long, long time, not I hope I die soon. ;-) I have a lot of back problems, and can't bend well, which really limits the style of car I buy, in order to enter/exit with a minimum of problems. I want a comfortable cruiser, but like to remember the days of my Austin Healey 100M and drive sportily on occasion. I think either car will work, and love things about both, to the point that I'm almost ready to let price decide. I want pretty much fully loaded cars, special ordered to my exact specs, to be delivered mid-December, when my 2017 Acura RDX lease runs out. I feel the 4-cylinder versions of both are fine, with their 6 seconds or so 0-60, about on par with my 2012 VW GTI, which is quick enough. I'll give my impressions and likes/dislikes so far, but would like your suggestions as well to help make up my mind.

• LOVE the Merc dash & instrument area. It's just gorgeous.
• Prefer the touch screen on the BMW.
• Like the looks of both. Actually, prefer the looks of the C300 with AMG line grille, but it's not available on E.
• BMW back seat seems slightly larger. Surprised the E inside dimensions are so close to the C.
• Ride seems better in the E; 530i seems sportier.
• Published dimensions show BMW trunk way larger (18 vs 13 cf), but reviews seem to state the Merc's is slightly bigger. ???
• In SC I HAVE to have ventilated seats, which means I have to get Napa leather & massage with the BMW; Merc can be any leather, which saves money, but Merc still comes out a bit more expensive.
• I like all the autonomous driving features of the Merc, and its added collision safety features (thinking it might help my back/neck in the event of a collision), but that's also a lot to go wrong.
• BMW gives you 3 years free service, while I have to pay $1,200 for it with the Merc.
• Merc gives you Apple Carplay and Android Auto free (we have both), while BMW only Apple, and I think they charge you for that, at least after a while.
• Merc sales guys seem much more helpful, and I can pretty much know when my car would be built. BMW sales guy not so much, and he says car could take 4 months or more, and when it gets here, it gets here. :-(
• Some studies list the Merc as the more reliable car, while others list the BMW.

I think I'd be thrilled with either car, love most of the features, and regret a few I'd had with the other choice. As I read somewhere, "Deciding on a Merc E or BMW 5-Series is a nice problem to have." Please give me your thoughts to help me make this big decision.

Lanzz

After almost 3 years with the E class, I can tell you it's lived up to my expectations and then some. Comfortable, composed, great to look at and surprisingly good performance from a 2.0L 4 cylinder. I have a colleague with the 5 and it feels sportier but not "nicer." It's definitely a few thousand less for the 5 equivalent, IMO - BMW dealers are starting out with pretty substantial discounts and I don't think 5 series really fly off the shelves. Mine has been rock solid reliable, even for a first year model and I am looking at another one or a GLE350 when the lease ends in December. Agree, it is a great first world problem to have, but it is a lot of money to spend and you need to be very confident in your decision - I think the E class is a better overall vehicle and the price difference is justified.

JTK44

Just my $.02 and observations:

My last four cars have been two (2)BMW 535i xDrive (6 cylinder) 2016 Mercedes E350 4 matic (6 cylinder) and presently a 2019 E450 that I ordered to my specifications. I am within a year of your age and have had many sports cars including a 1966 Austin Healey and we presently own a 2008 Boxster with less than 10,000 miles.

For me it was a hard choice between the BMW 540 and MB E450. I have driven both 4 cylinders models and I have previously posted I found the 4 cylinders "peppy but not powerful". After 6 months in my E450 I am quite satisfied with my choice: I find the engine choice superb, very, very smooth and quite economical to run: my total combine mileage average is over 24 mpg while on the open road, with cruise control set at 73, between 32 and 34 mpg. I know others on this board will really have a different point of view, but I run regular: MB recommends but does require premium and for my leisurely style of driving regular is more than sufficient.

From my point of view, I did prefer the exterior styling of the 5 series: to me it looks more like a 7 series, while with the E series I often confuse it with the C series. Advantage BMW

Interior: I have the full digital screen which BMW does not even offer. I find the interior of the MB light years ahead of the BMW. This is what sold me; Advantage MB

Ride: I find the ride of the MB more leisurely and smoother than the BMW. Even though I have the Boxster, my days of driving and enjoying a sports car few and far between. I do not have the acoustical package nor air suspension, but on long rides the comfort and quietness of the MB is second to none. I remember driving to Vermont in my E350, having made the same trip for the past 6 years in the BMW, and thinking the road had jsut been paved – it was that much smoother than my BMW. The E450, even with run flats is even smoother. Advantage to me MB


Performance and handling: with the ability to change from econ, to comfort to sport to sport +, I think there is little difference between the BMW and MB; Tie

Interior space and trunk: I find very little difference in interior space. I am golfer and neither trunk will hold three sets of clubs, unless you take the driver out. Perhaps the MB trunk is a bit bigger, but if so, marginally: Tie

Price and little things: keep in mind with the BMW you have the option of a spare tire - something that MB does not offer. The lack of the spare almost moved me to the BMW. Although both cars will have similar MSRP, at least when I shopped similar equipped the BMW leased out for more than $100 dollars a month less - as I had to include service on the MB which as you correctly point out is free with the BMW. Advantage BMW

Resale: as I lease, I do not know. Suggest you look at KBB.com for 7-year-old BMW and MB and see which one holds their value more.

I am totally happy with my E450 even though over the three-year lease it will cost me almost $4,000 more. Fortunately, I can afford the extra that the MB costs. But if cost were a concern, I would have opted for the BMW which is a better value - if there is any value in a $70,000 car.

In the final analysis both of these cars are very, very expensive and a luxury item. Both are something we want - not something we need. Both will cost more to maintain over 7 years including servicing and depreciation than a Lexus: but you cannot go wrong in either one.

Suggest you drive both and then decide. What I do is try to get a dealer loaner for a day and put 50 to 100 miles on the car. A short test drive is not enough - imo.

Good luck: you have no bad choices, only two good ones!

rraisley

Thanks for the info and opinions, guys. Keep 'em coming!

JTK44, good to hear about the Regular vs Premium gas. I use Regular in my GTI for the same reason: I read there was a 7% loss, verified by Dyno, with Regular, and as I rarely (never?) run it over 93%, I'm happy with the performance. Ran it with Premium for several months at first, and then tried to discern a MPG difference between them, and couldn't. I hand it to Mazda for advertising, on their CX9, for example, an engine that has 250 HP with 93 octane gas, and 227 with 87 octane (a 9% loss). Many engines can do this, we're scared into using Premium. As to 4 vs 6 cylinder, the E300 is rated at 6.3 s 0-60, but will probably come out a couple tenths with the 255 mph engine (vs current 241), while the 6 is rated 5 s flat, substantially faster. And of course using 87 octane gas would increase both times (probably to the 6.8 & 5.5 range. 7 seconds starts to not sound so fast. With any fuel, the 6 will be smoother (and you & I are probably old enough to think like we used to: we lose a spark plug, and the 4 is down by 25%, but the 6 is only down 17% ;-). Just have to see if the extra $4k for the 6, plus probably higher insurance and such, would be worth it.

And yeah, these are not necessities. I was pretty sure I would be getting a Lexus ES350 at first. Love the looks of the car, and it performs and handles well. But the infotainment system is clunky, doesn't have the interior luxury, is a bit harder for me to get into, and doesn't have the Merc's autonomous driving and safety features. I've been told if I'm in a car accident, I'll probably be paralyzed, due to neck and back problems; the Mercs extra safety features might make the difference in not being so. Or may help prevent the accident in the first place. Plus, I'm not great a parallel parking, and would not want to try it with at $55k-$70k car, and both Mercs and BMWs come with great autoparking systems (with BMWs a bit better, with its long back-up-the-way-you-came-in capability).

All great information, and I really appreciate it. Of course, you're used to being coddled, having grown up with a 1966 Healey, with all its new-fangled gadgets like door handles and side windows!

ua549

I went through a similar analysis of '18 MB vs. '18 BMW. I still own both marques. My experience with MB is that I can do everything needed via voice commands or steering wheel controls. Voice controls in the BMW never worked well for me and my Midwest speech. That being the case when I set my normal driving position - seat and steering wheel I found that in the MB E Class the seat was fully back with the steering wheel forward so that my elbows were only slightly bent (Italian arms out position). The position was very comfortable with easy access to all the controls. With similar settings in the BMW 5 Series I could not reach some of the essential controls on the touch screen without leaning out of my normal driving position. In both cars there was no room for rear seat adult passengers. The bottom line is that I purchased the car in my signature. The E300 was the only E Class choice when ordered it in June 2017. I consider the E300 seriously under powered for highway use due to poor acceleration in the 55 mph to 75 mph range used for passing on 2 lane roads. Thus, I use it strictly as a town car. I have an older BMW 5 Series for use on highway trips. When it is time to sell the E300 in a few years for a MB EQ fully electric model, I'll dump the BMW. MB quality outshines the BMW in every respect.

BTW I'm your age and 6' tall. I bought a W211 E550 thinking it would be my last car. Since then I bought a BMW 5 Series and a MB E Class. I look forward to buying an EQ class in a few years.

rraisley

Thanks, ua549. You make a good point about higher speed acceleration. Something you usually don't check on a test drive, but can become necessary at the spur of the moment. I'm not thrilled with the rear seat space either, but think it will be sufficient, given when we go out with another couple, the women usually sit in the back. I was quite surprised, however, with the tiny extra legroom on the E vs the C. Both have sufficient headroom, and the E is less crowded width-wise, but ease-of-entry and front leg room is identical, with rear legroom less than an inch more in the E. And I like the looks of the C with AMG-line better. But I've fallen in love with the E dash, and it has more safety features that might come into play.