After 13 BMWs I am ready for a change. I have never owned a Mercedes sedan but did recently trade my C7 Corvette for an SL and am very happy with it. As a GT cruiser it is perfect, 2 cars in one a convertible and a coupe.

To be completely honest I am leaning toward a E450 Wagon(estate) as I recently took a long test drive in one and was favorable impressed. It has the ride and handling of a sedan with the utility of an SUV. However, one big problem: my wife hates wagons so it will be a hard sell.

So, MB fans give me your honest opinion. Why should I buy an EClass or should I?

My priorities, in order, are:

Ride
Reliability
Handling
Build Quality
Performance

Thanks in advance for your replies.

 

So, have you asked your wife if she would prefer a minivan over a wagon? Or an SUV?
If the wifey is going to drive it, my experience tells me to give her what she wants.

As a complete surprise, I once gave my wife a new Nissan Stanza sedan as a birthday present. I never heard the end of it until I sold the car years later. Just recently I talked her out of a small SUV we had in favor of another sedan. She hasn't really warmed up to that, either. So the conclusion, in my case at least, is buy what she wants if she is to be the principal driver.

I'm writing this because I assume the SL is your principal driving car.

 

Your wife may hate wagons but it sounds like from your post it would be your car or you would be the primary driver. Will this be yours? Or will it be shared? Try bringing the wife on a test drive and show her why wagons reign superior to SUV's. It will be tough, as most wife's are stubborn to the idea of wagons, but they really are the best if you don't want an SUV.

Like I said in another thread, the E-Wagon is one of the best MB's and 2020 will be the last time you can get it in its perfect body-style before it goes all Subaru with cladding everywhere. My dealer has one for a loaner and I always make sure to get that for when my car goes in for service. The interior is beautiful and a real show stopper (especially the deisgno option) and even more impressive at night, much nicer and more refreshing than any BMW interior which has looked the same forever. I had a G30 540i and now have a CLS which is based on the E and find the body control and steering to be much better, the new 5-series is just awful by BMW's standards, its a fine luxury sedan, but a terrible BMW, my father refuses to give up his E60 for that very reason. the 5-series has simply been lacking since the F10 generation in my opinion.

I don't see a reason not to get the E other than the wife as it fills all your criteria, and at worst you could always get the great sedan (but the wagon is even better and more rare), even C/D's 40k long-term test sang nothing but praises except for the high maintenance costs which are expected with MB. The only downside I have towards the current E is the Command system is not as good as Audi MMI or iDrive, however Apple CarPlay fixes that issue easily. Honestly, now is the time to get one, and with dealers likely having some trouble selling them, discounts could likely be had to get them off the lot. Good luck!

https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews...n-reliability/

 

Actually I am the principal driver of the X5 and whatever I buy I will be the principal driver. My wife drives an RX but the wagon will be our road trip car when another couple goes with us. The SL is just a fun weekend car and day trip car. I do plan to take my wife with me on the test drives and hopes she will see that the E450 wagon drives like a nice sedan but with the utility of an SUV.

 

On build quality alone, you would probably want to get an A6 and avoid this cycle of bmw and mercedes: check out Build Quality Test on youtube for a demonstration.

For other aspects, bmw always seems to be perceived as the least reliable of the big three. But these days they are really even in all these areas, in fact your option list probably makes a bigger difference than your brand choice when it comes to performance, ride, and handling.

 

I would get the E450 wagon if you can still find one. The 2021 is tragically ruined with black plastic cladding.

The next best thing would be Audi A6 Allroad which is the wagon version of A6. You can get the A6 Allroad with painted cladding so it looks normal, not like a faxu SUV. Also A6 Allroad has air suspension standard so it has normal ride height like the sedan. You can raise it if you ever go off road but the standard height is the same as the sedan, which is a huge plus. A6 is also more sporty car than E-class although not dramatically so like it used to be.

E450 has 3rd row seat which may or may not matter to you. But Audi has spare tire and therefore real tires on all 4 corners, not the run flat nonsense on the Mercedes. BMW has standard run flat too but you can check the option for real tires.

 

I plan to look for a CPO 2019 or 2020 E450 if my wife relents. I think once she takes a test drive she might realize it rides like a sedan with the utility of an SUV. I know I'll have to be flexible on color and options.