With Tariffs announced today. What back up vehicles are you guys eyeing within your budget if the E Class exceeds it due to tariffs?

Most vehicles and from the German competitors spaces in theis tier and class are made in Germany, I mean, you kind of expected that at this price point so either way, will just get the W214.

Unless you are into SUVs then get the GLE but you don't get the new design language of the W214 when it comes to both the interior and exterior.

If it still doesn't work out, will need to get a used vehicle as an alternative.

Something from South Korea or Japan, like a Genesis or Lexus. I wouldn't want to reward uncompetitive corporations who have corrupted our free-market society by buying American. They'll have to pass a law that mandates I buy a Government Motors (GM) vehicle.

If those vehicles are built outside of US, aren't they also subject to tariffs? I guess not as much as Europe.

I have a strict 75k budget (not including tax). And my E450 build came out to 74.4k after discounts.

It's being built on April 8 and is arriving on June according to my dealer.

If the price goes any higher, alternative cars I'm looking at are

Lexus ES - never owned a Lexus before and curious to try it out

CPO S Class

CPO Cayenne/Macan

The S class will be a great upgrade!

I'd have to see how prices change, but like Webby, I've been curious about the Lexus (though the design language is tough to accept) and would price it. Next would be Volvo, esp the 2026 ES90, even though that means going EV..

Those aren't S class though : (

True. But the Lexus ES isn't either. Not even sure, aside from legendary dependability, if the matches the E450. There's always the LS, though I've read that may be disappearing in some markets. As for the Volvo, as a friend said, that's a cult so can't be judged the same. Have to say on driving comfort level, it's better than any car I've ever owned (Buick, Cadillac, Infiniiti, Mercedes).

Very quiet and refined. Excellent interior appointments and materials.

Essentially, a well appointed front-wheel-drive based Toyota Camry, since they have been twinning on the same platform for decades, with the Toyota side of the house getting the Camry and the Lexus side of the house getting the ES.

IMO Lexus styling is like dating an ugly person - nice on the inside, but better to not be seen with on the outside.

I'm slightly offended, my girlfriends name is Lexus

Is the ES90 made in Sweden or somewhere else? Actually, how many Volvos are still actually made in Sweden nowadays? Out of curiosity.

It’d be a no brainer for me. I’d just find a low mileage CPO S Class for about the same price of the E before tariffs. I almost did that when deciding to order my E450 and in some ways wish I had.

Hi Hicksra, if you had to do it all over again, forget the tariffs, would you have gone to a CPO S class vs ordering an E Class?

Right now I think I’d go for a maybe 2 year old S580. At the time I was specifically looking for an S580 in Kalahari gold with beige interior but couldn’t find one. Right after ordering, one popped up in Connecticut with 1500 miles on it. I thought it interesting that someone paid about $40k to drive 1500 miles…
I love my E450 but I would have loved the S as much or maybe more.

The XC 60 and 90 and the V90 are made in Sweden. I believe the ES90 will be made in China. Other vehicles are made in Belgium and...South Carolina.

I guess, there are not a lot of models still made in Sweden.

I guess S-Class is an S-Class. I guess I am just glad that the W214 E-Class is much closer to an actual S-Class than it once were so that is good too, at least you get a huge part of the S-Class experience for that reason.

Yes, the W214 is really close. With Airmatic, it rides like a dream similar to an S.

Isn’t the ES the twin of the Avalon? I was a former Lexus owner, owning both the LS and LX models, but that was a decade ago when they were decent and fitted the family needs. Today, the new design language is not to my taste, so won’t even consider it except for the LC500… a probable/maybe jus cos I am a fan of verts and coupes.

My alt would be the C8 Corvette which are assembled just 1 hour away from my house. Been thinking about getting one for awhile. Beautiful cars! The Corvette museum is in the same location and really cool to see even if you are not a fan of the car, but love cars. You can pay extra to take delivery at the museum with VIP service and even take it out on the test track.