2010 Mercedes-Benz E550 4MATIC Sedan - Short Take Road Test

[klier]

No car of this size, and very few larger, can come close to a W212 designo interior.

5er will with Individual. No doubt.

 

[Shining Star]

Could you please post some pics of the Designo interior of thew W212?.

I believe MB.DE has a designo configurator in which you can see interior pics of your desired Designo car.

 

[Wolfgang]

I believe MB.DE has a designo configurator in which you can see interior pics of your desired Designo car.

Yes. Some were posted in this thread:

http://www.germancarforum.com/merce...-colour-configurator-including-w212-c207.html

 

[K-A]

The Elegance gauges are different form the Avantgarde ones, much more different than the ones on the W211.

I respect you dislike some thing MB does, but honestly, every post I read form you is always about the same: complainning about something MB does.

You're right, forgot the gauges are different, Sport has the hooded ones, and Elegance has the classic style, both are black (I prefer that over white, doesn't really fit an E-Class IMO).

I feel they're valid complaints, and so many blindly follow the brand, I feel some need to pay attention to the negative traits, especially newfound ones, or else the brand won't improve on them. I have tons of complaints toward other cars, so much so that I never bought them in the first place, to get me passionate enough about 'em to complain.

Those Designo interiors on that Link look great though, really does "fix" the 212's for me for the most part (although I wonder if the door material, and various plastics I'm focused on are the same), and the SEATS look incredible, especially with those thick backings.

 

[Untertürkheim]

The car looks a bit odd with Elegance trim and the AMG Package.

The exterior appearance between Elegance and Avantgarde with AMG package is identical when ILS and Driver Assistance packages are selected. Only the interior color scheme and instrument cluster are different, I believe the actual gauges are the same.

 

[Untertürkheim]

5er will with Individual. No doubt.

I do not find the 5er interior design to be anywhere near the W212, especially since as far as I know there is no 4-place luxury seating package for the 5er.

 

[Untertürkheim]

You're right, forgot the gauges are different, Sport has the hooded ones, and Elegance has the classic style, both are black (I prefer that over white, doesn't really fit an E-Class IMO).

I feel they're valid complaints, and so many blindly follow the brand, I feel some need to pay attention to the negative traits, especially newfound ones, or else the brand won't improve on them. I have tons of complaints toward other cars, so much so that I never bought them in the first place, to get me passionate enough about 'em to complain.

Those Designo interiors on that Link look great though, really does "fix" the 212's for me for the most part (although I wonder if the door material, and various plastics I'm focused on are the same), and the SEATS look incredible, especially with those thick backings.

There are no more plastics with the "full" designo treatment, the Y80 supplement covers the remaining plastics with designo black leather.

 

[coolraoul]

I think this all discussion is getting a little out of hand. You're sounding as if the W212 was build with the cheapest materials ever... It's not true.

The W211 was softer to the touch, but also a lil' bit on the flimsy side.
The W212 is very, very far from being as bad as you're saying, KA. Okay, maybe some parts could use a slightly softer grade of plastic, okay the roofline is not the best ever.

But everything is so tightly build together with extremely slim shutlines, a perfect fit of the pieces, and superb materials.

There was not more carpeting in the W211, at least not that you really could see, and I prefer the plastic on the doorpockets than the super-thin and ruguous carpet of the W211.

Sure, details like the motorized CD-changer lid and the small pen-holder-compartment near the glovebox were very nice, but the overall fit and finish of the W211 couldn't hold a candle to the amazing build quality you find in the 212.
And in teh W211, the area where the pen compartment, glovebox shutline and button to open the glovebox all meet is a display of unequal shutline that always bothered me.

You also have to remember that the materials of the W211 were hugely improved at the end of 2004. Before that, the plastics under the front seats were appallingly hard, thin and shiny, the fit of the wood elements was wrong between door and dash in the majority of the car, and the overall build quality was inferior.

As far as the leatehr is concerned, I dunno. I'm not in the USA. But, I don't know if the Designo interior is really that popular...

 

[klier]

I do not find the 5er interior design to be anywhere near the W212, especially since as far as I know there is no 4-place luxury seating package for the 5er.

Oh, don't get me wrong. I don't either. 5er is about a zillion times better looking. LOL!

 

[Untertürkheim]

I think this all discussion is getting a little out of hand. You're sounding as if the W212 was build with the cheapest materials ever... It's not true.

The W211 was softer to the touch, but also a lil' bit on the flimsy side.
The W212 is very, very far from being as bad as you're saying, KA. Okay, maybe some parts could use a slightly softer grade of plastic, okay the roofline is not the best ever.

But everything is so tightly build together with extremely slim shutlines, a perfect fit of the pieces, and superb materials.

There was not more carpeting in the W211, at least not that you really could see, and I prefer the plastic on the doorpockets than the super-thin and ruguous carpet of the W211.

Sure, details like the motorized CD-changer lid and the small pen-holder-compartment near the glovebox were very nice, but the overall fit and finish of the W211 couldn't hold a candle to the amazing build quality you find in the 212.
And in teh W211, the area where the pen compartment, glovebox shutline and button to open the glovebox all meet is a display of unequal shutline that always bothered me.

You also have to remember that the materials of the W211 were hugely improved at the end of 2004. Before that, the plastics under the front seats were appallingly hard, thin and shiny, the fit of the wood elements was wrong between door and dash in the majority of the car, and the overall build quality was inferior.

As far as the leatehr is concerned, I dunno. I'm not in the USA. But, I don't know if the Designo interior is really that popular...

Raoul, you are absolutely right that the build quality of the W212 is far ahead (fit and finish), but the materials offered in the US market are a step back, as well as the fact that the W212 still misses features because of the great decontenting of 07.

 

[Mr. Mercedes]

Raoul, you are absolutely right that the build quality of the W212 is far ahead (fit and finish), but the materials offered in the US market are a step back, as well as the fact that the W212 still misses features because of the great decontenting of 07.

Yes and I've said it before. The decontenting of MBUSA and theire desire to reduce the cars price for higher profits of greater market share or whatever is not reflective of the state of MB and their products worldwide. The appointments and fit and finish of the w212's in Australia is superior to what we were offered with the W211's.

I'm with Raoul, this constant complaining about the w212 is tiresome.

With all due respect KA, but to state an opinion is one thing. To go on and on and on beating a dead horse is another. There is not a single recent thread in this forum where the w212 comes up and you haven't complained about it.

 

[K-A]

I think this all discussion is getting a little out of hand. You're sounding as if the W212 was build with the cheapest materials ever... It's not true.

The W211 was softer to the touch, but also a lil' bit on the flimsy side.
The W212 is very, very far from being as bad as you're saying, KA. Okay, maybe some parts could use a slightly softer grade of plastic, okay the roofline is not the best ever.

But everything is so tightly build together with extremely slim shutlines, a perfect fit of the pieces, and superb materials.

There was not more carpeting in the W211, at least not that you really could see, and I prefer the plastic on the doorpockets than the super-thin and ruguous carpet of the W211.

Sure, details like the motorized CD-changer lid and the small pen-holder-compartment near the glovebox were very nice, but the overall fit and finish of the W211 couldn't hold a candle to the amazing build quality you find in the 212.
And in teh W211, the area where the pen compartment, glovebox shutline and button to open the glovebox all meet is a display of unequal shutline that always bothered me.

You also have to remember that the materials of the W211 were hugely improved at the end of 2004. Before that, the plastics under the front seats were appallingly hard, thin and shiny, the fit of the wood elements was wrong between door and dash in the majority of the car, and the overall build quality was inferior.

As far as the leatehr is concerned, I dunno. I'm not in the USA. But, I don't know if the Designo interior is really that popular...

Just like always stated when this comes up, I find hard plastics to be cheap materials. The 211's panel gaps, etc. are tight, at least in my car, no way is the 212's improvement there a night and day difference.

I find the durability in the 212's interior comes from its harder and more industrial grade materials for the most part. I wouldn't call the 211's interior "flimsy", I'd just say it's a little more "fancy" than rigorous.

It is preference, but I find the gritty plastic on the door compartments of the 212 to be unacceptable, and the thin carpeting on the 211, something that shows attention to detail, and reminds you that you're in an "expensive" car.

Also, the roof lining on the 212 is faaar cheaper than the classy material on the 211, I don't see how anyone can prefer that gritty, thin, shiny material?

The door arm-rests are like rubber rocks, where's the 211 uses plush "pillowy" arm-rests, who wouldn't want that for their arms? These are supposed to be luxury cars?

Also, about the carpeting, the 211 uses carpeting in a few areas where the 212 uses plastic, aside from the 2 pointed out, the 211 has a nice soft carpet weather stripping going along the interior door frames (very rare for a car, again, shows attention to detail), where the 212 uses a "soft rubber" kind of thing, and the center console, next to your hips, in the 211 is all nice carpet, and all standard grade plastic in the 212. Even in the headliner, where the moonroof is, the 211 uses a nice *real* aluminum piece in the front, so you don't see the carpeting end into the "gap" area, it's not in the 212.

Anyway, I'm not saying it's the cheapest thing ever, it's still at the tip of the class (not the best IMO, but amongst), and I know M-B fans will never want to say an older model uses materials more fitted for an "expensive" car, and will somehow choose not to face it when facts are pointed out (or pretend that somehow hard plastic is superior to nice soft carpeting) but my reason for bringing it up is, that although maybe some don't focus on this, I find it a bit let-down when I find interior areas of a new car to be what I perceive as "lesser" than the old car.

Mr. Mercedes, I agree this comes up a lot, however it's not like I go into random Threads dissing the 212's interior. When the subject is up, and I feel people are wrong in a debate, and I have backup and well "studied" facts to state, of course I'll do it. I feel some of the fans here just refuse to want to hear the 212's interior is a step back in most materials. I'm not trying to annoy you guys just for the sake of doing it . I do feel that if everyone just strokes M-B's ego in every way, even when (IMO) they're downgrading materials, while claiming materials are getting "better" somehow, by the time the W213 comes out, there won't be any soft touch or carpeting at all (almost there already).

 

[K-A]

Raoul, you are absolutely right that the build quality of the W212 is far ahead (fit and finish), but the materials offered in the US market are a step back, as well as the fact that the W212 still misses features because of the great decontenting of 07.

Yeah, exactly. I wouldn't say that the 211's interior is "flimsy" by any means, but I'll be the first to say, the overall car isn't as vault like and sturdy as I'd wish for, and the 212's fit and finish build-quality are superior.

But the U.S's materials leave a enough to be desired, and are a decent enough margin away from the 211's, in a backwards way.

True, the decontenting started in '07, M-B sold everyone on all the improvements (which there were of course), but inside, they "oohed/aahed" everyone with a new (same quality really) steering wheel and gearshift, but a keen eye noticed cheaper door lock pins (no longer sprouting chrome ones, just ugly, cheapo, rough tipped ones), a black plastic piece around the headlight switch (which used to be monochromatic with the interior), and in '08 I believe, they went from the very classy "wool/cotton-y" A-Pillar lining, which to me is straight Bentley/RR-esque, to a more spongy looking, basic/mass-produced type of look of a material.