I like the W211 interior, it has stood the test of time and still looks elegant and is very well built. The seats are very comfortable and support in the right places. I havent yet sat in the W213 to do comparisons but I am guessing it is more spacious than the W211 especially more elbow room which I would say is not plentiful in the older car.I still haven't managed to move the w211 and w213 inside the same garage yet, hopefully I will get it done by this weekend. As you can see, there are a surprising number of similarities in the design theme of both interiors.
There are a lot of similarities between the exterior and interior design theme of the W211 and the W213, especially when they are parked side by side. You will notice the side profile is very similar, and the way the line start and finishes from the side and all the way to the back is very similar too. The W211 is still very pretty looking and the design has really stood the test of times. The build quality is rock solid too. Yes there are a few flimsy rotary nobs and buttons but the car is built to last.
The w213 feels more spacious in all dimensions, especially in terms of the leg room, and front elbow room. From my brief time sitting in the back, there are definitely more elbow room in the w213 but not as much as it seems. From the outside the W213 make the W211 looks like C class.
The W124 looks times better than the W210, I wonder if a teenager is being asked which one is the newer car, what would be the answer.
In my opinion the W210 is the least attractive E-class ever, it was a disgrace for Mercedes with its brittle plastics and build and reliability problems. I still love the W124, it is one of the best Mercedes models ever made, really a brilliant car for its period.
I disagree. My dad had a lovely blue black 1996 E320 W210 with the 162kW straight 6. It was really fast for its day and actually was nice looking. It gets a bad rap and I don't really think it is justified. That engine came on cam at about 4000 rpm and it took off. The build was pretty decent.
Agreed though that the W211 was a huge improvement on the W210, and does look decent even today. For me, the W212 is the disappointing series. The W213 is like its cool grandchild in comparison.
Remember when the W210 came out, it had quite a cool factor due to the two/four round lights. Georg Kacher at the time commented that it looked like you were driving a 911 from the driver's seat, as the two round edges of the bonnet resembled it. And of course on the then new CLK, the round lights were really nice and sporty. That first CLK was nicer than the second generation. For me, the facelift W210 somewhat was poor.
