My Mercedes Benz E200 AMG W213

[Rolf]

Hi Gents

Last Saturday I was smiling from ear to ear and so excited as I took delivery of my first Mercedes Benz and a dream car, a Pre Face-lift W213 E200 with AMG spec. I traded in my Volvo S60 for this lovely 3 pointed star.

The car has low km and it is a beautiful colour, graphite grey metallic with 19inch twin spoke wheels.

The interior has lovely seats with black Artico bolsters with dark grey microfiber Dinamica center sections. It has specled effect aluminium trim with Artico trim dash and doors and center console with white stitching.

The car is an absolute pleasure to drive, it has a beautifully smooth ride even on the non Airmatic steel spring suspension. The suspension has a near perfect balance between firm sportiness and comfort and has excellent body control in sharp corners with zero float and hardly any body roll I would even go as saying it doesn't feel any bigger than my previous Volvo S60 behind the wheel. The steering has near perfect weighting at all speeds and the sports flat bottom wheel is so nice to hold in the hands.

My car doesn't have the 12.3inch center screen and has half analogue instruments. To be honest these look so much better in real life than in pictures as they are 3D projected and the smaller center Instrument screen has really nice clear graphics. I like them very much.

There are so many safety options, the car has full LED lights with beautiful stardust rear tail lights. Self parking function, which is scary at first to use as the car does everything such as steer, accelerate and brake to park itself. It has blind spot assist, lane keeping assist auto hold hand brake, auto start stop to save fuel and brake regeneration. The nice thing in the ECO modes it shows you how many KM you save by driving sparingly.

The 2.0 turbo engine and 9 speed auto are very smooth and quiet on the highway and the engine has really punchy low end torque and good consumption of about 8ltr/100km of mixed driving.

I just love the interior, it has solid build and excellent material quality.

I sat in the new W206 C-class a few days before and it's interior is not in the same league as my Eclass when it comes to material quality, it has too many hard plastic on the lower half of the dash and doors where my E200 has Artico with white stitching.

 

[Mick Briesgau]

Congratulations Rolf. Very good looking Benz ??
Wish you many safe and joyful miles!

 

[AndreB]

I drove the E200, has a smooth relaxing ride which I liked. You can retrofit the digital cluster if you want, there's a Dutch guy who did it on a friend car. Enjoy your new ride!

 

[fortuner]

Hey congrats my previous car was same besides it was diesel..

What year and kilos ?



Wish you all the happiness and safety .

 

[Rolf]

Hey congrats my previous car was same besides it was diesel..

What year and kilos ?



Wish you all the happiness and safety .

Thanks @fortuner it's a 2016 model with 71k on the clock. Still has about 3 months left on the 6year Mercedes motorplan.

 

[Rolf]

Congratulations Rolf. Very good looking Benz ??
Wish you many safe and joyful miles!

Thanks @Mick Briesgau it will be my wife's car, lucky girl hahaha

 

[Mr. Mercedes]

Congratulations Rolf. It seems like you are quite in love! The current E is such an elegant car.

Many happy and safe miles to you and your wife.

 

[Rolf]

Congratulations Rolf. It seems like you are quite in love! The current E is such an elegant car.

Many happy and safe miles to you and your wife.

Thanks @Mr. Mercedes I am blown away by the E-class, it truly is a wonderful car.

 

[Deleted member 57437]

Congratulations on a rock-solid purchase. This will be a car to appreciate for many, many kilometers.

 

[fortuner]

Enjoy i also bought a used car in SA will post pics similar year kilos 80 not bad yours even lower . Lucky ?

 

[Giannis]

Congrats Rolf! Enjoy in good health!

It's quite a few steps above the S60, isn't it?

 

[Rolf]

Congrats Rolf! Enjoy in good health!

It's quite a few steps above the S60, isn't it?

Thanks @Giannis when it comes to refinement, comfort, space and overall abilities as well as tech etc, the E-class is definitely on a higher plane to the S60. The Volvo is a brilliant car nonetheless, it had more comfortable seats and even better build and material quality than the latest W206 C-class I sat in last week. Not bad for a 9 year old car. For example my T5 had real metal trim and soft touch materials on the entire door panels, even the door pockets whereas the latest C200 has hard plastic lower door panels and black shiny plastic door trim.

 

[martinbo]

Ag Rolfie, my condolences hey boet.
I see you're with Cell C.



In all seriousness and sincerity now, HUGE congrats on your lekker new car! That E-Class is so elegant and classy looking. I bet it drives like a dream...
Many, many happy, safe and satisfying miles! I wish you all the best.

 

[Rolf]

Ag Rolfie, my condolences hey boet.
I see you're with Cell C.



In all seriousness and sincerity now, HUGE congrats on your lekker new car! That E-Class is so elegant and classy looking. I bet it drives like a dream...
Many, many happy, safe and satisfying miles! I wish you all the best.

Thanks @martinbo yes I was with Cell C in SA, the network is not that brilliant when there is Load Shedding lol. The E-class is brilliant at eating up the miles, it just is so quiet and smooth and very comfortable. I wish I had more time to drive it as unfortunately I got the car on Saturday morning and then had to leave on Saturday evening to come back to Saudi. My wife the lucky girl will be driving it, but she was actually kakking herself as it has so many features on the Command/MBUX that she needs become familiar with and the sales person at the Mercedes agency made us both amazed and confused explaining all the difference gizmos etc. so don't know she can remember everything

 

[fortuner]

Thanks @martinbo yes I was with Cell C in SA, the network is not that brilliant when there is Load Shedding lol. The E-class is brilliant at eating up the miles, it just is so quiet and smooth and very comfortable. I wish I had more time to drive it as unfortunately I got the car on Saturday morning and then had to leave on Saturday evening to come back to Saudi. My wife the lucky girl will be driving it, but she was actually kakking herself as it has so many features on the Command/MBUX that she needs become familiar with and the sales person at the Mercedes agency made us both amazed and confused explaining all the difference gizmos etc. so don't know she can remember everything

So happy you enjoying your new car be happy

 

[Rolf]

Hi Gents I am back in South Africa for the last 2 weeks and have driven my W213 E200 on various town roads and highways and have been mighty impressed with how the car drives. These are my further impressions on the car.

Exterior:
The styling of my pre FL with the graphite grey looks stunning to say the least. It is a very handsome and elegant car from all angles and looks particularly nice when the lights are lit with striking stardust LED tail lights and multibeam front lights with LED DRLs. The 19inch double 5 spoke wheels fit the wheel arches perfectly although I have had to be very careful of avoiding potholes and other road imperfections to prevent any damage to the rims and tyres.

Interior:
There are so many delights when sliding into the drivers seat. The first thing I noticed is how hugging the seats are, they have very supportive bolsters and with extended squab support makes the front seats feel very sporty yet they also are very comfortable. The interior design reminds me I am sitting in the W222 S class with the circular vents and flowing lower dashboard. With the lovely speckled aluminium trim it breaks the somber affect of the dark grey Dinamica microfiber and black Artico seats and black dash. The seats have lumbar support adjustment as well as electric adjustable backrest rake and height adjustment. The seats unfortunately don't have electric adjustment of the squab fore and aft movement and no memory function which becomes annoying when my wife and i swap to drive as the handle is too far left under the seat and is sometimes awkward to adjust. The interior is spacious and can seat my family (3 big teenage kids) with comfort and with a nice handy big boot with fold down backrests.

Build and material quality:

Positives:
- the soft touch Artico trim on the top of the dash, center console, door trim, door grab handles and top of doors with the white stitching looks and feels expensive.
- the lower dash, glovebox, lower center console and door pockets use soft touch materials
- the circular vents with metal trim and knirled metallic switches are a delight to look at and touch.
- the speckled aluminium trim on the dash feels dense to touch with no flex or cracking noise.
- AMG sports steering wheel with flattened bottom is fabulous to hold and a perfect size
- the column stalks and gear paddles feel great to operate and are solid and sturdy
- the Dinamica in the center of the seats is perfect for warm and cold weather as it doesn't make your legs sweat when its hot and keeps you warm on a cold day.
- the center console metallic hard switches for the HVAC and infotainment controls feel expensive and a joy to use.
- Electric windows are very quiet and smooth when opening or closing and the metallic window switches feel and look wonderful with stunning backlighting.
- love the analogue center clock, it looks like an expensive time piece

Negatives:
- The split center console storage lid makes an annoying creaking sound under the artico trim when I press it with my arm.
- the same annoying creaking sound is evident when I press the upper door trim and the door grab handles.
- the center console black shiny piano plastic trim feels sturdy but has annoying hair line scratches and is a finger print magnet.
- no felt trim in the door pockets or glove box
- the lower center console switches are shiny black plastic.
- I wish my car had the Burmeister sound system metallic speaker covers but unfortunately mine are black plastic which looks odd with the aluminium trim panel on the doors

Infotainment:
- my car has the older 8.5inch Command screen with thick black bevels that looks odd at first but has relatively good graphics and is quite easy to operate once you get familiar with using the center console scroller and touch pad but sometimes I wish for it to be a touch screen.
- My car doesn't have Satnav and I don't think it has Apple Carplay or Android Auto and also doesn't have voice activated functions, but the other functionality for connecting to mobiles, radio and vehicle functions is still good.
- the ambient lighting is spectacular with such a wide range of colours and makes the interior look fantastic at night.

Driving and performance/economy:
- Handling:
I must say for a car that is nearly 5m long the W213 handles extremely well. It shrinks behind the wheel and feels like a much smaller saloon to drive around corners. The most impressive part of the driving dynamics is the steering. It seems to have a perfect blend of weighting which feels fast and responsive off center and yet you can still feel the front wheels what they are doing. There is only a slight difference when comparing the car in comfort and Sport + modes, where the steering becomes heavier compared to comfort but doesn't feel any more responsive. I personally prefer the steering in Comfort mode as it has a more natural feeling in its weighting. The car also has a good turning radius which helps to make it do easy U-turns and also helps with making the car feel smaller than it really is. The suspension has a good blend of firmness and comfort. The car feels well controlled in corners and has good grip although I haven't had a chance to push the car to find its handling limits.

Comfort and NVH:
The W213 is very comfortable in mostly all road surfaces, it seems to have a very ideal blend of firmness and suppleness when tackling various bumps and road imperfections. It's an extremely quiet and smooth car to drive, you feel totally relaxed at the wheel and the 9G-Tronic changes gears butter smooth at lower speeds. The 2.0 inline 4 is quiet at lower revs and only makes itself heard when revving passed the 4000rpm mark, but it's not an unpleasant or really intrusive noise. The highway is its best environment where the car displays rock solid stability and wind noise is kept to very low levels even at 140km/h on the highway. The suspension is not perfect though, only over potholes and really extreme road imperfections, such as protruding highway expansion joints and sharp bumps does the car make a noticeable thumping sound from the tyres, but then it's not really uncomfortable or hard but this could be a tradeoff from using 19inch low profile wheels.

Engine, performance and economy:
The 2.0 turbo 4 is smooth and quiet at low engine speeds in Comfort mode and provides a good combination with the 9G-tronic. The nice thing it has an automatic start stop function which works smoothly and unobtrusively when stopping at red traffic lights and again starts the engine instantly when pressing on the accelerator pedal. When taking the foot off the accelerator the car charges the battery. It also has a gliding mode on downhills where the engine decouples from the gearbox, and it felt quite strange driving at 120km/h downhill and the car would be revving at idle speed of 700rpm. All to help save fuel and in town the start stop function helps to reduce consumption. Average consumption is approx. 8.5l/100km about 70%/30% split city/highway driving. In city alone it can reach approx. 11 to 12l/100km but I reckon on long trips it can probably go into the 6 to 7l/100km range. In Sport + mode the gearbox is alot more responsive and the engine low to mid-range punch is quite good. It's not super-fast but has more than enough punch for most people.

 

[Centurion]

There are so many delights when sliding into the drivers seat. The first thing I noticed is how hugging the seats are, they have very supportive bolsters and with extended squab support makes the front seats feel very sporty yet they also are very comfortable.

This is great to know. I have recently lost a lot of weight. I'm slim for some sports seats but find bucket seats too restrictive. Good to know that there are in-between seats.

 

[Rolf]

This is great to know. I have recently lost a lot of weight. I'm slim for some sports seats but find bucket seats too restrictive. Good to know that there are in-between seats.

Well done for your achievement to lose alot of weight and take your health to a new level. My E200 seats are not particularly wide like those of the S-class or maybe a 5 series comfort seats and probably are more cosy or tighter fit for large people. I also need to lose a little weight so maybe next time my Merc seats will be more spacious lol

 

[Rolf]

My one friend visited us yesterday with his 2011 Pre FL W212 E200 CGI and it was very interesting to see 2 succeeding generations of E - class models parked next to each other. Unfortunately, the time he visited was very short so both of us couldn't do a drive comparison but only sit in.

My friend is only the 2nd owner of his car, and it has only 138K Km on the clock and was very well looked after by the previous owner. His E200 looks like a Kalahari gold colour with black leather interior and light coloured burr walnut wood trim and 17inch multi spoke rims. He has the 7G tronic gearbox and still has the gearshift controller on the center console.

Firstly he wanted to look and sit in my car and he was amazed at all the features, assistant systems and other luxuries that are not installed in his car. He sat in the backseat and then looked at the boot and the first thing he said that my seats are alot sportier than those in his car and he loved the look of the interior and said the W213 was a major advance on the W212 model.

Next we both climbed into his car with me in the drivers seat and these are my impressions when comparing my W213 to his W212.

Styling:

- The W212 seems to display alot of classic Mercedes saloon ques such as the squared off boot and rectangular tail lights. Its front lights are really striking and most unusual compared to other Mercedes saloons as they are 4 eyed but not circular/oval and triangular (outer lights) /rectangular (inner lights) in shape. His model has the very controversial 4 round fog lights which certainly look odd at first but surprisingly do suit the car.
- The W213 does look alot more modern with rounded corners, flowing lines, curved lights and rounded greenhouse and makes the W212 seem very dated.
- The W212 will suit the older more conservative buyer while the W213 does seem more youthful in its styling and will appeal to both older and younger buyers.

Interior:
- There is a massive change and leap between the W212 and my W213 in the styling of the interior in all aspects from the shape of the dash, seats, door panels, instruments and infotainment screen and other controls. I sat as a passenger in a W211 2 years ago and think that there is more of a huge change/leap between the W213 and W212 than W212 vs W211.

- Instrument Cluster:

The W213 seems 2 generations ahead of the W212 in the graphics/lighting of the displays on the drivers' instruments cluster. My car doesn't have the 12.3inch digital instrument cluster and also doesn't have the 12.3inch Command center screen but even with the basic layout it is a massive step up in technology. The W212 has a mono blue and black instrument screen between the analogue dials while my car has a multi colour TFT/digital instrument screen between the dials. The W212 still uses analogue dials for the clock, fuel and water temp gauges while my car has the clock in the center console and the digital fuel and temp gauges.

- Infotainment screen:

The W212 has fewer colours and the graphics seem a lot more mono and old style, even when displaying the built in navigation map. The screen is also smaller at 7inch compared to 8.5inch. It is controlled by a metallic silver aluminium wheel scroller on the center console which feels very tactile to the touch with knurled surround and 2 buttons for backwards and home. Its quite easy to control and alot more simpler than my system with fewer menus and functions.

-Interior Lighting:

The W213 has a wider variety of interior lighting options with its ambient lighting providing 64 different colours while the W212 only has white/light orange.

- Seats:

The seats are hugely different in shape, the front seats on the W213 are narrower, especially the upper backrest and slimmer in profile with more prominent side bolsters that provide alot more support for enthusiastic driving while those on the W212 seem more designed for comfort with a softer foam base for both squab and back rest. For larger wide bodied people the W212 front seats will probably be more comfortable for day to day driving. As for overall comfort I would probably call them a tie. The rear seats on my W213 seem to be more contoured while the W212 is more flat. This reflects the sportier youthful side to the W213 compared to the more conservative older Merc style of the W212.

-Space and boot:

The interior space of both cars seems very close, but the W212 seems less cosier and more airier in the front due to the narrower and lower center console. The W213 seems to have maybe a fraction more usable rear legroom due to its thinner front seats but otherwise head and shoulder room seems almost the same. The boot size on both seem to look almost identical in size, the W212 has a small net area on the right side of the boot which is not on my car, but the W213 counters with tie down loops and also fold down rear seat backs.

Build and material quality:

After a few presses here and there around the cabins of both cars, on the dash top, door tops and lower door trim, wood and metal trim, center consoles, I have to say the W212 seems a fraction better built than the W213. The main areas of defeat for the newer car are the door tops and center console armrest which use softer foam and make creaking noises when pressing on them, while the W212 has firmer foam and doesn't make one squeak or creek anywhere I pressed. The top dash also seems firmer on the W212, while my car has some flex on the edge of the instrument cluster top dash. The metallic silver window switches look and feel slightly more expensive on the W213. Metallic trim surrounds on the vents look alot classier on the W213. The W212 uses softer leather on the door trim compared to the W213. No evidence of any black piano plastic on the W212.

 

[Centurion]

My one friend visited us yesterday with his 2011 Pre FL W212 E200 CGI and it was very interesting to see 2 succeeding generations of E - class models parked next to each other. Unfortunately, the time he visited was very short so both of us couldn't do a drive comparison but only sit in.

My friend is only the 2nd owner of his car, and it has only 138K Km on the clock and was very well looked after by the previous owner. His E200 looks like a Kalahari gold colour with black leather interior and light coloured burr walnut wood trim and 17inch multi spoke rims. He has the 7G tronic gearbox and still has the gearshift controller on the center console.

Firstly he wanted to look and sit in my car and he was amazed at all the features, assistant systems and other luxuries that are not installed in his car. He sat in the backseat and then looked at the boot and the first thing he said that my seats are alot sportier than those in his car and he loved the look of the interior and said the W213 was a major advance on the W212 model.

Next we both climbed into his car with me in the drivers seat and these are my impressions when comparing my W213 to his W212.

Styling:

- The W212 seems to display alot of classic Mercedes saloon ques such as the squared off boot and rectangular tail lights. Its front lights are really striking and most unusual compared to other Mercedes saloons as they are 4 eyed but not circular/oval and triangular (outer lights) /rectangular (inner lights) in shape. His model has the very controversial 4 round fog lights which certainly look odd at first but surprisingly do suit the car.
- The W213 does look alot more modern with rounded corners, flowing lines, curved lights and rounded greenhouse and makes the W212 seem very dated.
- The W212 will suit the older more conservative buyer while the W213 does seem more youthful in its styling and will appeal to both older and younger buyers.

Interior:
- There is a massive change and leap between the W212 and my W213 in the styling of the interior in all aspects from the shape of the dash, seats, door panels, instruments and infotainment screen and other controls. I sat as a passenger in a W211 2 years ago and think that there is more of a huge change/leap between the W213 and W212 than W212 vs W211.

- Instrument Cluster:

The W213 seems 2 generations ahead of the W212 in the graphics/lighting of the displays on the drivers' instruments cluster. My car doesn't have the 12.3inch digital instrument cluster and also doesn't have the 12.3inch Command center screen but even with the basic layout it is a massive step up in technology. The W212 has a mono blue and black instrument screen between the analogue dials while my car has a multi colour TFT/digital instrument screen between the dials. The W212 still uses analogue dials for the clock, fuel and water temp gauges while my car has the clock in the center console and the digital fuel and temp gauges.

- Infotainment screen:

The W212 has fewer colours and the graphics seem a lot more mono and old style, even when displaying the built in navigation map. The screen is also smaller at 7inch compared to 8.5inch. It is controlled by a metallic silver aluminium wheel scroller on the center console which feels very tactile to the touch with knurled surround and 2 buttons for backwards and home. Its quite easy to control and alot more simpler than my system with fewer menus and functions.

-Interior Lighting:

The W213 has a wider variety of interior lighting options with its ambient lighting providing 64 different colours while the W212 only has white/light orange.

- Seats:

The seats are hugely different in shape, the front seats on the W213 are narrower, especially the upper backrest and slimmer in profile with more prominent side bolsters that provide alot more support for enthusiastic driving while those on the W212 seem more designed for comfort with a softer foam base for both squab and back rest. For larger wide bodied people the W212 front seats will probably be more comfortable for day to day driving. As for overall comfort I would probably call them a tie. The rear seats on my W213 seem to be more contoured while the W212 is more flat. This reflects the sportier youthful side to the W213 compared to the more conservative older Merc style of the W212.

-Space and boot:

The interior space of both cars seems very close, but the W212 seems less cosier and more airier in the front due to the narrower and lower center console. The W213 seems to have maybe a fraction more usable rear legroom due to its thinner front seats but otherwise head and shoulder room seems almost the same. The boot size on both seem to look almost identical in size, the W212 has a small net area on the right side of the boot which is not on my car, but the W213 counters with tie down loops and also fold down rear seat backs.

Build and material quality:

After a few presses here and there around the cabins of both cars, on the dash top, door tops and lower door trim, wood and metal trim, center consoles, I have to say the W212 seems a fraction better built than the W213. The main areas of defeat for the newer car are the door tops and center console armrest which use softer foam and make creaking noises when pressing on them, while the W212 has firmer foam and doesn't make one squeak or creek anywhere I pressed. The top dash also seems firmer on the W212, while my car has some flex on the edge of the instrument cluster top dash. The metallic silver window switches look and feel slightly more expensive on the W213. Metallic trim surrounds on the vents look alot classier on the W213. The W212 uses softer leather on the door trim compared to the W213. No evidence of any black piano plastic on the W212.

Out of the w211, w212 and w213, I think the middle one is the least desirable one. The w213 is much more closer to the sclass in aesthetics while the w211 has aged incredibly well and the E55 suspension is perfectly tuned and matched with a supercharged V8.