Anyone moved up from a W203 to a W211 ?

[garystu1965]

Thoughts please. Ride quality. Handling on country roads. Quietness. General ride quality in comparison.

 

[jeremytaylor]

I swapped from a C270 Estate to my E320 Estate in January, and have done 9000 miles in it now.

Ride quality. Better on the E.

Handling on country roads. Overall, slightly better on the E, the steering is sharper than the C although the car is obviously bigger and feels it. But the W211 is actually narrower than a lot of 'smaller' cars on the market. Check the dimensions and you'll be surprised. The C being smaller was more 'chuckable' in and tended to feel like a tighter fit, if you know what I mean.

Quietness. Better on the E, not withstanding the fact that a 6 cylinder should be quieter than a 5. There is less noise on the motorway in the E. My C ran on 17" AMGs with Michelin Pilot Sports, my E is on 17" with Conti Contact Sports of a similar width.

General ride quality in comparison. The E is more refined and gives a quieter, smoother ride. But the real improvement (for me at least) is the self-levelling rear suspension on the E. A surprisingly light load in the C (e.g. 30 bottles of wine) would see the car settle so low that it was very difficult to avoid scraping the underisde on speed humps. No such worries in the E (estate).

Other points. The E feels better built than the C, which I guess it should being a more recent design. Performance of the 320 feels similar to the 270. But if you're thinking of swapping the best thing to do would be to try and get an extended test in one. That's the best test.

 

[garystu1965]

I would have thought the performance of the 320 engine to be considerably higher than the 270 ???

 

[Flash]

I would have thought the performance of the 320 engine to be considerably higher than the 270 ???

I drove a C270 CDI few weeks back (W203) and did not notice any increase/difference in peformance what so ever in comparison to a C220 CDI...

 

[jeremytaylor]

The 320 does indeed have a higher output than the 270 (as the 270 does compared to the 220), but the E W211 body is heavier than the C W203. I don't know how the performance figures compare, but to me my E320 feels similar to my old C270. It is quieter, so maybe it's deceptive, and in fact it's quicker. I must dig out the figures to see.

However, when I had my C270, I once had a C220 courtesy car when mine was being serviced. I havew to say the 220 I tried was noticeably slower than my C270.

 

[Robbo]

I test drove a CLK320 CDI today and boy that engine is good. The car feels like a rocket ship. I'd have thought it would feel significantly faster than the 270 engine.

 

[splang]

I moved from a c180 w203 to a w211 e500.

More road noise (just a little more) due to big tyres and wheels but much better ride, quality etc oh and power

 

[jeremytaylor]

I test drove a CLK320 CDI today and boy that engine is good. The car feels like a rocket ship. I'd have thought it would feel significantly faster than the 270 engine.

That's the new higher output V6 CDI in a lighter CLK (W203 coupe) body. It will feel a lot quicker than the 270 in a W203 body.

 

[blassberg]

The 320 does indeed have a higher output than the 270 (as the 270 does compared to the 220), but the E W211 body is heavier than the C W203. I don't know how the performance figures compare, but to me my E320 feels similar to my old C270. It is quieter, so maybe it's deceptive, and in fact it's quicker. I must dig out the figures to see.

320 much quicker than the 270.
W211 has different gearing compared to W203 to cope with the weight i believe.