Avantgarde vs. Elegance

[E55BOF]

The (seventh) W211 estate I've recently acquired doesn't feel as planted as the six W211s that preceded it. It's not that it feels unstable, but when I'm trundling down the motorway, thumb in bum and mind in neutral, it's a bit floaty, and just doesn't feel as stable as the others did. Putting the Airmatic into Sport II mode, or whatever it's called, improves matters, but as with all my five other Airmatic cars, I normally drive in Comfort mode, and it's slightly disconcerting on this car.

All the others have been AMG (2), Sport (1) or Avantgarde (3) trim versions; this one is an Elegance. Might there be something wrong, or is the difference in feel just the way it is?

 

[alecmascot]

Normally "Elegance" is the softest suspension and "Avantgarde" is one step firmer.
If you run the VINS you will see the difference.

 

[markjay]

The Elegance will have higher suspension with and softer springs, and typically also smaller wheels (thus the tyres not being too 'low profile').

I personally prefer it this way... but obviously it's no good if you are after a sporty ride rather than a comfy one.

 

[E55BOF]

Normally "Elegance" is the softest suspension and "Avantgarde" is one step firmer. If you run the VINS you will see the difference.

The VINs can tell me that they are different, but not whether they will feel different in the way I have described; hence this thread.

The Elegance will have higher suspension with and softer springs, and typically also smaller wheels (thus the tyres not being too 'low profile'). I personally prefer it this way... but obviously it's no good if you are after a sporty ride rather than a comfy one.

I prefer a comfortable ride, but I don't know whether the difference in suspension setup accounts for the difference in 'feel', or if there may be something amiss. It also occurs to me that the rear tyres are Continentals, the fronts Chinese semi-Ditchfinders with quite soft side walls, which may make a difference.

 

[Smart320]

Try changing your ditch finders then see how it feels

 

[E55BOF]

Just what I was thinking. It might well be worth having a full suspension alignment at Wheels In Motion, too, in due course.

 

[Senator]

I don't have the experience of a direct comparison in this case, but in general I wouldn't expect a 'comfort' orientated suspension set up to feel fidgety on a motorway. However, I have found that tyres can make a difference to tramlining, and this could be what you are experiencing with budget front tyres.

 

[E55BOF]

Turns out the fronts are stiffer than the rears, not the other way around, if the maker's spec is accurate; the size is correct - 245/45/17 all round - but the fronts are 99 load factor, the rears 95. I'll try swapping them front to rear and see how it feels.

 

[AltonAnt]

It might be worth checking the EPC and I do not know how the E compares to the C but I could not find any difference in suspension for the W203 C class between the various trim levels.
The one thing I cannot confirm yet is whether the rubber spring seats are different but this will only affect ride height.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

My experience of the two is that there is a marked difference in ride “feel”, the Elegance was the wrong side of soft.

If you’ve also got ditch finders on too, I can only see that exacerbating the issue.

 

[AltonAnt]

My experience of the two is that there is a marked difference in ride “feel”, the Elegance was the wrong side of soft...

I know and many people have said it is the case but at least for that vehicle, there is nothing in the EPC that suggests there is a difference that I can see.