Have you drive a late E and S class Merc? Whats the difference in longer drives

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MSG2004

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Joined
Feb 5, 2005
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702
Car
GLE, AMG Line
A couple of years I got to drive a nearly new 220d E class se with pan roof. Drove that alomst 350miles in a day mostly motorway driving. It was so quite and smooth complared to my GLE that I bought new in 2016 and that only now just covered 16k miles.
I've been a passenger in a S class, 2017 car and the only differences I noted was obviously roomier and I felt a lot higher in it.

I've thought of buying a few months old E class, considered cls same age or a S class approx 2018 but used to the elvated postion of GLE which in town and country roads is easier to drive as i can see over cars/hedges etc. I hardly do any miles since taking very early retriement about 4.5 years ago as we often go out as a family with one of our children and their family as they have a bigger car.

Anyone here that has driven both the E and S class - was it my imagination that the E class felt so smooth and hardly tiring where as the gle doe tire me

Thanks
 
btw - when we trun up in the gle with her 4 digit reg plate people think we are loaded which gives me a nice feel but I guess you won't get that with the e class. Not being a snob/etc it's just a feel good factor as I've always seen our cars as an extension of our home.
 
I agree with you, the E-class 220d is smoother to drive in. Problem with S-Class and GLE is that the airmatic is too soft. it wasnt made for badly maintained roads
 
Cheers Riva811 but I have the paupers gle ie 250d no air suspension :D
 
I think you really do need to think about how you really will use it, if you’re only doing 4,000 a year. Maybe that high position is the greater priority to you than ride comfort over longer distances?

Before the War on Covid, I was doing 20,000 a year in my retirement, with quite a number of long haul trips (thousand miles in two days). I was clear that the S was supreme and the (5+ litre) E class was almost as good.

I’ve rented the GLE out of various German airports to do 500 mile trips and found it good enough, especially on the tech side, but always though it rather lumbering. Its physical size gives it presence but that has never impressed me: from Cayenne to Range Rover, it all feels unnecessary to me.

You pays your money and takes your choice. The S class is excellent, but it’s unnecessarily long, and a bit wife unfriendly. The E is excellent, but a bit “Frankfurt taxi.” The GLE is imposing but again, do you really need something that big, and is it really luxurious enough?

But ask yourself what you really want to do with it, and then buy to suit. A neighbour has a beautiful old school 1998 Bentley Continental T which sits in pride of place in front of his front door. Looks worth every penny of its current £100,000+ resale value ( was £200+k new), but does about 500 miles a year, and will never drive as well as an S class..

Consult, but drive a few yourself before making your decision.

Myself ? Until the “War on Covid” is over, I’m skipping around, doing 12,000 a year in a pretty small family saloon. No kids to move about, no university trips, no Pan European runs. It’s just horses for courses.
 
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Anyone here that has driven both the E and S class - was it my imagination that the E class felt so smooth and hardly tiring where as the gle doe tire me

Thanks

If supreme comfort is your absolute aim then it's an E Class on Airmatic or an S Class on ABC, avoiding the larger wheel sizes. You can have softer, more compliant springs on a lower car and having tyres with a deeper sidewall helps the ride too.

As soon as you start adding height into the equation things get much more challenging from a chassis engineering standpoint. Add in 21 in rims, or whatever, on a 4x4 and you're just introducing more problems.

Airmatic and ABC are also switchable - I have my E in the Comfort setting when I'm bimbling about over broken tarmac and speedbumps, Sport when I'm on faster, smoother roads.

I suppose the compromise might be a GLE on Airmatic and smaller rims?
 
I had a GLE 350 for 3 years, and you do become used to the elevated driving position just as my wife had with her ML previously. A couple of years ago I bought an MX-5 which my wife used for summer trips to work up in the Peak District. With the discovery that driving was a possible without being able to see 'over the hedges' I swapped the GLE for a Volvo V90 and that was fine.
Having worked for Bentley, I did a little more for them just prior to lockdown. I was really impressed with the latest cars and technology which is shared within the VW group.
Having owned both E and S class Mercedes previously, I test drove and Audi A8 and the latest (early 2020) S class. The Audi was a more refined car and shared the same platform and technology as the Bentley.
When lockdown finished (spring 2020) I did a great deal on a 3k miles old A8 at half retail cost!
It is the most luxurious car I have ever had and is quieter than any car I've owned or ever tested. I would love to have this luxury in a slightly smaller size, but it is not possible. What I do have is all the latest technology in a car which is quieter, more relaxing and less ostentatious than a Bentley at 1/4 the cost.
If the current valuations are to be believed, then it had depreciated less than £1k in 14 months, but I'm not about to sell it.
Both the E and S class are great cars, but the A8 is on another level.


Just a thought!
 
I had a GLE 350 for 3 years, and you do become used to the elevated driving position just as my wife had with her ML previously. A couple of years ago I bought an MX-5 which my wife used for summer trips to work up in the Peak District. With the discovery that driving was a possible without being able to see 'over the hedges' I swapped the GLE for a Volvo V90 and that was fine.
Having worked for Bentley, I did a little more for them just prior to lockdown. I was really impressed with the latest cars and technology which is shared within the VW group.
Having owned both E and S class Mercedes previously, I test drove and Audi A8 and the latest (early 2020) S class. The Audi was a more refined car and shared the same platform and technology as the Bentley.
When lockdown finished (spring 2020) I did a great deal on a 3k miles old A8 at half retail cost!
It is the most luxurious car I have ever had and is quieter than any car I've owned or ever tested. I would love to have this luxury in a slightly smaller size, but it is not possible. What I do have is all the latest technology in a car which is quieter, more relaxing and less ostentatious than a Bentley at 1/4 the cost.
If the current valuations are to be believed, then it had depreciated less than £1k in 14 months, but I'm not about to sell it.
Both the E and S class are great cars, but the A8 is on another level.


Just a thought!
Interesting stuff buddy , what engine is in your A8 ? I can feel an Autotrader session coming up .
 
Interesting stuff buddy , what engine is in your A8 ? I can feel an Autotrader session coming up .
50 Tdi, that's a 3 litre V6 diesel with 290bhp.
 
I have a 19 e220 cab(non airmatic), a 21 e220 sedan(non airmatic) and a 14 s350; they all have 20" alloys if that makes a difference. I feel the bumps/road much more in the e class, the s class just feels like you're floating. If you've retired and enjoy the feel good factor I'd say get the s class, you feel no need to do anything in it except listen to music and chill, you can turn the massaging seats on and relax. Don't forget you can get it in SWB aswell. If your family already have a bigger car I'd suggest trying an e class cab, it feels like such a special place and looks so beautiful.
 
I had a GLE 350 for 3 years, and you do become used to the elevated driving position just as my wife had with her ML previously. A couple of years ago I bought an MX-5 which my wife used for summer trips to work up in the Peak District. With the discovery that driving was a possible without being able to see 'over the hedges' I swapped the GLE for a Volvo V90 and that was fine.
Having worked for Bentley, I did a little more for them just prior to lockdown. I was really impressed with the latest cars and technology which is shared within the VW group.
Having owned both E and S class Mercedes previously, I test drove and Audi A8 and the latest (early 2020) S class. The Audi was a more refined car and shared the same platform and technology as the Bentley.
When lockdown finished (spring 2020) I did a great deal on a 3k miles old A8 at half retail cost!
It is the most luxurious car I have ever had and is quieter than any car I've owned or ever tested. I would love to have this luxury in a slightly smaller size, but it is not possible. What I do have is all the latest technology in a car which is quieter, more relaxing and less ostentatious than a Bentley at 1/4 the cost.
If the current valuations are to be believed, then it had depreciated less than £1k in 14 months, but I'm not about to sell it.
Both the E and S class are great cars, but the A8 is on another level.


Just a thought!
What fresh hell is this ? Get thee behind me, Satan !

(Hopefully SWMBO will still find it too big, but she has her own Mx5 so I'm reaching for Autotrader...)

A8.jpg
 
If your budget can stretch to it I would recommend a E300/350/400 with airmatic. Personally I find the 220 low on power due to the weight of the car.
 

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