W212 options suggestions

[guydewdney]

Hiya
replacing my battered W204 starship milage poverty spec estate with either a E350 estate or e350 cabriolet - I know they are quite different, but I need to carry many bags of laundry - and either of these will do, weirdly. Budget is 10 maybe 11k.

among they myriad of options, what do veteran owners suggest to make sure I look for? Having had memory seats in various cars - I see little point as im the 99.9% driver. airmatic - oh, that was nice in my 211 320cdi - dynamic seats seem to be problematic - led headlights (how can you tell - many 'dealers' are muppets who have no idea) ? lane assist (I am very rural - minimal motorway driving)? leccy boot is nice in my 204 - does it have the foot wave to open option thing?

cheers

Guy

 

[st13phil]

If you're going for an E350 Estate (S212), your budget means it will be a pre-facelift car.

As standard you will get airmatic on the rear suspension regardless of base spec (SE, Avantgarde or Sport) and a powered tailgate, but you would need to have Keyless Go to give you the "foot wave to open" facility. The SE gets regular halogen headlamps and the Avantgarde and Sport both get the bi-xenon Intelligent Light System with LED daytime running lights, Active Light System, cornering light function and headlamp wash, Adaptive High Beam Assist (LED headlamps are only on the facelift cars).

The SE comes on 16" wheels, the Avantgarde is on 17" and Sport is on 18". The ride penalty of the 18's is very minor, but if you're doing lots of miles the Avantgarde on a "square" setup is more tyre budget-friendly than the Sport which is on a wider staggered setup.

As for options, the Pano Roof lightens the cabin hugely, especially if the car has a black headliner (standard on the Sport and an inexplicably common option on others) and COMAND is nice too. Memory seats were an option, but are pretty common. The Dynamic Multi-Contour seats are fantastically comfortable (I've had two cars with them and one without), but are rare.

If you went for an Avantgarde in standard spec + pano roof my guess is that you'd have everything you need plus some nice to have's. If you can get one with the later 265bhp engine (from early 2011 build onwards) all the better.

Can't help on the spec of the Cab I'm afraid, as I've never owned one.