For the 320 U.S. market
96 was a straight 6 and 4speed automatic
I think 97+ was a V-6 and 5 speed automatic (could be starting with MY98)
96 and 97 had the old blade key/IR remote sometime later they went to a better remote 98???
also 96 and 97 did not have the FSS
96 and 97 didn't have automatic door locks, I think 98 did, for sure by 99

The biggest change for the 320 of these years was going rom an inline 6 and 4 speed to a v-6 and 5 speed. I think most of the other changes would be considered relatively minor.

I'm sure others can chime in with more info on the detailed changes between MY.

Other than old mercedes brochures I don't know of a source of detailed changes between MY.

If I was looking again, and focused on those MY, my first determination would be which car was best maintained and well kept, not which MY since they are pretty comparable.

 

Wow ! thanks for the quick response. Very helpful.

 

The engine and tranny changed with MY'98.

 

Actually '97 had the 5sp transmission. '98 went to the V6 and the new V8.
I would focus on a post face lift models with the improved cosmetics and other safety upgrades.

As far as any price comparisons between MY96 and MY99 I believe mileage and the condition of the car would far outweigh any MY depreciation differences.

 

I have both 1997 and 1998 E320. Here are the differences. 96 to 98 have same body and 5 speed transmission (in 98 the 4matic all wheel drive was added as an additional trans option) everthing else is identical. Even though the body remained the same in this span, the 96 to 97 had the inline six (prone to head gasket issues at approx 130k) but the 98 onward used a V6 with two plugs per cylinder. In the 99 to 01 the v6 engine remained and they continued with the 5 transmission, the car was basically the same except they gave the car a face lift which includes a stronger bumper that does not come to pieces on high curbs. 99 - 01 also included more updated instrument cluster which provided additional items such as mpg etc.

 

the mercedes brochures show a 4 speed transmission on 96's, no 5 speed till 97. 5 speed first appreared in summer 96 with the "97" E420 then in the fall with the 97 320

 

Flexible Service System introduced with 1998

Steering wheel controls came on 00-02 models

nice reading on V6 (see attachment)

 

Cat converters are a added minus as the years run never. As told, the 96-7 cats don't go bad like the newer models. (no facts to back that, yet mine are fine at 150k, mi.)
Also the head gasket is an issue on the inline 6. Mine has issues.
Love the simplicity of the engine, however from that of the V-6.

 

From what I understand, the 2000 model year introduced upgrades to a couple of key parts in the 5 speed automatic transmission that was the cause of a number of the issues the transmission had been experiencing. You can check through the transmission sticky at the top of the forum for additional information. loubapache is a wealth of knowledge on this issue.

 

the 99s got a wider third brake light.

 

Is the front guards on the 99 model the same as the 96 model ?