We have a W204 Sport and the S212 AMG. Haven't had a chance to ride a luxury model but W204 rides decent meaning not bumpy (does have 17" tire option). I noticed that the 18" tire option actually have slightly larger tires, which likely helps the ride. The S212 AMG has rear air front springs, also not as bad as we were warned it would be.

If she doesn't find it harsh then great...

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I have a 2016 E30 Sport model and the ride is great on very smooth roads. Now on bumpy roads, you notice the bumps more and one of the factors may very well be the tire size (height) on the 18" rim. I don't know what tires come on a 17" wheel, but there isn't much sidewall on the 18" tires, 245/40 on the sport vs 245/45 on the luxury. Yes, the suspension is a little tighter on the sport vs luxury, but it sure makes driving fun.

I recently had a blowout because of a chuckhole on the highway and have wondered if a luxury 17" tire would have faired better. I'll never know.

 

hah hah, from the ultra fine print footnotes at the end of the 2016 E-Series sales brochure, linked to the 18 and 19" wheel options...

• Lower aspect ratio tires and accompanying wheels provide substantially increased treadwear, increased tire noise and reduced ride comfort. Serious wheel and tire damage may occur if the vehicle is operated on rough or damaged road surfaces or upon encountering road debris or obstacles.

I drive a LOT on bad roads, little goat trail roads in the santa cruz mountains, etc etc.



so, yesterday, we drove a low mileage 2016 E350 Sport in VERY nice condition, the selling Ford dealer had taken it to the Mercedes dealer right up the street for a full PPI before offering it....

... the ride on the wine country back roads of Sonoma County was AWFUL, on the way back from the extended back road loop the dealer suggested, we took some state highway that had some grooved concrete pavement and it was like an grindiing wheel was being run under the seats.

I really really wanted to like that car. now we're looking for a low mileage 2016 Luxury E350, and having a very hard time finding one. Wife will be primary driver, and absolutely does NOT want a dark body color or black interior, so that cuts the candidates in half. Prefers white exterior with beige/grey/porcelain interior, we're fine with mbtex as thats what we have now in our 1994 E wagon and 1990 E sedan ... silver or champagne exterior OK too.

 

hah hah, from the ultra fine print footnotes at the end of the 2016 E-Series sales brochure, linked to the 18 and 19" wheel options...

• Lower aspect ratio tires and accompanying wheels provide substantially increased treadwear, increased tire noise and reduced ride comfort. Serious wheel and tire damage may occur if the vehicle is operated on rough or damaged road surfaces or upon encountering road debris or obstacles.

I drive a LOT on bad roads, little goat trail roads in the santa cruz mountains, etc etc.



so, yesterday, we drove a low mileage 2016 E350 Sport in VERY nice condition, the selling Ford dealer had taken it to the Mercedes dealer right up the street for a full PPI before offering it....

... the ride on the wine country back roads of Sonoma County was AWFUL, on the way back from the extended back road loop the dealer suggested, we took some state highway that had some grooved concrete pavement and it was like an grindiing wheel was being run under the seats.

I really really wanted to like that car. now we're looking for a low mileage 2016 Luxury E350, and having a very hard time finding one. Wife will be primary driver, and absolutely does NOT want a dark body color or black interior, so that cuts the candidates in half. Prefers white exterior with beige/grey/porcelain interior, we're fine with mbtex as thats what we have now in our 1994 E wagon and 1990 E sedan ... silver or champagne exterior OK too.

Hi,

I think, judging from the picture in your signature, you've ended up with a luxury wagon? How is it's ride vs sport that you test drove? Is it really night and day difference? I'm about to pull a trigger on a 2015 E350 Luxury on Carvana because I'm concerned about the jarring ride.... Thanks

 

I have it. 18” AMG wheels. W212 model 2016 E350. Must be sport model.
Yes lower front air dam makes it tough for goat trails. Fine on payed roads.
Love it. Last one was 2006 E350. Would have preferred same in newer but whatever.


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these 'goat trails' ARE paved, its just old pavement full of patches and cracks. roads like this...

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

www.google.com

I've heard from a couple folks on a different forum who own 'luxury' E350's and said the ride quality is night and day versus the 'sport' version, they bought them new, and didn't initially even know there were two different versions, and almost walked away after first driving a sport (said folks owned older MBZ, such as our W124 94 E320 wagon which rides like a magic carpet on a rough road).

 

The Magic Carpet limousine type ride went away with the W211
The "media" and the public are allegedly demanding more sport oriented drives these days.
I have a W211 and a W212. No comparison with NVH - the W211 wins hands down
You would probably need to drop down to 16 inch wheels and high profile tyres to get a smoother ride. The noise deadening is less on the newer cars. (according to my local dealership contact, a legacy from the Daimler Chrysler era when cost cutting was the byword - NVH was sacrificed).
M.H.O.

 

Is your W212 a 'sport' or a 'luxury' package?

Sport has data card code 951 (Sport package USA), 677 (Agility Control suspension), and 660 (18" AMD 5-twin spoke wheels) (plus some cosmetic trim package codes). Luxury has code 485 (Direct Control suspension) and 02R (17" 5-spoke wheels). The suspension is night and day different. (these codes are for a 2016, other years might have different equivalent codes)


oooh, you're in .AU, so you undoubtedly get different option packages.

 

Here in .AU and in a lot of the ROW.
There's the Avantgarde, Elegance and Classic packages and of course AMG.
And then there's a bewildering array of options for each class.
The Avantgarde would be equivalent to the Sports while the Elegance is the equivalent of the Luxury. Classic levels are almost bare boned Taxi pack as you can get in Europe.
The W211 and W212 I own are both Elegance Packs (Luxury)
My local man at the local dealership noted that ex W210 and W211 owners comment on the different ride quality of the W212.
I owned a W202 and a W204. There was a marked difference in the ride quality of the W202 compared to the W204 as well. The W202 was your proverbial bank vault iron ingot.

 

yeah, I get it. I hate thtese 17+ inch wheels. heck, about 10 years ago I had a Volvo 740 turbo wagon, I upgraded from th e original 15" to 16" which were an OEM option. it didn't improve the ride, but it definitely improved the traction going around sharp corners. I also put bilsteins, lotsa poly bushings, and beefier sway bars under that wagon.

 

It could be a problem with that one car. I mean otherwise how did a Mercedes possibly end up on a Ford lot, (traded in the Mercedes for a Ford being the implication).

No trouble with the W204 Sport and AMG suspension. But roads are mostly tamer here. I would not be concerned taking either up to Chantry Flats if you're interested to look up the road conditions up to there.

Tires, and pressures, play a big role. You can look up the original tires on TireRack.com. Usually Mercedes spec tires (I think MO if I'm not mistaken) are very low Treadwear rated. Easily fixed with selecting a high Treadwear rated tire, (if you are willing to give up the Mercedes spec, which I assume given you and your wife's feel for the car, wouldn't mind giving up some of the extreme performance abilities).

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It could be a problem with that one car. I mean otherwise how did a Mercedes possibly end up on a Ford lot, (traded in the Mercedes for a Ford being the implication).
...

the original owner needed a 3-row vehicle for his grandkids. it was traded in on a Lincoln SUV

 

Oh, if you just feel bad about the ride but love the rest of the car, try to find an Alfa Romeo Giulia to test drive. Should feel softer in comparison....

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@LeftCoastGeek As you may know, I was a W124 owner for years and after having done the head gasket job on my 94 E320 and daily driving it again last year, I ended up buying a 2016 E400 sport sedan. Here are my thoughts having been an avid W124 owner for years.
I test drove a 2014 E350 luxury model a while before finding the E400. The ride comfort was decent even with factory 18"s, but the thing I hated about the car was the seats. The drivers seat was absolutely terrible and there was no way I would have taken that car on a 5 hour trip. The seat surface had a shape that ground into my thighs. In contrast, I did many 6-12 hour trips on the leather in my W124's and never wanted for anything more. The magic carpet ride, as you put it. Now, one of the reasons I bought the specific E400 I have is that it is equipped with the Active Multicontour Seat Package which means the front seats have a very different structure and shape compared to the standard W212 seats. In my car, I also got "Climatised" front seats with heating and cooling, active bolsters, Designo Mystic Red leather and driver's seat massage, which is great.
Long story short, along with the pretty widespread complaints of the seams on the MB tex and leather standard seats ripping, I found them to be terribly uncomfortable. So whatever you do, try to find a model with an upgraded seat package. If you look at coupes or convertibles, they will be much easier to find than on sedans.
Coming from years in the W124, I am very happy in my E400. It still has a familiar feel, nice materials, excellent turning radius (even with 4Matic) and feels very solid. It is not the LED disco party that some members of the W124 forum assume it to be. In fact, the number of lit buttons and controls inside of the car is not all that different than in my W124, save for some subtle ambient lighting.
Good luck with your search!

 

I would admit to a bit of ignorance when I got my 2011 E350 for my father. I always assumed the “sport“ version had “sport” or something on the side like models past.

Anyway the dealer said “I don’t have quite what you want but here’s the color and options” and I got it and it turned out to be the sport version.

as far as the ride is concerned there’s nothing jarring about it. The cornering is flat and the steering seems pretty quick, a bit quicker than my 2000 E430.

not that I consider my E430 steering to be objectionably slow.

my only objection to it is the front facia with the bumper.

everybody has problems with this because it’s so low it catches just about anything in the road.

and those concrete parking lot stops? You hit those then you can tear up the bumper.

they were doing some roadwork by I5 by my house and when I was taking my sister to the airport at 0500, I managed to hit a traffic cone sitting right in the middle of the on ramp.

There was no place to go. It tore up the damn bumper and broke some internal parts to the tune of $1800 which I ended up paying for out of my own pocket.

that’s my only objection to the sport version.

The body shop was able to repair this using some kind of epoxy and repainting it, but I guess for the W212 there’s at least four different kinds of bumper options in the front

So these days I drive it very conscious of that cow catcher in the front