When I grew up, there was nothing but RWD cars. There was no AWD, and I can't recall any AWD/4WD. There were no SUVs and few (nobody?) owned a PU for personal use.
I'm probably one of a small minority who still prefer RWD. I just like the handling better! That's not to say I haven't owned FWD cars, SUVs, and 4WD trucks for personal use over the years.
Recently, however, while contemplating a new personal car, I was attracted to my son & DILs C300, but along with being a little small for my taste, it is a 4Matic. Because of the size, I began looking at the 212, but in the NE, it's (almost?) impossible to find a RWD E350, so I began to look outside the NE and finally found just what I was looking for, including RWD, in NC. I made the deal over the phone, flew down to NC to pick up the car and drove it home.
Having said all that, I think the decision is a personal one, and factors like location, frequency/type of usage, driving habits, experience and comfort level driving in inclement weather (especially snow), alternative vehicles available, etc., all play a part.
Our 107 stays safely tucked in the garage from fall until spring, it'll only come out after all the visible salt is gone from the roads, and it's only driven around 1,000 sunny-day miles each year.
The new 212 does come out in the winter, but is never driven in bad/stormy weather, and I also try to avoid wet roads that dirty up the shine. However, we're retired and I have the luxury of not needing to leave the house each day like I did while working. With my experience driving in snow, I'm confident this car would perform well in the snow with only RWD if I chose to take it out, but we also have another vehicle if we need/choose to go out in inclement weather. No more 4WD trucks or SUVs for the winter, but we do sometimes take out the wife's DD, a FWD Lexus, if the roads aren't too bad.
As pointed out, you're on the cusp, so to speak, and live in an area which could have winters ranging from mild to moderately severe. It's you're call, of course, but from a winter weather perspective alone, that might be enough to get 4Matic, especially if you need to drive most days, have come to rely on something other than RWD (especially in snow), and lack other means of transportation.
What type of drive system are you/have you been driving in your area, and have you been comfortable with the performance you've been getting to this point?
