Nice review, thanks. Personally I prefer the old one in terms of styling. I've had my E class since 2018 and just love the simple classy, understated design. I particularly like rear lights with the double bar crystal effect. The new ones that display the Merc three pointed star are just a bit over the top for me. I would feel embarrassed driving it. "Look, look at me, I've got a Mercedes!" Not classy at all. Maybe ok on the A class, but not sure on the very conservative E class. The front lights are a bit over styled I think as well. Also I would not want the new car because of the lack of physical buttons. The fact that every road tester thinks that touch screens on the move are a backward step is enough for me. Mine has done 81k very reliable miles, so I will hang onto it for a few more years.
I'm leaning towards the same feeling, the older design does hold up better both inside and out. I love the grille on the new one, not sure about the taillights though.
@@PRNTestDrive I just sat in the new one and i have to say, it felt so much more special in the old one. Even the seats aren't as good. The interior is not as good either imo...I would never buy the new one over the old one. The old one was amazing when i first sat in it, and the new one just felt blah...Almost better off getting the new C class
These look better. But none of their engines will touch the reliability of the M276 in the W212. Notjing beats the reliability of the M276 naturally aspirated V6. Very responsive in sports mode.
Love or hate these entry-level AMG models, but they've sold incredibly well and was a smart move on Mercedes-Benz' part. Unfortunately BMW's approach to their M Performance entry-level models was a little easier to understand, whereas M-B couldn't really come up with a different way to do an AMG-light.
@@dianapurnell2157 that’s what Victor had access to, and the purpose of the video is to show the generational differences. Also, as Victor mentioned, the new E 450 has similar performance numbers to that outgoing E 53.
That was a solid design too. Personally the W211 is peak E-Class for me. The first 2003 we featured was a good example of the car I almost bought instead of my E38 BMW 7 Series. I had looked at a 2005 E 500 wagon in blue with beige interior, but there was a number of issues with it.
@@PRNTestDrivethe w211 is sweet. I did consider the E500 sedan but I didn't want to be maintaining the air suspension. Eventually I got a C55 AMG which is not as nice but easier to maintain.
@alexeymoujeer3498 the C 32 AMG was/is still one of my all time favourite cars. I’m glad I got to feature one waaaay back. Still on the hunt for doing the C 55.
@@PRNTestDriveif you'd like to review mine I'd be happy to. But you mentioned that you like to review stock cars. Mine has a manual swap done by the previous owner and it's still a work in progress.
I agree the old one has a better interior, the new one looks cheap. Personally If i could talk my wife into a mercedes, i would want the v8, without the v8 imo there's nothing special about the engine. Synthetic sound can be done in a corolla.. 😂
All these new interiors are looking worse than the previous generations. It's unfortunate that the trend is to slap a tablet in the centre and call it a day. Interior car designers are working on auto pilot now.
@@PRNTestDrive I am probably alone, but i think the last of the good benz's was the 99 S500.. Besides the interior being handsome and exceptionally well made, the vehicles themselves were built for a lifetime of use.. at 135k in 1999 that's the expectation. I don't know what happened to MB, but the build quality nose dived in the 00's and today with the really bad reliability ratings and all the really expensive electronics, buying one of these used is like Russian roulette with 3 in the chamber.. Another great video guys..
Certainly I would agree that perceived quality has suffered in recent years, but I do think that the important bits underneath are still good. My 2018 E class has been 100% reliable, so far, after 81k miles and my previous C class (2008 model) did 160K miles before anything went wrong, and then it was just the engine mounts that needed replacing. That C class had lovely thick paint though and a rock solid interior. I did notice when I changed that the E class paint was a lot thinner and some of the interior trim felt a bit fragile, although the seats are amazing quality. Maybe reliability ratings for Merc. have suffered because the A class has dragged it down. I'm hearing that it's not a very reliable car.
@@mrsteve7175 My long time friend works at MB as a mechanic, he says if you value your money you lease them, or don't buy anything post Daimler.. My last real, longer than a block experience was in a 240d which had nearly a million miles on it.. It's hard to compare a million mile car to 160k or even 250k.. But then it's not just MB, even Toyota's quality isn't what it used to be.. It's good to hear though that you got over 100k but at this point with what they cost, the 300k mark really should be the median between reliable and only just ehh..
Nice review, thanks. Personally I prefer the old one in terms of styling. I've had my E class since 2018 and just love the simple classy, understated design. I particularly like rear lights with the double bar crystal effect. The new ones that display the Merc three pointed star are just a bit over the top for me. I would feel embarrassed driving it. "Look, look at me, I've got a Mercedes!" Not classy at all. Maybe ok on the A class, but not sure on the very conservative E class. The front lights are a bit over styled I think as well. Also I would not want the new car because of the lack of physical buttons. The fact that every road tester thinks that touch screens on the move are a backward step is enough for me. Mine has done 81k very reliable miles, so I will hang onto it for a few more years.
I'm leaning towards the same feeling, the older design does hold up better both inside and out. I love the grille on the new one, not sure about the taillights though.
@@PRNTestDrive I just sat in the new one and i have to say, it felt so much more special in the old one. Even the seats aren't as good. The interior is not as good either imo...I would never buy the new one over the old one. The old one was amazing when i first sat in it, and the new one just felt blah...Almost better off getting the new C class
Love the new technology on the 2024.
@@dianapurnell2157 you might be in the minority then, a lot of people dislike the shift to all-screen interiors.
These look better. But none of their engines will touch the reliability of the M276 in the W212. Notjing beats the reliability of the M276 naturally aspirated V6. Very responsive in sports mode.
Agreed! The W213 is handsome, although looked a bit bland on the 2019 model Nile drove a while ago. We'd love to get a W212 on for a classic episode.
I'm here for that gorgeous W213 E53 but fake AMG 😅
Love or hate these entry-level AMG models, but they've sold incredibly well and was a smart move on Mercedes-Benz' part. Unfortunately BMW's approach to their M Performance entry-level models was a little easier to understand, whereas M-B couldn't really come up with a different way to do an AMG-light.
A comparison of a AMG to a non AMG???
@@dianapurnell2157 that’s what Victor had access to, and the purpose of the video is to show the generational differences. Also, as Victor mentioned, the new E 450 has similar performance numbers to that outgoing E 53.
I still like the facelift w212 better
That was a solid design too. Personally the W211 is peak E-Class for me. The first 2003 we featured was a good example of the car I almost bought instead of my E38 BMW 7 Series. I had looked at a 2005 E 500 wagon in blue with beige interior, but there was a number of issues with it.
@@PRNTestDrivethe w211 is sweet. I did consider the E500 sedan but I didn't want to be maintaining the air suspension. Eventually I got a C55 AMG which is not as nice but easier to maintain.
@alexeymoujeer3498 the C 32 AMG was/is still one of my all time favourite cars. I’m glad I got to feature one waaaay back. Still on the hunt for doing the C 55.
@@PRNTestDriveif you'd like to review mine I'd be happy to. But you mentioned that you like to review stock cars. Mine has a manual swap done by the previous owner and it's still a work in progress.
Let me know when you get it finished! Would love to hear about it at the very least!
I agree the old one has a better interior, the new one looks cheap. Personally If i could talk my wife into a mercedes, i would want the v8, without the v8 imo there's nothing special about the engine. Synthetic sound can be done in a corolla.. 😂
All these new interiors are looking worse than the previous generations. It's unfortunate that the trend is to slap a tablet in the centre and call it a day. Interior car designers are working on auto pilot now.
@@PRNTestDrive I am probably alone, but i think the last of the good benz's was the 99 S500.. Besides the interior being handsome and exceptionally well made, the vehicles themselves were built for a lifetime of use.. at 135k in 1999 that's the expectation. I don't know what happened to MB, but the build quality nose dived in the 00's and today with the really bad reliability ratings and all the really expensive electronics, buying one of these used is like Russian roulette with 3 in the chamber..
Another great video guys..
I was lucky enough to feature a W140 a while ago, would love to revisit it if I could get another.
Certainly I would agree that perceived quality has suffered in recent years, but I do think that the important bits underneath are still good. My 2018 E class has been 100% reliable, so far, after 81k miles and my previous C class (2008 model) did 160K miles before anything went wrong, and then it was just the engine mounts that needed replacing. That C class had lovely thick paint though and a rock solid interior. I did notice when I changed that the E class paint was a lot thinner and some of the interior trim felt a bit fragile, although the seats are amazing quality. Maybe reliability ratings for Merc. have suffered because the A class has dragged it down. I'm hearing that it's not a very reliable car.
@@mrsteve7175 My long time friend works at MB as a mechanic, he says if you value your money you lease them, or don't buy anything post Daimler.. My last real, longer than a block experience was in a 240d which had nearly a million miles on it.. It's hard to compare a million mile car to 160k or even 250k.. But then it's not just MB, even Toyota's quality isn't what it used to be.. It's good to hear though that you got over 100k but at this point with what they cost, the 300k mark really should be the median between reliable and only just ehh..