[manishk123]

Originally Posted by EP.

The W211 is a much better car, i think its a much better buy too, even now. I just love the interiors of W211, this W212 interiors are very edgy and doesn't feel expensive.

I have the W211 shown in your pic and a friend of mine just bought the newer model. When we went for a drive my wife said the exact same thing about the interiors not feeling as luxurious - seems like even women notice such things :-)

[manishk123]

Didnt see this thread earlier so I created a new thread which I think the mods will delete anytime. Anyway here's a video of the new E class. Looks stunning I think.

http://youtu.be/c6LGC7R2l00

[amartyasg]

That is definitely an improvement over the current E-Class. I hope this design filters down to the rest of the range as well. Hopefully Mercedes brings it to India quickly, E-Class sales are not going brilliant, especially since the new 5-series and the new A6 were launched. I wonder if the steering column mounted gear-lever is still present? Any clues? Didn't spot an interior picture yet.

[Rice_tuner]

Merc has just added the coupe and cabriolet forms to their 'refreshed' E class.
Looks quite sleek in the pictures but i'm guessing there are going to be mixed reactions.

Source : http://www.autocarindia.com/News/327...-unveiled.aspx

[cityvic]

Guys any idea when is the W212 E Class facelift launching?

[speedy]

Originally Posted by cityvic

Guys any idea when is the W212 E Class facelift launching?

I was informed by the Merc guys that the car would be launched in June or July this year.

[cityvic]

Great.Thanks Speedy.

Which engines would they be launching it in India with?I guess they would start with E350 and E350 CDI.Then slowly add the E250 CDI and the E200 CGI.

[speedy]

Originally Posted by cityvic

Which engines would they be launching it in India with?I guess they would start with E350 and E350 CDI.Then slowly add the E250 CDI and the E200 CGI.

They are bringing in the E 250 CDI and the E 200 CGI first. The E350's are not confirmed for India as of now due to the poor sales of the W212 non facelifted E350's.

[nik_kapur]

Originally Posted by EP.

The W211 is a much better car, i think its a much better buy too, even now. I just love the interiors of W211, this W212 interiors are very edgy and doesn't feel expensive.

This is probably the best E Class Interior of all times. A friend has both the W211 and W212 and even he feels that the older one is plusher and more snug on the inside. The new one he feels is more functional and the lines too straight-line. The older E has some nice rounded features and a nicer interior lighting setup.

[Maky]

Originally Posted by EP.

The W211 is a much better car, i think its a much better buy too, even now. I just love the interiors of W211, this W212 interiors are very edgy and doesn't feel expensive.

Originally Posted by manishk123

I have the W211 shown in your pic and a friend of mine just bought the newer model. When we went for a drive my wife said the exact same thing about the interiors not feeling as luxurious - seems like even women notice such things :-)

Originally Posted by nik_kapur

This is probably the best E Class Interior of all times. A friend has both the W211 and W212 and even he feels that the older one is plusher and more snug on the inside. The new one he feels is more functional and the lines too straight-line. The older E has some nice rounded features and a nicer interior lighting setup.

I agree 100% with y'all, this interior feels just too plain and boring. The old one is just so much more plush and actually looks and feels like the interior of a car a segment above which it isn't.
I don't understand their new design language at all, It's like they think simplifying and toning it down is the way to go for these luxo barges. As far as the exterior is concerned the front end is acceptable to me personally. Rear rubbish as the last one.
Perhaps they've made these changes to appeal to the taste of buyers in their key markets?

[FlatOut]

Originally Posted by Maky

Perhaps they've made these changes to appeal to the taste of buyers in their key markets?

Too true, it is especially obvious to my British eyes that many upmarket European cars are styled to appeal to the Chinese. I wonder how long it will be before they are tailored to Chinese roads and driving styles, if not already! For a little while, Mercedes-Benz have lost their class. Even the British used to love them, when they were genuinely engineered to be as good as possible and had a look of breeding to them, such as in the days of the W124.

Many Brits have seen sense regarding expensive German cars - they don't appeal to our Western eyes any more, are ridiculously expensive to maintain and money can be spent on much better things than impressing neighbours and girlfriends. Those who cannot be without a luxury car will probably have an older Lexus - they are superb and relatively inexpensive. If you want real class, prestige and subtlety, you buy one of the last of the British Jaguars (XJ series) from the late 1990s.

Even the Germans are buying Skodas rather than VWs, Audis and Mercedes (they never bought many BMWs outside Bavaria).

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by FlatOut

Many Brits have seen sense regarding expensive German cars - they don't appeal to our Western eyes any more, are ridiculously expensive to maintain and money can be spent on much better things than impressing neighbours and girlfriends. Those who cannot be without a luxury car will probably have an older Lexus - they are superb and relatively inexpensive. If you want real class, prestige and subtlety, you buy one of the last of the British Jaguars (XJ series) from the late 1990s.

Even the Germans are buying Skodas rather than VWs, Audis and Mercedes (they never bought many BMWs outside Bavaria).

Another aspect is the choice above the Mondeo class is boring - BMW, Audi or Merc. It gets bit boring. During my time, you had Ford Granada/ Scorpio, Rovers, Volvo's, Senator's in addition. Even now, the Mondeo class is boring, everyone buy's a 3

The fact that current Mercs after a few years (w202, w203, w210, w211, ) look rather dog eared after regular use make you wonder what the extra money is for!

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by FlatOut

Many Brits have seen sense regarding expensive German cars - they don't appeal to our Western eyes any more, are ridiculously expensive to maintain and money can be spent on much better things than impressing neighbours and girlfriends. Those who cannot be without a luxury car will probably have an older Lexus - they are superb and relatively inexpensive. If you want real class, prestige and subtlety, you buy one of the last of the British Jaguars (XJ series) from the late 1990s.

Amen to that! Not just the Brits mind you. The Dutch do it too!
Scroll down and you'll see my 2002XJR I used for three years as my daily drive whilst living in Kansas City. It's sitting in storage in the Netherlands now, waiting for me to come back from Delhi.

http://jeroendorrestein.com/Frances%...oens_toys.html

Jeroen

[FlatOut]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Amen to that! Not just the Brits mind you. The Dutch do it too!
Scroll down and you'll see my 2002XJR I used for three years as my daily drive whilst living in Kansas City. It's sitting in storage in the Netherlands now, waiting for me to come back from Delhi.

http://jeroendorrestein.com/Frances%...oens_toys.html

Jeroen

The Jags are great! How did you manage to stay beneath the cops' radar in the States with such a blisteringly quick machine?

As the British 'CAR' magazine used to say in the late 80s and early 90s (when it was truly world class) a Mercedes or BMW were perfectly effective modes of transport, but a journey in Jaguar was akin to entering another world. Very difficult to engineer in such feelings of soul.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by FlatOut

The Jags are great! How did you manage to stay beneath the cops' radar in the States with such a blisteringly quick machine?

It wasn't easy and I didn't quite make it either. Raked up some points on my license along the way. But hey, this car is seriously fast, especially in sports mode! Just thinking about the throttle will see you speeding immediately!

I've owned so many cars over the years, including company cars, BMWs, Mercedes, Audi. But none of these ever came close to this Jaguar in the amount of pleasure they gave me. Technically some of the German trio might be better or faster, certainly more economic. But they are just plain old boring next to this. Every time I got in my Jaguar it brought a huge smile on my face. Everywhere, at petrol stations, car parks, people would come over and comment on it.

The other interesting thing; these cars are unbelievable cheap. Jaguars still suffer from huge depreciation. This car was sold new in 2002 for just over $75.000,--. I still have the original dealer MRP plaque. I bought it of Ebay in 2009 for $12.000-- with about 90.000 miles on it. At the same time, I also bought my wife a second hand four year old Ford Focus, ZE, for nearly the same amount. Go figure.

I probably paid over the top, but then again it was in better than excellent condition. Had always been maintained by official Jaguar dealers. Amazingly, in the UK these XJRs are worth next to nothing. Couple of thousand quid will get you a very nice XJR these days.

I had my XJR shipped over from Kansas City, USA to Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Had it imported and made road legal for the Netherlands. The prices in the Netherlands are somewhat better. It was valued for the insurance at Euro 17.000.
Still, not a lot of money for a lot of car. I simply fail to understand why people spend more money and then get themselves a regular run of the mill family sedan.

Of course, these cars are heavy and in the Netherlands road tax is by weight. Also, a Supercharged V-8 is even with the most featherlight right foot not exactly frugal when it comes to fuel. Small price to pay.
I'm looking forward to my summer holiday when I get to drive it again for two weeks!

Jeroen