E200 vs E220

[Troglodyte]

I was recently talking to the owner of a W124 E200, who claimed that the 200 is a smoother and more refined car than the 220. Is there anyone here who has experience of both cars that can verify this for me? I'll probably buy a 1994 or 1995 W124 in a few weeks, and I'd really appreciate any opinions on the relative merits of a 200 against a 220.

 

[flagstaff]

well ... simply put, the 220 has more horses than the 200. 150 as against 120-something. from my experience, the 220 is very smooth - to the point of it appearing to have stalled at idle speed. and this is with an engine carrying 165,000 miles, and in need of tappet work. and possibly cylinder head gasket also ... don't get me started.

i doubt that in real world driving you will notice much difference between the two. with the earlier 8V motors the difference will have been appreciable, with the 2.0l noticeably lacking in grunt, especially in the the heavier bodyshell of the estate, for instance.

the 220 has variable valve geometry on the inlet cam (maybe the 200 has this also), which produces very brisk acceleration at wide throttle settings, and good tractability at low revs. and a lovely throaty induction roar, to boot.

drive one of each, see what you think. in general, i side with the old american adage: there's no substitute for cubic capacity.

my guess is that your guy with the 200 favours it because he has one. it's only human to think like that.