Poor ride consensus!!!!

[MercM2Mb]

The 211 is such an awesome ride. In every sense of the word. Maybe after 400.000 km on the clock it came into its own. Ha! But it's a t-rex by today's emission standards. Unsustainable. I still keep it.

The 213 however is just about as follows. Copied from an article from Autoexpress about the new GLC and I thought that's exactly how the 213 feels. ":
" There’s just no way of getting around how poorly the GLC (and the eclass 213 vs the 211 I say) rides. In spite of having relatively tall sidewalls on the tyres, which would normally soften the ride, the car’s damping is just too firm, making it feel pretty uncomfortable on all but the smoothest of tarmac surfaces.

There’s no real benefit to the handling as a side effect, either – the fun factor is clearly missing, especially when the GLC is competing with the slick-driving BMW X4 and Porsche Macan. The Mercedes feels heavy and ponderous down a twisting road, and while there is a bright spot in its sharp steering, it’s not enough to make up for what feels like an all-too-compromised overall handling package.

Truth be told, high praise for the brilliant, albeit diesel, engine. (the glc is a hybrid)

 

[Blobcat]

W213 on17” wheels is excellent and I’d say equally as good as a W211 on 17” wheels.

(I covered 100k miles in my W211 and 48k miles in my W213, so think I’m qualified to answer the real world comfort as opposed to a journalist who is unlikely to have been able to test for as long)

 

[Woodleigh]

W213 on17” wheels is excellent and I’d say equally as good as a W211 on 17” wheels.

Agreed; I've got 19 “ rum flat winters on my S213 and it's like riding on a magic carpet.

 

[sonic]

My 212 E350CDI is on 18" wheels, firm but acceptable, I have winter tyres on 17" wheels which are much better.
The wife first SLK was on 16" a great ride. The second was on 18" wheels, the ride was rock hard & unpleasant. We had a set of 17" winter wheels which was light years better.
Currently running the SLC250d on 17" all season wheels, its a nice ride.

 

[MercM2Mb]

I envy you guys. Of course my 213 feels way more nimble than the 211 and rides almost nicely on... nice roads. There you go, I still cannot say it rides nicely on any road however I see it.
I genuinely think that in the Mercedes world indeed there can be such differences in how two different cars of the exact/almost same model can behave for a lot of reasons, such as roads, tyres, temperatures, maybe a small defect somewhere in the suspension (?), set up, or elsewhere relevant. I would hate to call it inconsistent quality.
I also speak from personal experience. The car originally came with Dunlops, not Rf, 17". Very unsettled ride on local roads. Truth be told roads (motorways) here (cy) are not what they used to be due to lack of proper maintenance.
Will be changing to Bridgestones run flat very soon. Not bothered with RF's bad reputation.
Sometimes I think there is someting wrong with the car. Bought new btw to replace the old one and no one touches it but me and mb for service.
One last thing: specified tyre pressure for the 211 is 2.1 bar whereas for the 213 is 2.6 bar!
I love the car in most other respects.

 

[Blobcat]

I envy you guys. Of course my 213 feels way more nimble than the 211 and rides almost nicely on... nice roads. There you go, I still cannot say it rides nicely on any road however I see it.
I genuinely think that in the Mercedes world indeed there can be such differences in how two different cars of the exact/almost same model can behave for a lot of reasons, such as roads, tyres, temperatures, maybe a small defect somewhere in the suspension (?), set up, or elsewhere relevant. I would hate to call it inconsistent quality.
I also speak from personal experience. The car originally came with Dunlops, not Rf, 17". Very unsettled ride on local roads. Truth be told roads (motorways) here (cy) are not what they used to be due to lack of proper maintenance.
Will be changing to Bridgestones run flat very soon. Not bothered with RF's bad reputation.
Sometimes I think there is someting wrong with the car. Bought new btw to replace the old one and no one touches it but me and mb for service.
One last thing: specified tyre pressure for the 211 is 2.1 bar whereas for the 213 is 2.6 bar!
I love the car in most other respects.

Run flats will not improve ride quality… the stiffer sidewalls pass more load to the suspension.
Mine came on Dunlops, I’m guessing the roads in Cypress aren’t great

 

[grayb]

We sometimes ride in our friends SE spec W213 - the ride feels more sophisticated than our S212 (Avantgarde on 17"). I would be happy with one.

 

[Srdl]

I have a pre-facelift GLC on standard 19in wheels (standard for my model anyway) but it does have air suspension and the ride is lovely and handling not bad either.

 

[MercM2Mb]

Opinions respected!

But I think the press are right too. I feel Mb have somehow got it wrong this time compared with past offerings, maybe chasing bmw in the "driver enjoyment/engagement" sector . Not happening imho.
I cannot change my mind that the current set up ( not air susp) does not live up to legacy.
Just parked the car after my daily 40 mile return trip on the motorway. The front end feels loose, the suspension does not isolate well and the steering is vague, albeit willing to assist.
Time for a health check i guess .. 50K km on the clock.

 

[MercM2Mb]

Update. Second pair of 17" Bridgestone turanza fitted (RF mind you!).front. 101w vs 97y.

Ride has been transformed!! Steering vibrations at very low speed(s) disappeared. Ride is significantly smoother on the motorway and on any road. And this with a 2.7 bar pressure vs 2.2 in the Dunlops front/Bridgestones rear (it was so low as i did not correct it for a couple months or so).

All good. I am genuinely happy now!!! (Except for the cost of course euro370 x 2, but hey you only live once! And as my late dad used to say, if you cannot afford it, don't buy it)

 

[Srdl]

Update. Second pair of 17" Bridgestone turanza fitted (RF mind you!).front. 101w vs 97y.

Ride has been transformed!! Steering vibrations at very low speed(s) disappeared. Ride is significantly smoother on the motorway and on any road. And this with a 2.7 bar pressure vs 2.2 in the Dunlops front/Bridgestones rear (it was so low as i did not correct it for a couple months or so).

All good. I am genuinely happy now!!! (Except for the cost of course euro370 x 2, but hey you only live once! And as my late dad used to say, if you cannot afford it, don't buy it)

97 seems a very low load rating for an E Class. As for pressure, I always prefer to keep mine a little higher than the recommended figures.

 

[lewyboy]

Volvo XC90, superb ride and seats.

 

[AMGeed]

Volvo XC90, superb ride and seats.

Get back on the Volvo forum ya animal

 

[lewyboy]

Get back on the Volvo forum ya animal

Have you been over there?

I prefer it here!

 

[AMGeed]

Have you been over there?

I prefer it here!

No I haven't reached the pipe and slippers stage yet. I might be an old grunter but I have limits

 

[Chrishazle]

I can't believe that for the first time I have seen a post saying that changing the tyres from normal to RF has seriously improved the ride quality - the norm is that changing from RF to normal improves the ride quality! Must admit that no way would I install RF's on my cars - I changed the SLK from stiff sidewall Hankooks to Goodyear normals and improved the ride quality immensly, likewise the S204 when I changed to Michelin and ANOther all season tyres.

 

[rf065]

Cannot believe all the hate for runflats, nowhere near as bad as they were when BMW first fitted them years ago. Mine is on 19" runflats and it's like a magic carpet ride, maybe the air suspension helps but they cannot be that bad to start with.

 

[harrye500]

Volvo XC90, superb ride and seats.

I must say we had an XC90 in the summer from Enterprise (free upgrade) as even the W213 couldn't get us all in to Devon with the doggo, 5 adults and all the luggage! What a beautiful car - huge, cream seats and every conceivable extra known to man, including vented seats. Please don't chuck me off the forum

 

[Srdl]

That’s life on forums in general. People go by their experience from years ago and assume life is still like that. Seems to be the case with run-flats and Volvos but I have no recent experience of either so won’t comment!

 

[Blobcat]

I had an XC70 as a company car for 3 months, very nice with radar cruise and built in child seats. Absolutely awful on fool economy though - not sure if it was linked to the 4x4 system.
(XC70 is a large estate rather than an SUV for those who aren’t fully aufait with Ovlov model designation…)