W221 Sports

[alim]

I am thinking about a W221 320CDI. Most available appear to be in Sport or Avant Garde form. Very few elegance. I previously owned a 3 series sports, the ride quality was very poor and I really did not enjoy the car. Is the W221 sports also quite poor in ride quality and is one better to obtain an elegance??

Any difference between AG models and Sports?

Thank you

 

[Blobcat]

I think you mean the W211 rather than a W221 (221 is the S Class and doesn't have trim levels). Sport is an Avantgarde with a few options already loaded on, the suspension is lowered on both but also a bit harder on the Sport. I have an Avantgarde with the sports suspension and 245 x 17 tyres and the ride is very good. It is noisy on concrete motorways but very comfortable. I went for another Avantgarde as the Sport was limited to just black interior which I don't like. Sport also has flappy paddles as standard.
Elegance are fine but not as common as you have found and some don't like the Walnut wood which the Elegance has. The Elegance also rides higher, I cannot say if they are more comfortable than an Avantgarde as I haven't driven one. I do have a colleague at work with an E280CDI Elegance and he loves it.
I would find the one with the most toys regardless of trim level and if the price is right buy it.

 

[alim]

w211 rather

apologies for that. definately the w211 that i was referring to. is there a reason why not many elegance models for sale?? is that because not many sold or because lots of people trying to get rid of sports/ag models and those with elegance model generally happy??

is there much difference between the drive of the c class and e class?? i recently drove the s class (s320) and found it wasn't for me - too large and not enough power off the mark. is the e class a similar beast or closer to the c class??

i guess what i'm trying to decide between is c320 cdo or e320 cdi?

 

[Blobcat]

apologies for that. definately the w211 that i was referring to. is there a reason why not many elegance models for sale?? is that because not many sold or because lots of people trying to get rid of sports/ag models and those with elegance model generally happy??

is there much difference between the drive of the c class and e class?? i recently drove the s class (s320) and found it wasn't for me - too large and not enough power off the mark. is the e class a similar beast or closer to the c class??

i guess what i'm trying to decide between is c320 cdo or e320 cdi?

I think that there have been a lot more Avantgarde and Sport models sold, Elegance just isn't as popular as it used to be and with the options already on the Sport model Mercedes have just sold more of them.
The 320CDI is a flying machine and is very nice in the E, I've driven a few 204s and 203s but I don't get on with the C as much. I don't like the styling of the dash as much nor the plastic door trims on the new C.
Most C's I've driven have the Sport / AMG package which can make the ride harsh (IMHO).

 

[alim]

would you say much faster than the s320cdi. don't get me wrong if really pushed the s320cdi is fast but you really have to put your foot down. the s class (w220) can feel sluggish when driven non aggressively

 

[Alex M Grieve]

apologies for that. definitely the w211 that i was referring to. is there a reason why not many elegance models for sale?? is that because not many sold or because lots of people trying to get rid of sports/ag models and those with elegance model generally happy??

is there much difference between the drive of the c class and e class?? i recently drove the s class (s320) and found it wasn't for me - too large and not enough power off the mark. is the e class a similar beast or closer to the c class??

i guess what i'm trying to decide between is c320 cdo or e320 cdi?

It may well be that MB sold many more AG than Elegance and that is reflected in the numbers on the used market?

You find the same with E Class and with CLS, most of the cars for sale are diesel - because most of the cars sold initially were diesel.

AG has the major advantage of Xenon lights, which possible draws people towards it? I had a 320 CDI AG for 3 1/2 years and loved it. It is probably the benchmark car of its size.

I think the 320 CDI is unbeatable and would have that every time.

 

[Blobcat]

would you say much faster than the s320cdi. don't get me wrong if really pushed the s320cdi is fast but you really have to put your foot down. the s class (w220) can feel sluggish when driven non aggressively

A lot faster than a W220, the W220 has the (excellent) IL6 engine this is ~25hp down on the V6 as fitted to the later W211s. I had the IL6 in my W210 (and loved it) it was nothing like as fast as my V6 W211.

 

[Blobcat]

AG has the major advantage of Xenon lights, which possible draws people towards it? I had a 320 CDI AG for 3 1/2 years and loved it. It is probably the benchmark car of its size.

I think the 320 CDI is unbeatable and would have that every time.

Agreed, I'd forgotten about the standard xenons on the Avantgarde and Sport. I wouldn't be without them now.