SergeyM

I've just priced 2011 550 with Sport, Prem 2 and vent seats and ended up around $74K. How BMW expects to sell this car when its main competition (E550) sells for about 15% cheaper, not to mention $67K XF Supercharged?

pipper

i just built one with Cold Weather/Sport Package/Premium Package 2/folding rear seats (things i consider must haves) and it came out to $67K...same as a comparable e550. u sure u didnt go nutso with the options?
but regardless, BMWs have historically been a little cheaper than MB's, so either BMW jacked its prices, or MB lowered theirs.
with the euro collapsing nowadays, shouldnt these cars be costing less anyway????

TexaZ3

Easy. There are about 255% of buyers in US who don't give a crap about either E550 or XF. That will easily compensate 15% price discrepancy. :-)

Richard in NC

The MB E550 doesn't offer a true sport package, 19in wheels, adaptive drive or active roll stabilization. Configuring a 550i without those comes to $66K. The MB is $67K. Even with the sport package, Nappa leather, and other goodies, the 550i only comes to $72K. Its probably well worth the extra $5K in the driving experience. Yes you can go crazy with hi tech opts in the 550i. Fully equiped is probably north of $80K.

Plus with the BMW, you get 4 years of free maintenance. I bet that adds up to $100+ per month, or a good 10% over the payment.

skelevirus

Damn straight and for good reason, hence the shit eating grin on it's ridiculous looking whale face

sdg1871

List price is but one component of how expensive it is to buy a car. If you lease, BMW is offering decent lease terms on the F10s. Most of MB's leases come with ridiculously high money factors that literally pile hundreds of dollars onto the monthly payment -- meaning that the monthly lease payment of a MB will often be significantly higher than the lease price of the comparable BMW model; even if the BMW's list price were to be higher.

Having just spent 4 full days behind the wheel of a new MB E350 with AMG package that I rented in LA, I can tell you that the new E Class is not even closely comparable to the E60 in terms of sterring feel or handling. I thrashed the MB at full tilt last Sunday on Decker Canyon Road -- one of the LA area's toughest, most dangerous twisty roads -- 9 miles of constant curves and hairpins. The MB exhibited significant body roll, limited grip, slow responses and numb steering. A total chore on the twisties. That being said, it had a great highway ride when the road was straight.

I expect and hope that the F10 will maintain the handling edge that the E60 has over the current E Class MB. With as much as 400 extra pounds to carry, I am not 100 percent convinced that the F10 will be at least the handling equal of the E60. But I certainly expect it to trump the current E Class in handling (I am sure that the AMG cars handle much better than the regular MBs).

SergeyM

I did not go crazy, same options as mine, plus vented seats and hence Nappa leather, that was it. They made ARS a stand alone option, had to include it.

SergeyM

I agree with the E-class evaluation above completely, I test drove both E350 and E550, liked the look of the coupe a lot, but could not stand handling. That's why I got my now obsolete 2010 E60.

But what about XF-S? It was not readily available last year, but I drove XFR on a track and that thing handled very, very good. XF-S is a little less powerful, does not have those great Recaro seats but otherwise it should be almost as good as XFR.

sdg1871

I've driven the XF Supercharged and liked it a lot. Faster than 550 and an excellent handler -- not quite as tight as the 550I Sport but much much better than the E Class and perfectly acceptable for all but the most ferverent handling nuts like me. And of course, it's interior is much more lux than either 5 Series or E Class. Still, I want all out sports handling and I went with the 550. But I could totally see someone picking the XF Supercharged. The current one has 470 bhp -- 70 more than F10 550.

pinguhk

BM have lowered there price abit.
In HK with the same options in both cars MB is a little cheaper not buy much.