dirksqjaw

So, I'm back in Vegas for a few weeks and my brother in law has a fully loaded (and I seriously mean fully loaded - car was originally going to be shipped to my neck of the woods (Dubai), but my my BnL is good friends with the Merc dealer in vegas who picked it up for him) MB E550. He was out of town for a week and let me use the car while I was back.

As a background - In Dubai, I own a '04 545i. I know jack and shit about MB's. No idea the size of engine, wheel base, anything. The only MB I'd ever consider owning is the CLS 5's, so my perspective is just based upon experiences with the car.

Thoughts:
Look - First time I got into the car the luxury almost overwhelmed me. The level of finish in the car is very high indeed. The wood accents are beautiful but almost to excess. The feel and layout of all the controls and other surfaces are fantastic. The speedo/tach instrument panel looked to be an LCD (had night vision) and was just wonderful to look at. The back seats were HUGE with an amazing amount of leg room for a car that doesn't really seem all that bigger than my E60. The boot was also voluminous, with two full sized hockey bags easily fitting in. Again, the overall impression was sheer luxury. Almost over the top, almost.

Drive - The automatic knob was actually on the tree with a click up/down movement to engage drive/park/reverse which felt odd but I got used to. The steering was extremely light, I could have driven full time with my pinky finger. It tightened up at speed but was still very light. High speed cornering felt wallowy with more body roll than felt safe, but the seat did inflate to on whatever side to keep me planted in the seat! High speed cruising was bliss - completely isolated from the outside world, 120 mph felt like 70. While the acceleration of the car was nothing to write home about, the power felt always on tap at any speed and I never wanted for passing power. The transition was a bit rough on downshifts, it didn't feel as elegant as I would have otherwise expected.

Overall - Cruising around in this exceedingly well appointed MB made me feel like my first name was "Sheikh". It's a great little escape from the hectic world outside of the car, an insulated capsule of leather and wood.

I couldn't wait to get back to my E60. The E550 is a pig! (A very lovely pig, but still a damned pig!)

Long live BMW...!

LW78

The back seats were HUGE with an amazing amount of leg room for a car that doesn't really seem all that bigger than my E60

That's why Merc's are always used as taxi's.....

Serious: good to see that a brand new E can easily compete to a '04 5 Series!

Gene

530ISPORT

i almost got the pig.... till i drove my car... i would of spent less money a month on the e class... but went with the best the E60 is king hands down.... good write up...

dirksqjaw

My brother in law offered me first dibs on the car beginning of next year (he's upgrading), would get good price and he'd even ship it over as a gift. I'm thinking of getting it for the wife! It was fun to drive for a week but man, nothing compares to the driving experience of E60 IMO! It did give me the idea that some interior mods to up the luxury factor is in order...

KU530

I come from a family that has been driving MB for a long time. I was never impressed with the performance of them hence why I own a Bimmer. My dad used to drive nothing but Bimmer but I think as he as gotten older he craves the luxury appointments over the power and driving experiance. Sure the MB has the e60 beat on extra stuff in the cockpit but it wont leave you smiling everytime you drive it. It is like bringing kool-aid to a Gin party. So long live BMW

GT Premi

Did you even bother to look at what you were driving??? You are describing an S550, not an E550!

Good thing you put in a disclaimer in your background because it shows!

theXman

Dirk - For a split second, I thought you were going to switch over as I read it. But then you called it a pig.

Brit_in_NJ

My first ride in the latest E class (taxi) was as a passenger and if I were to have someone drive me round all day I'd go for it too (although I think I'd prefer a Rolls!)

However I much prefer driving so e60 it is

Richard in NC

I wondered about that. I drove an E550 and didn't recall it as he described. I only glanced in an S550.
Wasn't interested in either although an S65 AMG sure did sound good.