No it’s boring. But it’s a Volvo. I also have a 17 E300. I prefer the Volvo.
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Thanks for your candor. I agree that the E300, while amazing on the inside, has a pretty lackluster ride. I’ll give the Volvo a test drive to see if it’s enough of an improvement to get me past this hump I’m in.
Off topic, but you even prefer the ride quality? What size wheels do you have on each? Every review of the -60/-90 cars I’ve read indicates that the ride quality leaves a lot to be desired…
My S90 has the air suspension option, I wouldn’t have got it due to the cost if I ordered the car but now that I drive with it, it makes a huge difference.
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I’d focus on the C43…most of the other sedans mentioned are boats relative to the C43…(not sure if you copied/pasted something you wrote in another forum, but where does ‘this forum’ seem to love the A6? There are hardly any recent A6 lessees here) and SUVs are going to have the high off the ground/high center of gravity feeling (is it a feeling when it’s just reality?)
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Max,
Thanks for the response. In regards to the A6, I feel like I have read a lot of posts spanning the past couple months which advocate the A6 as a sweet spot car that has attractive lease deals. I seem to remember 1 or two of them (having trouble locating them) talking about the '18 models have $10,000 on the hood. I’ll link a couple that I remember below. It could have just been that those threads were relevant to my searches which is why they popped up more than others.
The C43 does seem like it would be the most fun of the above options. The main detraction for me is the tablet sticking to the dash look of the infotainment, but I’ll have to test it myself to see how I feel about the car as a whole. I tested the C300 back in late 2016 when I got my current E300 and the glare on the tablet was pretty bad. I’m hoping that in the past 3 years they have at least addressed that issue. The engine and general cabin feel is exactly what I’m looking for, though.
I agree on the SUV’s. I’m trying to look at “lower” SUV’s if that makes any kind of sense. After further research I’m thinking of taking a look at the SQ5 and the GLA 45 to see how I feel about those cars. I think the GLA 45 will most likely be too small, though.
That being said, when I test drove the Fpace a couple years back I felt like it pretty much drove like a sedan.
Links I’ve visited that made me feel like the A6 is viewed positively around here:
Thinking out of the box: the lowest (to the ground) high-performance SUV is arguably the E63 wagon. Could you buy a CPO and sell it again in three years for less than a $24k delta?
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wagon? Yes, they retain value like crazy, a 2005 E55 wagon is still worth mID 30s, whereas a sedan would be lucky to get $10k.
2014 E63 sedan is aroundf mid 40s, 2014 wagons are 60 and up still, they barely depreciate.
Honestly OP if you can swing it that would be your best option by far
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I’ll add the wagon to my list. I’ve never purchased CPO before, but not against giving it a try for a good price. Though, with my love of Tech, I wouldn’t want anything older than 2017 max. I could always buy out my lease for my current car (~15k miles I believe on a 30k lease with 4-5 months remaining, Purchase option is $37,408) since it is a 2017. I was really hoping to freshen it up, though. New car for a new phase of life, if that makes any kind of sense.
What about an E450 wagon? it’s not as sexy and terrific as the E63, to be certain. However, it starts at $64k, and with 362 HP, MB claims 0 to 60 in 5.1, which is d**n fast, I don’t care who you are.
It’s a fairly unique vehicle, you won’t see a ton of them, and still ultra practical and a bit of a sleeper.
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Only the AMGs retain the value that well due to the hot rod status, no one cares about the regular ones.
And the E63 is super car fast, under 3 seconds to 60, 5.1 was considered fast maybe 10-15 years ago when it was a big deal an evo and sti could do low 4s to 60.
I stand corrected. I thought we were looking for a next car, not an investment or a track-day vehicle.
I beg forgiveness.
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Saw this on the MBUSA site after the above mentions. Based on comments it would be more difficult to find a good lease deal on it vs. the E450 sedan. an E450 would be great in general, but I don’t think that I can get it to my price point once it’s properly optioned. I would even take a 2018 but I’m not seeing many out in the wild.
BMW is the way to go for you, they do have apple car play with google maps and waze etc… I have it in my latest update.
I went from e300 to x5 (lease hacked paying 630$ for Msport 70k msrp) if you could find a deal there.
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I don’t think anyone whose first need is Android Auto is going to switch to ACP.
It’s like asking a Mopar guy to buy a Chevy.
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…He’s not wrong. That’s a great deal, but until BMW decides to add Android I can’t rationalize going with them. I won’t get into the whole Android vs. Apple debate. Suffice it to say I’m not remotely interested in switching.
I will say that the argument they make in favor of ACP vs. Android is poor. The fact that most other luxury brands are adopting is proof enough of that. I accept Porsche’s more honest answer: Google is asking for too much info and they don’t want to give it. That’s a fair enough reason and creates a place to start negotiations between the companies. From what I understand, Porsche is at least on the road towards integrating AA at some point in the next couple years.
I’m pretty much in the same boat as you but with 2016 E350 which lease expires in August. Having Android is not the decisive factor for me though. I was strongly considering Lexus GS350 F sport but not so sure anymore after the test drive. Nice solid car with a stellar reliability and good handling but it felt somewhat heavy and had a very muted steering feel. I hope my MB dealership will offer me a good deal on a E/C 300 loaner. I understand that they won’t be able to match my current $415 payment with 0 down on a $67K car. The other cars I will be considering are Audis A4/5/6, various Jags, 3 series, Golf GTI/R
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The Alfa Giulia while a great driving car is very tight, especially with the sport seats. I couldn’t deal with that fit on a daily basis. The standard seats are much better, but the back seat is also very tight and I would never recommend that for someone with two car seats. I’ve crossed that off my list, and would be more inclined to go with the Stelvio.
The comment regarding it being under budget is referring to a Base 2018, which in most cases would not include Apple Carplay/Android Auto, and would be a huge step down in features. There are plenty of higher trim Giulias which would be inline feature-wise with an E Class, but it is still a much smaller car.
The Stelvio would be the better Alfa option. It’s a very sport oriented smaller SUV that provides an engaging driving experience. While the back seats are still on the smaller side, they would probably be sufficient for two car seats. The middle seat is extremely tight, even without car seats. Higher trims are nicely equipped.
I’ve always driven sport oriented vehicles, and even I’ve been swayed towards some of the smaller sport oriented SUVs. My last two cars were a C Class and a Charger R/T, and I’m now considering a small SUV. My kids are older now, and my wife drives a 2018 Odyssey, so I don’t need anything too big. I’m now more interested in a nice balance of sport and luxury, and fortunately there are quite a few option available, especially in the price range you are looking at.
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I briefly looked at the GS350 but I struck it off my list. For whatever reason my neighborhood is straight saturated with Lexuses…Lexi? Whatever the Plural of Lexus is. I walk 2 miles in my neighborhood every day I feel like I see an RDX at every other house with smatterings of ES’s and GS’s everywhere. Beautiful cars, but I would rather have something different.
Thanks for your input! My sister in law purchased a Stelvio Q4 so I got a good look at it without having to head to the dealership. It’s a pretty car, but after sitting in it, I can say it’s not the one for me. The car has juice aplenty, but the interior really doesn’t speak to me. It’s really strange, the cheap plastics in the E-pace didn’t really bother me, but the interior in the Stelvio just feels kind of bland.
In a related story, I stopped by the Jaguar dealership over the weekend to take a peak around. I’m taking the F-pace off my list as it didn’t really speak to me. I’m not sure why I liked the interior of the E-pace more, but I guess people can be strange. So for now, I’m replacing the F-pace with E-pace on my list and eliminating the XF as I really didn’t like sitting in there.
I’m trying to rationalize adding the I-pace on to my list, but it’s not really practical or feasible. I like the look of it, but the pricing is just too high. I keep telling myself that because I live in NJ and don’t pay sales tax on EV’s, that it’s a good buy. At the end of the day, the value proposition just isn’t there with me driving under 10k per year. The second component is that demand seems high so I doubt there will be any kind of incentive this year.
out of the box here but what about the charger scat pack? monster performance at 0-60 in 4.4, almost 500 hp, v8 that makes all kind of noise. Missing the front camera on your list but has blind spot, heated seats and steering wheel and cooled front seats, not too much tech but has android auto, remote start and remote start through the app, adaptive cruise and automatic emergency braking, also backseats are bigger than an E class. It is a heavy car but handles well and will be able to keep up with v8 mustangs and camaro’s and walk those 43 amg’s (aka upbadged in my opinion). you could score a hellcat at what you’re paying now for the e300 but you lose a lot of tech to make room for cooling in the front, either way best of luck on your search.
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