all-new Mercedes E-Class W214 vs BMW 5 Series G60 comparison REVIEW
One of the most crucial comparisons is starting right now, Mercedes E-Class versus BMW 5 Series, both in the new generation. With Thomas and Autogefühl, in 4K, full screen, full length, let's go! Which one is the best? Here the Verde Silver-colored E-Class in the AMG line in the new generation with a very elegant and more traditional classic look, I would say. If you have Avantgarde or AMG trim, then you have the microstar pattern right here.
Here, you would still get an Exclusive trim where you still get the classic star standing on the top. Whereas we have the BMW 5 Series here in Brooklyn Gray with the M Sport, so both in this sporty exterior trim comparison. Now, you can see the double kidney has become a little bit wider here in this normal combustion engine version.
It looks also rather traditional here with the vertical fins. The electric version would not look too different unless you go for the M60 i5, then the front grille looks really, well, you know, more menacing actually. But here, I think, actually a very nice look. M Sport has some black contrasts.
If you look at both of the vehicles here from the front, you see that the BMW goes more into a sporty direction, whereas the E-Class has the more classic approach. Which one do you like best here so far? Turning indicator comparison, here in the front, you can see the E-Class on the top really horizontally. And we have the BMW with a different structure and you have this heartbeat pulsing effect. In the side profile, the length difference is about 11 centimeters or 4 inches because the Mercedes E-Class is at 4 meters 95 or 195 inches. Whereas the BMW 5 Series, especially in this new generation, has become much longer now at 5 meters 06 or 199 inches. The wheelbase difference is four centimeters or one and a half inches.
Also, once again, the BMW 5 Series has a little longer wheelbase there. Let's see if that translates into a longer legroom. Once again, in the side profile, the E-Class has the more traditional roundish sedan shape. Both have 19-inch wheels mounted, so also a very comparable choice, both with winter tires here, obviously now winter in Germany. And here also with the M Sport styling once again, the Brooklyn Gray color is pretty cool, isn't it? And here the BMW 5 Series in a design shows a more angular approach. Also big difference as for suspension technology. The BMW 5 Series you can get with an adaptive suspension, the air suspension only available on the rear axle if you have the plug-in or the all-electric version.
The BMW... E-Class or the Mercedes 5 Series, yes, of course, the Mercedes E-Class... offers a full optional air suspension, of course, also heavier in the price and so on, but that is then on both axles actually. But let's see if the 5 Series suspension can even that out, basically, that difference. And also, rear axle steering, both do offer that. However, Mercedes steers 4.5 degrees in the opposite direction, whereas the
5 Series only goes 2.5 degrees in the opposite direction, so the E-Class fakes a shorter wheelbase than the 5 Series does. In the rear, they also set on different stylings with the Mercedes E-Class, a little bit more playful. Here, look at that, the rear tail lamp signature here in this Mercedes star design, pretty cool idea. However, then in the bottom...
Autogefühl Fake Exhaust Police Alert because here, this is just a pure fake exhaust in this case. The BMW 5 Series, more of this German Bauhaus style, more angular design, also horizontally drawn tail lamps like this. M Sport has the black contrast in the lower part. I also found it interesting that the base models of the new 5 Series, they look more classy, more elegant.
The M Sport, of course, always adds this more menacing look. And we can see here, clean design, no fake exhaust at all. Turning indicators, here, actually, the BMW is a clear winner. This looks just fancier, whereas with the E-Class, it looks a little bit old school, or what would you say? But, overall, from the exterior, well, of course, I have exterior, interior, and driving today. So, first chapter, which one would be your favorite just from the exterior, which one in later interior, and which one in driving? You tell me in the comments, please.
Key for comparison, Mercedes and BMW, obviously. So, the BMW one is a little bit lighter. The Mercedes one has more metal ingredients, therefore, it feels heavier and a little bit classier. Then, the door handles here with the Mercedes, they are kind of integrated. You slide them and they come out like this, or also when you close the vehicle or open the vehicle. Also, when you approach the vehicle, then they sometimes automatically come out and have this illumination that looks pretty fancy, but to me, sometimes a little too complicated, I feel, and also the feedback they give is sometimes a little bit weird, actually.
Inside of the door, actually good build quality everywhere, just the high-gloss black overload here, I don't like that much, and also they don't have haptic feedback here. In comparison to the S-Class, actually, they step up the game in the E-Class, we have to say. Also, in the lower part, it's all soft touch on the outside part, inside part covered with felt, just here behind the back part not, but overall, they thought about the details. Steering wheel, this is the AMG line with two horizontal spokes, and once again, #capacitiveBS buttons. The normal steering wheel would look different. Has this slot design in the lower part and has one area left and right each.
Then the seats, this one here is animal skin equipment. They also have a full Artico high-grade leatherette seat, but they don't push it that much and also don't offer alternatives for the high trims and so on. But the overall seating comfort as for the the ergonomics of the seats is good with one exception. In the very, very low back part of the seat, there is something, you know, like, I don't know, maybe from that base seat, like metal or something, which can be kind of hard, like on the very low part.
Not sure why that is. I think they should work on that, but overall, you find good comfort and 1.86 or 6'9"... 6'9"? 1.86?
I don't know. Maybe... I'm not drunk. So, 1.89 or 6'2". I was mixing up the numbers totally.
I'm sorry about that. I'm just human. So, now, there's enough headroom left. There's also a panoramic roof available. At the moment, it's, you know, shade is open and you can actually also still open that.
So, this is available for the E-Class everywhere. In the 5 Series, you will just get the small panoramic roof you can open in the US or Northern American market. Otherwise, you will have fixed panoramic roof or nothing. But here you can pick between nothing and the one always you can open worldwide. Interior cockpit overview starting with the Mercedes here. Wow, kings of ambient lighting for sure.
I love it. Do you find it too much? Tell me in the comments. Of course, different colors are available. Like this or maybe also a green one to the Verde Silver exterior color.
The only thing is that in this case, I sometimes indeed put the brightness for the front light strip there a little bit lower because at night then it is blinding in the screen. Then, we have this layout here, digital instruments. It's kind of like, you know, like offset a little bit. Then, one huge screen here and you have this Super Screen.
This is an option. Otherwise, you would have the screen here and then the decor element there, which I found actually better because passenger screen... Not sure if there's so much use for that actually, or what do you think? Would you use a passenger screen? Temperature control, the bad thing is here you always have to do two clicks, one here and then plus minus or slide it. Yeah, in the other Mercedes infotainment system, you just can click plus and minus and it's always in that position, but here in the E-Class, not sure why they went for this software solution. And this digital vent control, I think, over-engineered.
Why would it need to be moved electronically? Just because Tesla has introduced something like this? And, I mean, manual is just fine. At least you can control it manually still. Infotainment system has this large tile view and Apple CarPlay or Android Auto has this kind of integration, wired or wireless. And the head-up display, you can pick different stylings also. For middle console here... What's cool here, you do not have to pick black piano lacquer.
You can also go for this structure, this bright carbon fiber-like structure, I would say, slightly open. And the cup holders, they are not really sufficient because they don't keep heavier bottles or higher bottles tight enough. Inside of the rear doors, all soft-touch materials here, just that they use the same thing that they use in the front and then black everything out, really.
But what's cool is also here, rear doors, lower part, soft touch here, also felt on the inside. That's definitely really good. And then, you can see here the rear legroom. It works for tall adults, but it's not, you know, that much considering the length of the vehicle. Headroom does exactly fit, I can put a hand over my head, and here, you know, this shoulder arm area is kind of narrow, so it is not ideal for rear passengers.
It's okay, but considering, again, length of the vehicle, you should have more space, I feel, and also a large middle tunnel you have here. A little bit more legroom here in the BMW 5 Series, this recess works a little bit better, also for tall adults. And, yeah, it's also a hand above my head here. So, I think the difference is not that large, but just a little bit better than here with the 5 Series. However, then here from the material at the inside of the doors, there once again the E-Class leads it.
5 Series here, this is then the solution where it is aerodynamic. At the same time, it's not that complicated. So, I prefer these door handles. Then the inside of the... wait a minute, door closing sound we have forgotten. BMW. That's solid.
And the E-Class. Hmm. Both nice, but the E-Class has this kind of old-school like a G-Class like closing mechanism, but both are cool. Back to the 5 Series here, so far so good, different styling for sure, but then in the lower part, this is your hard pack on the outside and also on the inside. Yeah, cost-saving at that price, not so sure, but there will be a price difference later on, I'll talk about that.
And then, the interior here, this is then the M Sport steering wheel, has one catch because the base steering wheel would also feature vegan material which is actually better in the material choice, I feel at least when I tested it, this one not available then. This is then animal skin. However, the seats are animal free and this is where BMW is actually going forward and leading because the material itself is actually softer, plush. And also more breathable than the animal skin material that they offer themselves and also that Mercedes is offering. So, this is actually pretty cool.
So, the seat comfort from the cushioning and the so-called Einsitzhöhe, listen and repeat, Einsitzhöhe, like the very top part that goes down. This is better here with the BMW, especially with the Comfort seat. You also get the Sport seat. I have tested both. Trust me, take the comfort seat.
Always, it's way more comfortable, as the name says. Headroom, tough comparison because this one here is the one with fixed roof. Remember, Northern American market gets a small, openable roof. Other than that, it's a fixed panoramic roof but with a shade there. Interior cockpit overview with the BMW 5 Series here with the more horizontally drawn screen unit, curved screen, two units, and then you might want to... wait a minute, this looks different than the recent i5 review. Yes, indeed.
The i5, the plug-in hybrid versions, and in the northern American market, the 540i Exclusively get this light bar. We also know from the i7 or from the 7 Series and so on. This one here, normal combustion engine, most versions then have this more simplified look.
It's actually cool when you hit the hazard lights here, then you still see where the ambient lighting appears, for example. So, but I don't think it's a bad thing because the other one, this light bar, is also splitting opinions. But I found that in both cases, they have this split here, they have this offset here, it should go further like this, somewhere here.
Like in the 7 Series. What do you think about this difference? E-Class 5 Series here, the steering wheel is way thicker in the 5 Series. Infotainment system here, at least you can directly press plus and minus, but Mercedes can just use a different software version.
I hope they will, but here for seat heating and heated steering wheel, you always have to go then in two steps, whereas with Mercedes, I can activate directly with the button at the inside of the door. Than the rest of the infotainment system, has this kind of app overload, I feel, so just too complicated from the whole system. Apple CarPlay or Android Auto integration here looks a little bit nicer, I feel, but just available wireless, no cable connection possible.
Digital instruments here look like that, completely different layout. See why driving a diesel can still make sense. And, of course, you also get a head-up display.
Both have inductive charging pads, which are also cooled, so this is featured in both vehicles. That's cool. Cup holders here are a little bit better in the 5 Series. Over here, more open atmosphere directly. And
this is a crucial difference here with the BMW. You can still control the infotainment system from below. Now, to the trunk comparison, let's open both and start with the Mercedes. E-Class 540 liters, here the width, good meter of 40 inches, also between the wheel arches then and the overall length is about 1.15 in meters or 45 inches, well usable and you can easily fold the seats from here. Then, with the BMW 5 Series, 20 liters less at 520 liters. The length here, however, is just a little bit longer, 1.17 or
in meters or 46 inches, of course, it's also a longer vehicle, and the width here, that one actually is limited in this lower part here. So, here between the wheel arches, it's just about 92 centimeters or 36 inches, that's why it also has less in the liter capacity. And folding mechanism, you have to go here on the top, but then you have to push through with luggage or like this, so this folding mechanism is not as luxurious as with the E-Class. And in comparison, both use four- and six-cylinder petrol and diesel engines.
Main technology difference is that the plug-in hybrids for the E-Class have a bigger battery, and also, as for the all-electric version, BMW has the i5, which runs from the same assembly line, whereas the E-Class has a separate model with the EQE. On the combustion engine side, we are testing the ICE or ICE models here today, in this case then with the E220D, and this one here is the 520D. So, the two-liter four-cylinder diesels, both have around 200 horsepower, but the E-Class has the higher electric boost, both are mild hybrid, and the E-Class also has more torque. However, since the BMW 5 Series is a little bit lighter, this one is better in the acceleration figure, 7.3 seconds. And 7.6 seconds.
Alright, let's start with the E-Class, and here, U-turn first. Wow, look at that! 4.5 degrees in the opposite direction, the rear axle here with the rear axle steering, opposite direction of the front wheels. That's impressive.
So, and that U-turn there, I can hardly do that with way smaller cars, so that is really impressive. And, of course, here the rear axle steering goes further than with the BMW. We'll soon compare it with the 5 Series, how it is there.
Both very same comparable engines. Next is acceleration, and for that, we go to the sport mode. We can select it here below. The pressing mechanism is not the best, however, but I can still press it down there, or alternatively, I press it in the screen.
That's possible. From 50 kilometers an hour, let's go! 100. 150. Still going. 180.
Plop, that's 190, so almost 200 kilometers an hour, 125 miles an hour. Doesn't feel too quick. It's also one of the entry-level engines, though, and the BMW will be a little bit quicker, at least on paper, it says. Let's see about that very soon, and you might wonder, that's a little bit strange, really, because the Mercedes here has a little bit better electric boost, has more torque.
Hmm, so a little more horsepower as well. Why is that? Well, the Mercedes here is about 140 kilograms or about 300 pounds heavier than the BMW in the very same spec, and that is the reason why the BMW is on paper a little bit quicker, but we'll soon find out how it feels in comparison. Of course, for most use cases, it will be absolutely fine.
Oh, there's a new C-Class in comparison. They look pretty much alike now C-Class, E-Class, S-Class, don't they? What do you think? Now, here, motorway driving, Sport mode, have a little bit more feet from the steering wheel, it reacts quite quickly, and that is unusual for Mercedes. So, if we compare previous generation E-Class to this generation E-Class. The clearest difference is that it now feels sportier in the ride, especially from the steering. When I do a lane change, for example, see here, I hardly have to turn the steering.
In the previous generation, that was different. So, more sensitive, that steering now, and the overall ride is also sportier, also with the air suspension here. So, also difference here, 5 Series-E-Class. Here, I have full air suspension as an option. That gives me that very cool typical E-Class ride as well.
I can also go back to the comfort mode and the air suspension is a little bit softer. And although this E-Class has become sportier with this generation, we still have some kind of comfortable, floaty ride. Then, assistance systems. Let's set it here to the cruise control in the adaptive mode and also the active lane-keeping assist. See here, this motorway bridge is a little bit bent to the left. And look at how smooth the active steering goes.
You can hardly see it moving, and it still keeps this slight left corner, so a high elaboration from this assistant system. Let's see the automatic lane change, how that was. That one works and is induced. Oh, wait, sorry, I need to tip it. Oh, that still worked. Interesting, look at that.
I always thought I can just tip it and then it does it, but you see. Lane change to the left also accelerates doing that. Wow. But it even worked when I hammered in there. Yeah, so do you know what I mean? So at first, I thought it's only with tipping.
But now, it obviously also works with, yeah, it both works. So either tipping it, the turning indicator, or hammering it in so that both works. Interesting.
So look at that, how elaborate that is. So that's really, really impressive how good the assistance systems are overall. We really feel at home here on the German motorway. The E-Class is also one of the Autobahn vehicles.
You just feel that here. 100 kilometers an hour, 60 miles an hour. Such a good insulation here. We hardly hear anything from the outside.
That's super impressive. It's extremely silent. Leah is already getting a little bit sleepy because she's so relaxed. Yeah, that's always a good sign as well. So when you see that your passengers are just relaxed, even if you did a, you know, recent acceleration or so, wow. So this is such a great ride here.
And you really have to think about, also compared to the Mercedes S-Class, what is the S-Class delivering more than the E-Class here? And I have to say, space in the rear for chauffeur reasons. Everything else, the E-Class is just way more than enough. I mean, And also, you know, some of the tweaks, material choice, and so on, to me, seem better in the E-Class than in the S-Class, told you earlier.
So, yeah, it seems to be also here with the driving part that the E-Class is once again the sweet spot in the Mercedes portfolio lineup. But, again, the question is, what about the 5 Series? So, we already felt that this one here is a little bit sportier now in this generation, and that has always been the thing, you know, that, yeah, E-Class, more comfortable, floaty ride, 5 Series, sportier, and so on. That was the main difference, but is it still the case? We're going to find out very soon.
Before that, crucial for that is here this motorway switch. Once again, we go back to the Sport mode. At least it only took me one click, even though I had to look down Here now, S-corner basically, going left, yeah, it feels a lot of fun, pretty cool, also enough torque from that engine accelerating out in the S-mode, also usually in lower gear. Yeah, it's a lot of fun to drive it as well now in the corner.
Really nice. Rear-wheel drive, or even if you had the all-wheel drive version, you would still keep the rear-wheel bias. Now I accelerate out of the corner. What a nice and smooth ride.
Beautiful. There we go. So, even though it's not the most powerful engine, 120, it's still a lot of fun and way more than enough. 140 kilometers an hour.
150. So here we are already pretty quick now on the motorway and even here at these higher speeds, well 160 kilometers an hour, it's remaining very silent. Now this transverse bump is coming. There we go, there we go.
Hardly feel it, although it's here in the Sport mode, the suspension, so great job from the suspension. Ah, there it is, you know, like when you have this wave in the road, and the air suspension is evening it out very well, so it's comfortable and sport at the same time. Both are equipped with 19-inch winter tires here, so it's also very well comparable, and it's also a good choice here. Wow, so you have to ask yourself... What else can you do better in the driving part? It is fun. It is somewhat sporty.
It is very comfortable. It is silent. It is super refined. The seats are also fine.
However, I told you earlier, like this very, very lower area, depending on how you touch that with your back and how your body posture is, cannot be ideal. Overall, it's okay, but I think there maybe the 5 Series can have an edge on the E-Class from the seats. You know, from the seat ergonomics itself, that could be something.
But everything else, wow. The air is getting thin for the BMW 5 Series. The Mercedes E-Class is now also sportier and still gets this typical E-Class driving feeling.
Wow. Really impressed, definitely, with this one. Can the 5 Series do anything against this? Now to the BMW 5 Series. Let's see here this U-turn.
It did work, but it was close. So, you feel here, first of all, longer wheelbase, this 4 centimeters or 1 and a half inches longer wheelbase, and also the rear axle steering just goes 2.5 degrees in the opposite direction, rear axle, the front wheels, not 4.5, and that's why it still worked, and it is, let's say, agile enough in U-turns, but the Mercedes E-Class just has an edge there. Yeah, and then, sad, a little bit longer wheelbase, also a little bit overall length, 11 centimeters, like four inches, so it does also feel a little bit larger overall, but that might also be, you know, like the architecture of the hood and so on.
I feel that the E-Class has actually, yeah, just, let's say, a lighter feeling visually. This one here is lighter on paper as for the real weight figure. As I told you earlier, like 140 kilograms or 300 pounds.
Let's see if we feel anything of that while driving. Let's go to the Sport mode for acceleration here. I'll select it with this drive select and then the side bolstring go a little bit tighter.
We start from 50 kilometers an hour. Let's go! That's 120. 140. 150. 160. Wait a minute.
Where's my watch? Time will tell. What I actually want to show you now is the direct comparison because I was just in the Sport mode now, but being with BMW, the special thing is you have to, for the sport shifting, at least to be more enhanced, also pull down that shifting lever, and then it says S in the instruments, so that gives you then the sportiest shifting, and then let's repeat this acceleration, see, I think there will even be a second difference or something. From 50 kilometers an hour, let's go. 120. 150.
And 180. There we go. So, interesting, that difference there. Yeah, I think that mechanism doesn't make any sense. It's also really silent. I mean, it's very windy outside today on both driving parts, and we hardly hear anything of that on the outside.
And we also can set, by the way, easily or deactivate the speed limit warning here for the new EU regulations. Press and hold the set button. With Mercedes is press and hold the mute button, or deactivate it in the screen, or here with BMW, press this lower button, and then here, press the warning for speed limits off. So, BMW and Mercedes, they have both thought of that, how customers can deactivate this annoying new EU regulation thing, and hardly anyone else. Tesla is offering it with one click on the display, but then there's no one yet who's offering similar hotkeys solution so far. It also is a great Autobahn vehicle, I can already tell you that so far.
Let's change the lane here. Yeah, very well done here. Also, not much work from the steering wheel is needed. Nice tuning also of the brakes. Wow, it also feels absolutely flawless.
Suspension-wise, there is no air suspension offered here, at least not full for both axles. Remember that from the EV version and the plug-in hybrid version, due to, you know, different weight and so on, that you can level it out better. They have then rear axle air suspension, but not fully, and here we don't have air suspension at all at this moment. However, it's equipped with the optional adaptive suspension by BMW, and that one is a very, very good suspension.
It also adapts here in the Sport mode, a little bit stiffer, and when I go back then to my Normal personal driving mode, then it's a little bit softer. And overall, it's that good that you don't really miss an air suspension. However, the driving feeling is then somewhat different E-Class to the 5 Series. So, in the E-Class, you have this typical, I would call it like a nose rolling feeling. It's something that has been actually ever since like the W123, I feel that this very special unique E-Class feeling. You know, when you look to the hood and the car is like rolling in a good way, you know, like on the longitudinal axle, and here the BMW feels a little bit more sportier balanced, I would say.
Steering is really direct in both cases. However, I have to say that maybe I even have a little bit more steering feeling with the Mercedes. So, both react very quickly, definitely. But I feel that the Mercedes is, yeah, I mean, a little bit more natural at the same time. So, that's a very interesting finding, isn't it? Check out the cruise control, also with active steering assist. The assistance systems are ready.
So, here, also very smooth transition from the steering wheel and, you know, here, I also have this special highway assist. I can also induce this active lane changing like this. Yeah, see here, also flawlessly done. Nice one. And in our earlier review of the i5, we could also see that I can even induce that when the vehicle is ready for that. Just with looking to the side.
So, they're rolling out that feature in a couple of markets, and that is also a very impressive feature we could test at an earlier stage then. Very, very cool. If you haven't seen that, you should check out that review as well.
Back to the vehicle itself, yeah, German Autobahn, the motorway, definitely feels at home. The longer wheelbase maybe gives you some kind of calmness, yes. Then, the seats are just awesome. Vegan leather is really very soft, gives you a lot of comfort. Also, the cushioning, this so-called Einsitzhöhe, listen and repeat, Einsitzhöhe, like the height of the upper seating part is better here, softer cushion. In the BMW 7 Series or the i7, it is even higher so that they can still have a differentiation between 7 Series and 5 Series.
Yeah, you know, manufacturers do that, that they can still justify, you know, because I said with the E-Class, I don't see any reason to go for an S-Class, you know. I even feel better in the E-Class. Here, 5-Series versus 7-Series, I feel because of the higher Einsitzhöhe, the 7-Series is even more comfortable, you know.
So, here, I would have a little bit more difference between 5-Series and 7-Series. Let's go here to the sport mode once again, this S-Combination. Also a lot of fun, great control over the vehicle. Yeah, here I feel that the 5 Series is a little bit lighter and more agile, I would feel. So, although I agree a little bit more with the steering in the Mercedes, oh yes, flying all over the place, you see what's happening. The BMW tempts me to drive a little bit sportier.
Yeah, acceleration out, the diesel here in this case is reacting a little bit quicker. And the 5 Series just tells me, you know, acceleration, we are 140 now. Oh, you felt that bump? That was even out by the air suspension better in the E-Class. And, you know, I'm just quicker at speed with that engine here.
Yeah, very interesting. And now let's... Oh, that's so nice. Citroën deux cheveaux, the 2CV.
It said Politenter. It was like a German wordplay between like police and the duck. It's hard to get it as non-German, but that's why I like the white green paint of the 2 Series, like imitating past police vehicles. They were green in Germany before. Now they're all blue, European, harmonized, and so on.
So back to the 5 Series. I went back to the comfort mode now. So, the sport mode there, the suspension was kind of stiff and didn't even out things that well. So, definitely that air suspension from the Mercedes gives me more balance and more spin between sportiness and comfort. Still, the suspension here is also really great.
Using the turning indicator. You know, there's the saying that BMW drivers don't use them at all. That's like this, you know, like this BMW drivers meme. Hey, they don't ever use turning indicators. But I feel they've done everything, and it's fun to do that because...
Wow, hammering them in is so awesome. So, you can, of course, always do this tipping function. Yeah, that's possible. At the same time, it's just so much more fun to really hammer them in because they give you such a great feedback. So much fun to do that. So, yeah, you also feel like in the E-Class, I was more like, yeah, even though it's sportier from suspension now, I'm super relaxed and everything is super comfortable and silent and so on.
This is also comfortable and silent in a way, but the 5 Series is just a little bit more engaging, and you can turn it into a positive when that's the thing that you seek, or on the other hand, you could also say, hmm, yeah, I don't want to be tempted. I want that to be this more relaxed driving. You know what I mean? Hmm, both definitely have something, and both are really, really awesome in the drive. Wow, that is something astonishing. By the way, the fuel economy is also not too far apart.
Here, we could score some, like, always, like, long-term motorway, and so on. So, these are, like, very low consumptions then, not talking city traffic, like, 6 liters in 100 kilometers for the 520d here. 39 MPG US, 47 MPG UK. The Mercedes E-Class—they are a little bit better, like 0.5, like half a liter better, maybe like 5.5 liters in 100 kilometers. And then also, like, you know, six, maybe seven MPG better, actually. So more like 45 MPG US, 55 MPG US. These are both excellent results, but the Mercedes seems, in that case, they are a little bit better, whereas recently tested with the petrol engines that BMW there is more fuel-saving than the Mercedes, both in the two-liter and the three-liter side, so also a very interesting aspect, but not that that would be the most crucial difference, actually, but this emphasis here, you know, between the how engaging the drive is, that is still present.
However, then Mercedes with the Sport here, more natural steering feeling, here also sport, but a little bit less natural in the feeling, I would say, actually. So, when you look at the previous generations, that was always like, yeah, okay, the Mercedes is the comfortable one, the BMW is the sporty one. Mercedes has taken that away in a way now because they can also do sporty, but here's really about the, you know, like, how are you tempted to drive sporty or not.
Then the question is, what is more important to you? What is more important to me? It was kind of clear that it was a very close race here today, but which one would I take home, which one would I recommend to you, and which one would you take home? Tell me in the comments. I have to say, both are really on top of their segment, excellent vehicles, no doubt, and you can't really say that one is bad or one is good or something. However, I do have a clear decision for you here today still.
On the exterior, I think It is definitely personal preference. The BMW has this more sporty, angular look, whereas the E-Class goes more into a classic, traditional, elegant direction, so that just depends on what you prefer. On the interior, the stylings are also really different, and I think it's good that both have their unique positions, actually. The BMW 5 Series has more legroom in the rear. It's also the longer vehicle, has a little bit more wheelbase, so that's actually no wonder.
But, that might be something you might want to consider if you're driving with rear passengers, you know, a lot of times. As for the seating materials, BMW has better and more choices of animal-free and more sustainable materials, so that's a plus point for the BMW. Seating comfort is good with both, actually, so that also depends a little bit on the body posture. Surprisingly, I found the user interface a little bit easier within Mercedes E-Class. You get along with that a little bit quicker, and it's a little bit more straightforward. So, I do prefer the user interface in the Mercedes.
As for the driving, well, that is also a surprise. Before, it was always, yeah, okay, the BMW is the sporty one, the Mercedes is maybe the more comfortable one. Now, Mercedes with the new generation, as for the steering setup and the suspension, it is more fun to drive than the predecessor, actually, and also sportier feeling, so that kind of evens out the balance a little bit.
However, it is still the case that the BMW 5 Series is a more engaging car to drive. It tempts you more to drive sporty, whereas the E-Class has this typical floaty feeling, especially if you go for the optional air suspension. Overall, I have to say, since the rear-axle steering acts in a wider way, it helps you more when parking in and out and so on, and you have this nice, floaty, comfortable ride, and I also feel it's a little bit more silent, overall more comfortable, especially for passengers. At the same time, you don't lose too much sportiness.
So, overall, I would today go for the Mercedes E-Class with the combination of this typical E-Class floaty ride. At the same time, I have driving fun and the better user interface. However, the BMW still has a good point with the seating materials, with the overall comfort it offers, and also with the engaging ride.
Definitely a very close call. That was just a, you know, spontaneous gut decision. This is all when price doesn't play any role. However, if we then take pricing into account, these test vehicles here that are very comparable as they are specced are 84,000 Euros for the BMW 5 Series and 104,000 Euros for the Mercedes E-Class, so 20,000 Euros difference. And then, of course, you have to ask yourself if the E-Class is 20,000 Euros better? So, if I could freely pick and same price, I would go for the E-Class, but €20,000 difference, well, I mean, of course, you also have to look at leasing rates.
They might differ from here to here. Yeah, but definitely, my gut decision was for the E-Class. This time, it was the Mercedes.
Last time in our comparison, it went a little bit differently. Check it out.
2023-11-24 10:17
