2011 W212 E350 vs. 2009 Genesis 3.8 Tech

[w211e46]

Hello fellow members,

My wife sold her previous car last year and after much contemplation, we decided to buy another benz: a 2011 E350 Sporty with premium 2, driver assist, park assist, folding rear seats, and leather (yes, leather is NOT standard on the E).

After spending some quality time behind the wheel of the W212, I've come to respect the Hyundai more.


For the Benz:
- Mercedes really improved the solidity and refinement over the previous E class. As trite as it sounds, this car feels like a bank vault.
- Active safety features - this is the main reason we went with this car, as my wife and I welcomed our first child. My wife's a good driver, but it's just another safety net.
- Ride compliance - despite the E being a "sport" model, the suspension, though firm, absorbs bumps very well. The dampers and springs are very well tuned, and there's none of the floatiness I experience with the gen on the highway.
- Convenience factor: comfort access from any door, auto closing trunk, "hold" feature at stop lights, 3d renderings of cities on the nav, bluetooth audio streaming, mbrace iphone app, etc.


For the Gen:
- For a car that costs 20K less, the Genesis gives up little by way of road noise and solidity. The benz's doors close with a more reassuring sound and the overall feel is more refined, but only slightly.
- Infotainment - using the navigation in the Hyundai with more hard buttons is a vastly more convenient experience. The Benz's system is more asthetically pleasing, but overall ease of use goes to the Hyundai. Also, the surround sound audio on the Lexicon sounds more natural, neutral and less processed than on that of the benz's harmon/kardon system (though it does have more thumping bass, if that's your thing). Oh, and the rear view camera is pretty bad on the E.
- Space and comfort - The Gen's interior feels much less cramped and just as comfortable. It's a shame the Gen's suspension has a tendancy to crash over certain surfaces.
- better off center steering feel.
- value proposition - Hyundai's in the past have been attractive because they're cheaper and less expensive alternatives to the competition. Now they're just less expensive.


It's been a great 2 years of trouble free miles with the Gen. I'm looking forward to many more years of ownership

 

[ifonline]

Don't forget cost of ownership as well, the primary reason I got out of my Mercedes. $400 oil changes in the MB are a joke.

 

[Ruissimo]

Thanks for the comparison. Good to see an impartial review from someone who owns a Hyundai and a premium brand.

As for the German service comment above... DITTO. I was just quoted $600 for my 75,000 service. This did *NOT* include a recommended timing belt replacement ($800) and a recommended water pump replacement ($200) at 75,000-80,000 miles! Oh, did I mention my A/C is on its last leg too?

German cars are great to own while under warranty.

 

[tonygxp]

a friend purchased a 2004 E55 for mid $20k with 40k miles on it and purchased a mercedes 100k mile warranty for $2800. in less than a year of ownership his repair bills for the E55 have topped $10k almost all of which were taken care of under the warranty. i forget the time limit on the warranty but he's vowed to get out of it before that happens, not very reassuring when you know there's an expiration on your ownership..

 

[w211e46]

Thanks for the comparison. Good to see an impartial review from someone who owns a Hyundai and a premium brand.

As for the German service comment above... DITTO. I was just quoted $600 for my 75,000 service. This did *NOT* include a recommended timing belt replacement ($800) and a recommended water pump replacement ($200) at 75,000-80,000 miles! Oh, did I mention my A/C is on its last leg too?

German cars are great to own while under warranty.

I agree, any German car is expensive to own out of warranty, which is why my wife and I ( with the exception of my previous m3) don't own usually own cars fr more than 4 years.

We negotiated the 5year 50k maintenance program into the price of the car (they basically threw it in for free after we mentioned we were considering a 5 series as BMW includes all maintenance), so hopefully maintenance won't be too much of a financial burden. The dealer also has a pickup service where they drop off a loaner car at your home and pick up the car for service. Pretty convenient for my wife who's a stay home mom raising a 1 y/o.

She previously had an '06 e55 amg, and that car was completely problem free. We never once took it to the dealership for anything outside of regular maintenance, albeit very expensive maintenance lol.

 

[TJPark01]

Hello fellow members,

My wife sold her previous car last year and after much contemplation, we decided to buy another benz: a 2011 E350 Sporty with premium 2, driver assist, park assist, folding rear seats, and leather (yes, leather is NOT standard on the E).

OK, so you had to order this car correct?? I assume you know the new 2012 with the DI 3.5 V6 is coming out in the fall.
First Drive: 2012 Mercedes-Benz E-Class

 

[w211e46]

OK, so you had to order this car correct?? I assume you know the new 2012 with the DI 3.5 V6 is coming out in the fall.
First Drive: 2012 Mercedes-Benz E-Class

We did not order the car. It was a car our dealership had in inventory.


Yes, I am aware of the new DI engines, as well as the twin turbo v8 in the E550. The issue we had with that is it's a relatively new engine - teh current 3.5L v6 has been around for many years and has proven its reliability. Long term durability of DI engines is speculative as exemplified by late model audi's having issues with carbon buildup in their fsi engines.

The '12 will also have other minor improvements, like a color lcd for the center guage in lieu of the current monochrome one.

We also got a substantial discount on our '11

 

[TJPark01]

We did not order the car. It was a car our dealership had in inventory.

Really? When I was in the mkt...I couldn't find an 2010 E350 with leather in the whole of the state of California. The dealers kept on trying to get me to either buy a E550 or order one from sindelfingen germany. Since you don't keep cars for more than 4 years, a DI engine under warranty shouldn't matter to you, but, I guess you needed a car now.
I ended up buying a 5 series instead.

 

[w211e46]

Really? When I was in the mkt...I couldn't find an 2010 E350 with leather in the whole of the state of California. The dealers kept on trying to get me to either buy a E550 or order one from sindelfingen germany. Since you don't keep cars for more than 4 years, a DI engine under warranty shouldn't matter to you, but, I guess you needed a car now.
I ended up buying a 5 series instead.

Inventories for E350s are definitely saturated with cars with MBtex. The car we bought was meant to go to the customer that ordered it, but apparently that deal fell through. We wouldn't have minded the mbtex - it does a good job emulating leather...but it was hard to find a car with the folded seats, p2, park/driver assist, and hte color we wanted. We did want the black ash wood trim, but instead settled for the burl walnut, but that wasn'ta deal breaker.

It's true the car will be under warranty, but DI engines have had issues as early as 10K miles. It's a new engine...I did not want my wife to have issues with it especially while driving our son around. I guess we took the conservative route. But whatever, it was the price that we couldn't pass up.

5 series are also solid cars. Did you get an e60?

We were considering an F10, but it's the first year of this model cycle and bmw hasn't really addressed the issue with HPFP failures.



In any case, I have a higher appreciate for what hyundai did with the genesis



ps. you're korean, yes?

 

[TJPark01]

Inventories for E350s are definitely saturated with cars with MBtex. The car we bought was meant to go to the customer that ordered it, but apparently that deal fell through. We wouldn't have minded the mbtex - it does a good job emulating leather...but it was hard to find a car with the folded seats, p2, park/driver assist, and hte color we wanted. We did want the black ash wood trim, but instead settled for the burl walnut, but that wasn'ta deal breaker.
It's true the car will be under warranty, but DI engines have had issues as early as 10K miles. It's a new engine...I did not want my wife to have issues with it especially while driving our son around. I guess we took the conservative route. But whatever, it was the price that we couldn't pass up.
5 series are also solid cars. Did you get an e60?
We were considering an F10, but it's the first year of this model cycle and bmw hasn't really addressed the issue with HPFP failures.
In any case, I have a higher appreciate for what hyundai did with the genesis ps. you're korean, yes?

I couldn't find the car I wanted. The fact that you found one that was ordered doesn't surprise me because the ones that all the dealers order never have leather or folding rear seats.
I wouldn't worry too much about DI motors, they're pretty common place now. As are turbos, or both. I bot the new F10 with the N55 DI twin scroll turbo. I have owned it for 11 months and haven't had any issues with it mechanically. The HPFP issue was with the previous gen N54 twin turbo. The new ones have not had issues.
But I have to say one thing. The BMW cost nearly 2x as much as the Genesis V8. And it simply isn't 2X the car. The Genesis is one hell of a car for the money. I am really interested in the next generation and the well publicised midsize rear drive sedan they are working on that will share the Genesis platform. (3 series competitor).

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[Metro201]

All,

I have both. My wife drives the Genny and I purchased the 2011 W212 E350 Bluetec. I have 22k on the Genny and 1500 on the Merc after a few days of ownership.

Being totally honest here, I would save the money and buy the Genny. Sure, the ride is better, interior a little more refined, better MPG but it is a Diesel. The Genny is a great car at a great value not to mention more roomy.

Why did I purchase the E350, well I put about 60k hard road miles on a car each year and wanted something that gets better mileage. On the road i regularly hit 700 to 800 miles per tank highway. But when I get home, we jump in the Genny. The Genny I immediately fell in love, the Mercedes is nice, but I dont have the same feelings for it.

Just my two cents worth.

Cheers!

 

[TJPark01]

The Genny I immediately fell in love, the Mercedes is nice, but I dont have the same feelings for it.

Just my two cents worth.

Cheers!

What is it about the Diesel Merc that doesn't grab you? Is it the noise, the lack of free revving high RPM? Please elaborate if you would.

 

[Metro201]

Great question. The engine noise is very minimal, it has a great deal of low end torque. The Genny being a gas engine seems to pull forever with the higher redline.

It might be due to the amount of research I did prior to purchasing the Genesis and the fact that you still dont see many.

Dont get me wrong, I like the my Mercedes, it is a great car. But the Genesis feels like an old friend. After I put some miles on the Mercedes maybe I will feel the same way.

Yes, I do get attached to vehicles.

 

[TJPark01]

I have a pretty good sense of what you mean. I have a new 2011 BMW 535i, but every time I drive and the Genesis, I'm reminded at how good it is. The BMW cost 2X as much but it's not 2X the car.
The Genesis has better visibility, better drive train, and it's just easier to drive. I like the Bimmer, but it has a learning curve.

 

[Metro201]

I thought about the question on my commute today and another reason might be I EXPECT the Mercedes to be all that plus more. The Genny on the other hand is a Hyundai. I agree that the Genny always surprise me of what a great car for the value.

 

[izhd]

what kills me is that they're putting leatherette in luxury cars. And not so long ago they made cloth interiors as well. How sick is that?
Yesterday I brought my wife's Mercedes to the dealership for some estimates. There are crowds of people, taking order, bringing coffee, etc. I guess it's all included in price we pay for those cars.
One things I loved about Gen 4.6 is that it had everything I need. I absolutely hate those "packages". The luxury car should have all features available. period.

 

[jailer]

The BMW cost 2X as much but it's not 2X the car.
The Genesis has .. better drive train, and it's just easier to drive. .

Ahh. Interesting TJ. Better drive train... really ??

 

[Ruissimo]

$5.00USD says it's the same ZF tranny in both cars!

 

[TJPark01]

Ahh. Interesting TJ. Better drive train... really ??

The Genesis' normally aspirated V8 and 6 speed has a creamy power delivery. I prefer it to BMW Turbo charged Direct Injection inline 6.

$5.00USD says it's the same ZF tranny in both cars!

The BMW uses ZF new 8spd. The 4.6 Genny uses ZF 6speed, that's been around a long time and is tried and true.

 

[Gambler]

Pay the man