520d vs e220d?

bittihuduga

i am in the market for an upgrade.

stuck between Merc E220D vs BMW520D - 191 reg cars.

they both look great. BMW is more sporty feeling during the drive but merc dashboard is so cool. drive is great too.

what would you do if you were in my place?

any suggestions picking between the 2?

also i saw another thread where someone was asking if its bad to buy diesel now.

beachhead

The E220d is a great drive and economical.Can't comment on the BMW.Diesels will be around for a long time to come(they are maintaining their value).No way will current targets for the so called environmentally/nature friendly electric cars be met unless the government buys every owner out of a petrol,diesel or hybrid car-personal and commercial..My next car will be hydrogen powered-I will skip electric completely.

Darc19

Throw the Volvo S90 into the mix. https://www.donedeal.ie/cars/Volvo/S90?year_from=2018&year_to=2019

Not a huge choice at the moment, but they are superb.

I'd have no issue with diesel as you'll get your full value out of the car assuming you are keeping it for a few years. A low mileage 2018 might make more financial sense

blingrhino

We had both in our house.

An 181 e220d and 171 520d.The bmw was a far surperior driving car and probably faster than the merc but suffered endless problems and niggles - run flat indicator nearly always on,needed discs and pads after 50000 miles,loss of power starting off,bulbs going,creaking noise from back left.

The mercedes was flawless no issues in the 2 years and extremely comfortable, unbelievably economical but ....boring.

I think you have to be off a certain age for the Merc.

bittihuduga

thank you for inputs. i hear about the age too :-)

Donie75

The Audi A6 is a nice option too. It’s a big car but looks very smart with the right wheels.

LasersGoPewPew

I have driven the G30 520d, w213 E220d, and S90 inscription. For me the Volvo S90 was the best of the 3. It has the most tech as standard, its very comfortable, the seats are amazing. However the boot is the smallest of the 3. I haven't driven the new model A6

One issue I have with the S90 is the gearbox is a bit slow/not as smooth off the mark without the polestar upgrade than the 2 germans, but the polestar upgrade from the dealership fixes this. The selection of s90's on the market is very poor at the moment thanks to brexit as people are snapping them up. They are beautiful and quite reliable from what I heard from a friend in the trade. Every time I see one I think they are very striking yet elegant at the same time.

Bmw is awful for reliability outside of a warranty with the least tech as standard. That's why you never see a 5 series as a taxi. The E220d is probably more reliable than the S90 but the better standard tech in the S90 wins it for me.

I rank them in this order.

1. S90

2. E220

3. G30

bazz26

How many S90 do you see driving around as taxis if you are judging how reliable a car is by the amount used as psvs? What about the Audi A6, none of those being used as psvs. The main reason the 5 Series isn't common as a taxi is because the saloon is not very practical, even a split folding rear seat was an option on them which makes them practically useless as a PSV. Even the number of E Class taxis has dwindled over the years, the Toyota Prius seems to be the weapon of choice as a taxi these days. And lets not kid ourselves, any of these cars will be expensive to repair outside of warranty.

bittihuduga

i had not considered S90.will check them out. I did have an eye on A6 at some stage.

I noticed A6 pricing was same as E220 and 520d. but i thought A6 was one class less.

(may be my lack of knowledge)

bazz26

A6 is a rival to the 5 Series/E Class and S90. Your probably thinking of the smaller A4.

jmreire

I'd be going for the E220, but I'm biased because I already have an E220 ,not 191 reg, unfortumantly, but was in one yesterday, and as you have said, its something else. The owner has driven only MB E class in twenty years, first as it was a company car, but when he retired, he choose the E220 again, the one I was in. Aside from the comfort element, he finds it very economical, and in his experience, has never had any major technical issues.I'd say that down the road we will all be driving EV's,,, but not for quite a few years yet.

omri

Can’t comment on the E220. G30 after 3 years didn’t cause me any troubles. I’d suggest going with comfort seats for better comfort.

If some people report endless troubles then perhaps that’s unit specific.

For example there are well documented issues with the new xc90 does it relate to their other cars I don’t know.

jmreire

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117760934#Comment_117760934

Well, I'd fit the age part anyway, but I've driving many different vehicles, and in many different Countrys too...and on roads (or lack of them !!! ) you would not believe. But even on the Irish secondary roads, I find that the E class 220 ( or even the 200 ) performs very well, given that the E class is more or less a long distance motor cruiser type vehicle. And in Germany, you will find that the the E class ( and S class too) are most common make of taxi's. And with the 220 engine producing 170 BHP ( and mappable to higher levels) and mated to a 7 speed automantic transmission, it's quite a car, IMHO. I'm on my 2nd one presently, an it ticks all the boxes for me, But its a very subjective thing. I have not yet driven any Volvos much, so cannot comment. The BMW is a fine car, but as has already been pointed out, it can have annoying mechanical niggles. + the N47 timing chain did a lot damage to the brand. The A 6 are fine cars, I owned one at one stage, and would not say NO to another one....main problem I found with it was the the suspension / steering links need replacing frequently., and that irish roads are to blame for most of it.

bittihuduga

do you feel E220D to be bulkier than 520d or atleast appears bulkier? and for some reason BMW front or bonnet looked longer to me as i was struggling to see the road when coming out into main road

jmreire

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117870438#Comment_117870438

Well the first w212 E class Mercs ( 2009-2013 ) had the really long bonnet, the one with the MB "Gunsight" badge on it. The 2013 onwards model had the more streamlined sloping bonnet, and the MB Badge on the bonnet, was laid "Flat" on it. While they are all the same overall length overall, the 2013 models look smaller, and therefore seem more "Drivable" . But there's no escaping the fact, they are big cars. For the BMW's , they are a big car too. But they are all managable. ( but then after driving old Volvo N10's where they had to have two visibility poles mounted on the front bumper to show you where the bumper actually was, anything would seem managable.)

Buddy Bubs

I doubt if theres any more than inch in length and width between the shortest car between S90, A6, E Class, 5 series and the longest car. May be perception but I would imagine the cars are near enough identical size, 4.9 metres long. They are manageable though for most people, I can park my a6 no problem although herself cant really.

Longer than nearly everything else out there including skoda superb (which does look longer but isnt). Same as x5s, q7s etc....big cars, really only things longer are the bigger brothers s class, 7 series, a8s etc.......

Stallingrad

You're not really aware of the F10 size while driving, more so its weight, but with PDC parking is no problem. But it is a very long bonnet alright considering 95% of them have a humble 4 pot under the hood, blame the V8 engineering requirements.

Leonard Hofstadter

A V8 wouldn't be any longer than a four cylinder really, it's the fact they are engineered to take the straight six is what necessitates a longer bonnet. Not that this is a bad thing, because a six cylinder BMW is a far superior driving experience to the four cylinders.