Audi or Mercedes, Which Luxury Wagon Would You Buy?

[chassis]

joshuastein, your 2019 model likely has some improvements. The earlier GLC models have more than a few MCT complaints. The AMG Speedshift in your CLS53 is not the same as the standard 9G-Tronic in the E450.

[stein_325i]

Originally Posted by mkoesel

This is perhaps worth consideration given its similarities to the Audi allroad you are weighing against.

https://www.thedrive.com/news/32435/...-wagon-instead

Also, the standard E450 Estate, assuming it remains available in the US for 2021 (and I believe it will) will most surely get the M256 I6 just as the all terrain model and sedan do.

There is also the Volvo V90 and V90 Cross Country pair. Unfortunately they aren’t available in T8 trim which leaves them a bit underpowered compared to the other two brands.

Not a fan of the new update for the E-Wagon, although the AMG appearance pack may help the looks. I believe Mercedes has confirmed that only the "All-Terrain" model will be coming to the US. I would only buy one if they allow you to paint the cladding similar to Audi. Also not sure of the time-frame, but not sure it will be out by before summer. I think I would be happy with the pre-refresh seeing that other than the I6, there aren't many upgrades that I care for.

The Volvo is beautiful but I do not care for the 4-cylinder engines in which they are using now in every vehicle. If they were to offer an I5/6 again, they would definitely be a consideration.

[stein_325i]

Originally Posted by chassis

joshuastein, your 2019 model likely has some improvements. The earlier GLC models have more than a few MCT complaints. The AMG Speedshift in your CLS53 is not the same as the standard 9G-Tronic in the E450.

Thanks, I drove an E450 as a loaner when they first changed the nomenclature, but its been a while so I'll definitely have to drive one and try out the 9-speed, maybe I'll request an E450 as my next loaner when I go in for service this month.

[ASAP]

I would choose the Audi on looks alone because god damn the designers were not friendly to that MB body.

[dreamingat30fps]

I know nothing about either of these, but just based on looks and other benz and audis I would get the benz. It's a wagon, so right off the bat I don't care about sportiness that much and I feel the benz will be more luxurious. I have not seen the new audi interior in person, but I find them typically to be less luxurious than benz.

I'm also not a fan of the 2 screens on the audi, reminds me of the infinities and I drove one of those for a while and the second screen was horrible. So I prefer that the benz still has some physical buttons.

[stein_325i]

Originally Posted by dreamingat30fps

I'm also not a fan of the 2 screens on the audi, reminds me of the infinities and I drove one of those for a while and the second screen was horrible. So I prefer that the benz still has some physical buttons.

Definitely something I will have to try out. I was a huge fan of the old controller based MMI system so I'm not sure how I'll like the touchscreens. I typically don't mind them, but I always prefer physical knobs and buttons for the HVAC controls which Audi's now lack.

[Red Bread]

Originally Posted by TomHudson

Anyone who has been to a formula 1 race, and hears and watches the Mercedes emergency wagon do laps, knows exactly which car they want...

Technically the medical car is the wagon, the safety car is the GT-R. The wagon is forbidden fruit to us in the US, the C63, which I much prefer to the awkward E63.
[IMG]https://www.mercedesamgf1.com/en/new...c0211_042.jpeg[/IMG]

[chassis]

Originally Posted by Red Bread

Technically the medical car is the wagon, the safety car is the GT-R. The wagon is forbidden fruit to us in the US, the C63, which I much prefer to the awkward E63.
[IMG]https://www.mercedesamgf1.com/en/new...c0211_042.jpeg[/IMG]

Yes, a C63s T-Modell is the one for me, if it ever comes to the US.

[stein_325i]

I looked at an A6 Allroad yesterday and decided it wasn't for me. I didn't drive it but after sitting inside and trying out the infotainment I just didn't care for it.

The seats (upgraded luxury style seats) were very comfy and had nice and smooth leather and I loved the use of suede on the door panels, but there was some cheap hard plastic above the suede. Not a lot, but still noticeable.

The dual screen infotainment is what I took most issue with. I really liked the previous MMI however the touchscreens are down lower away from eye-sight and provide a lot of glare in the sun thanks to a large amount of cheap and shiny black plastic used throughout the dash and the pano roof of course adds a lot of sunlight. The top screen was fine, although I advise turning off haptic feedback - with it on, it requires a hard press rather than a simple tap - but the HVAC controls (something I use/fiddle with a lot when driving) I just didn't like being touch controls, there is no muscle memory for it, which I like with the BMW and Mercedes, and I can see it being distracting to use while driving.

I've pretty much limited my choices down to the E450 Wagon and X5 40i.

[positiveions]

I voted for the MB wagon: more luxurious and timeless design.

[Z06Driver]

Audi A6

[Chihuahua]

E class, no contest.

[stein_325i]

I just did a little window shopping online and now I'm getting tempted by the 63 Wagon after looking at this beauty, gonna have to control myself and be sensible

[Matt@EuroJerks]

Audi.

[sethwas]

having done both - the benz is bigger. But the audi is nicer inside. subjective of course. The benz has more power but the audi is a better drive.
This really boils down to taste more than objective metrics. Also you may find options preferable in one over the other.

Seth

[bobalis]

My fiancee has a 2019 A6 and we both love it. The dual touchscreens definitely take time to get used to but you can organize the shortcuts and tiles to where you are comfortable with them. Plus with the HVAC you have multiple ways of touching the screen to adjust settings plus you can just use the car's voice control to change it and that way you don't even have to lift a finger off the wheel.

[Red Bread]

I can't think of the last time I've adjusted the temperature on a car with auto climate. I know we've had multiple cars that we've bought, set to 68, never touched it again and sold. It could be thirty seven menus deep and I don't care. I change DST more often.

[heavyD^2]

Why does MB continue with redundant star logos on the front end within inches? Big one on the grille and small one above. I just can't unsee it.

[Unknown_Car]

Originally Posted by heavyD^2

Why does MB continue with redundant star logos on the front end within inches? Big one on the grille and small one above. I just can't unsee it.

So you can see from space that a Mercedes-Benz is driving lol.

[stein_325i]

Due to Coronavirus I was actually able to get my car in for service early, and they had an E450 loaner ready at the time. I'm going to return the car tomorrow, but I put close to 100 miles of back road, highway, and suburban driving since receiving the E this morning so I could get a good sense of how it drives.

Overall, its nice, but I don't know how I feel about it since in a sense its a downgrade from the CLS. The suspension is well damped and comfortable, and the powertrain is good, however its not close to how silky smooth and seamless the I6 powertrain of the 53 series is with its electric supercharger that fills in boost before turbo spool, as well as the flawless stop start which would never need to be turned off. Regarding the transmission the gear changes definitely aren't as quick or snappy and while in comfort they aren't very noticeable (although still not ZF smooth), the transmission seems to stumble a bit in its dynamic mode. Steering is lighter and has less feedback than the 53 series, although still has natural weighting that some BMW's lack, and the body does lean more in the corners.

The 450 definitely feels like the stereotypical Mercedes product of a quiet and comfortable retiree car compared to the more engaging "lower-tier AMG" (a.k.a. fake AMG ) products, but it really does show how different the changes/tuning in the 450 are from the 53.

I still plan on test driving an X5 this weekend, and possibly might add some other vehicles to add to the list to try out, but I'm not quite sure I might find something I like as much as my CLS.

[Bumpinjeep]

I would say the most logical thing to do is to simply drive both for a while. Sounds like you already did that with the E450. I don't think you're going to find the A6 being more dynamic than the E450 though. You wont to stand out and piss people off, get a X6 M50i or whatever they are calling those things.

[stein_325i]

Originally Posted by Bumpinjeep

I would say the most logical thing to do is to simply drive both for a while. Sounds like you already did that with the E450. I don't think you're going to find the A6 being more dynamic than the E450 though. You wont to stand out and piss people off, get a X6 M50i or whatever they are calling those things.

Yeah the A6 is off my list, and I dislike the way the X6 looks. I'll definitely have to try the V8 in the X5, but at that point I'd rather just spend the extra cash for an E63S. Luckily I still have time to try out a variety of vehicles to see which I like the most.