This is the finest car I have ever owned or driven. Sub 6 second 0-60 times along with sub 14 second quarter mile times (and these are very conservative numbers) from an automobile which rides and drives so comfortably. Each engine is handbuilt by a single craftsman from start to finish at the AMG plant in Affalterbach, and you can tell when you drive the car that a great deal of expertise and pride has gone into the transformation from a stock E430 to the finished product.

Sorry, just don't have any...We also own a 230 SLK. I've daydreamed more than once of an SLK with this 5.5 liter AMG drivetrain. Call it blasphemy, but I think we'd have a modern day Shelby Cobra on our hands !!

Would recommend strongly if you can afford the $70K. It's very high performance, exclusivity, and a pleasure to drive all rolled up into one package. Add to this that the automobile is manufactured by arguably the world's best, and it's hard not to want one if you can manage to afford one !!

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At the risk of inviting ridicule from fellow enthusiasts, I think this is not only the finest sedan made today, but the car also rivals the Ferrari and Corvette in more ways than one would expect.

Prestige.

Heavy gas pedal, I have to hammer it to get going. This car is not for city traffic. Cruise control arm is mitaken as a turn signal.

A solid car needs human touch.

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GS400, BMW 540

Quality of materials, power, ride, size of car.

Many items are over-engineered (the little doors that hide the ashtray, cubby hole, and the cup holder - oh man, the cup holder - please redesign this Mercedes - please!)

I purchased the car used with less than 12,000 mi. in July of 2000 (it came from Florida - probably from the Versace estate - plum color) for 37500. A steal! The mechanics of this car put other cars to shame. Quiet, powerful, pinpoint handling. You feel important in this car and have the ability to outrun most other cars on the road - not a good thing for the driving record as it is really easy to speed in this car (more like work to not speed).

I agree with the other post regarding the assessment against the GS400 and 540i. This is my wife's everyday car and I wanted it to be sporty, fun and safe. Also, it had to be a reasonable family car. It is clearly the best of the three for putting a car seat into. We both miss having a manual transmission though. The car would be utterly dangerous with one though.

One other note and it really swayed me. I looked into an after market extended warranty. The price for it was $1100 (4 years, up to 75K miles). The price for a similar mileage GS 400 (a 1998 model year however) was $1000. The price for a 97 540i with the same mileage - a whopping $1900. As these prices are set using unbiased data, you really get insight into the reliability and cost of ownership of the various models.

And finally, remember the Merc reputation for safety. There is nothing, not a mini van nor SUV, that I would rather have my wife and daughter riding around in.

Now, off to get a C43 for me!!

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540i, GS400, Saab 9000

This car has lots of power at any speed.("The silver Bullet").Good MPG, considering it's a v8. Good Bose sound system. Good looking.

The standard tires are dangerous at speeds exeeding 120mp/h although they are rated to 130mp/h. That's why they have changed the 2000 E430 rims package. The could be more precise. This car is very expensive to do an alignment ($500) with rims balance.

I went to buy a new 2000 E430, I drove in three ocasions: twice in dealers, and the other one my friend's car. My conclusion, the E430 has a little bit more of lower rpms torque, but the E420's engines is much, much more smooth and you feel that the car is faster(not a lot faster). All E430's from 98 on, had their steering box changed for the US, people thought it was "heavy". For me the E430 steering felt just like an Expedition. I have a friend that works in Mercedes-Benz in Germany, he told me that the 4.2 liter was replaced for the 4.3 with the only objective of lowering their cost. The 4.2 engine is an expensive engine, it has 4 valves per cilynder and double overhead camshaft. The 4.3 engine, is the same block as the 6 and 12 cilinder.

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BMW 540I

Styling, convenience, comfort, luxury, engineering, power, ride, handling, braking, etc, etc, etc.

Remote keyless entry is finicky. You have to be standing next to the car for it to work.

I love this car. It is beautifully engineered and styled. It runs like a scalded dog and handles marvelously. The Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD2 tires are a bit noisy around town and on the highway. Overall, I would highly recommend this car.

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E-320 Wagon

Very nice looking car especially the 2000 model
Smooth powerful engine, excellent ride.
Excellent Bose sound system

Steering effort is too low especially at high speed
Remote door lock is not sensitive (must be close to car prior to working)
CD is not standard !!!!

This is the Luxury sport sedan car to drive if you can afford.
For about 4000$ difference, i would recommend to buy the E430 instead of the E320.
Quiet, confortable, powerful and luxury. I love that car.
Thanks to Mercedez for making that car. Good job.

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Honda accord, Ford Mustang, Alfa Romeo (Milano 3.0), BMW 528

Very well built car

Not as sport as some competing cars

This is a family car. It is neither a sports car nor a station wagon. It's got decent power without being a race car. Good road feel without jolting the passengers, and its really quiet. Not quite my cup of tea. I don't have kids yet so I still like my cars fast like the Lexus GS 400 or the BMW M5, but hey if you don't need tremendous power this is a very solidly built car, safer that a Volvo actually.

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Driven all cars under the sun

Smooth powerful engine and transmission. Attractive styling.

Too many trips to the dealership dealing with problems. Overpriced proprietary parts.

A frustrating experience. Nice car, but too many problems requiring trips to the dealership. Reliability a big problem, always something going wrong. Worse than my Jaguar!

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1999 E 320 (same problems)

smooth, sound system, acceleration

looks, not the most sporty for the price.

Its a good car. Much better then the Infiniti Q45, but not quite the sportiness I like in the BMW 540i. The ride is very smooth, and acceleration is quick and responsive.
Also, the sound system in this car is one of the best I have heard stock. Good bass respose, and it can be played pretty loud.
One of the only things I don't like about the car are the looks. The front headlights are pretty goofy in my opinion. Oh well.
I would recommend this car for a family, where power is an issue. But for a more sporty ride, go for the BMW.

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BMW 540i, Infiniti Q45 (Kind of similar

This car has the smoothest and quietest ride of any car I have ever ridden in. It has a spacious and comfortable interior. The armrest storage box can double as a cooler! The exterior is elegant and very Mercedes. In Hong Kong, a Mercedes is what you want if you are a businessman or decision-maker. It is a status symbol.

My car is a model unavailable in the U.S.: the E240. As a result, power is just average but in big cities like Hong Kong, where traffic jams are a natural part of life, power is irrelevant. More discouraging, to me at least, is the E-class' poor driving experience. Compared to my Alfa 164 and Ford Ka, the fun-factor of the E240 is close to 0. The steering takes much of the blame. Not only is it so well isolated that much road feel is lost, it has an overly light touch. Good, perhaps, for 20 mph trips in town, but not for real drives. Also the "tiptronic" shifter's sideways motion is unintuitive. Note: my car was delivered with faulty front seat power adjusters on both sides.

This car is a huge improvement over the older E-class, and the latest m.y. 2000 updates to the new E-class only makes it better. Unfortunately, the E-class seems better suited to owners with chaffeurs (coincidentally, many E-classes in Hong Kong are driven by chaffeurs). Overall, recommended, but if you are a serious driver, it is my recommendation to look at something else, perhaps a BMW or a used Alfa 164. This Mercedes is better suited to those who wish to be isolated from the road as much as possible.

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1991 230E, 1992 Alfa Romeo 164L