Mercedes-Benz E350 vs BMW 535i
Mercedes Benz E350 vs BMW 535i
These two have been fighting for sales supremacy in the hotly contested executive-sedan segment for decades, and they’ve sparred in nearly as many magazine comparison tests as have the Mustang and Camaro. The lead has swapped back and forth from time to time, and just as the Camaro owns the winning record in the ponywars, BMW has finished ahead of Mercedes more often. But each time one of the players rejiggers its formula, it’s a brand-new game.
Last year’s E-Class reboot marked a welcome return to Mercedes-Benz’s “designed to a standard, not to a price” ethos, with vastly improved fit, finish, materials, and general solidity. In the bargain, it delivered world-class aerodynamics and held the line on weight, which helped improve performance and fuel efficiency. And yet in February’s eight-car match-up, the Mercedes finished two places behind the test-winning lame-duck 535i. So why read on? Surely the new and improved 5 is a slam-dunk winner, right?
Both cars feel sure-footed and stable while tearing down the open highway at a hundred and plenty.
Not so fast. If you’ll recall, the last redesign of the 5 was not universally acclaimed as a great leap forward. Some of its electronic chassis aids (like Active Steering) were accused of robotizing the driving experience, the Gen-1 iDrive drew criticism, and the Dame-Edna-bespectacled face and flame-surfaced styling did not appeal to all eyes.
This 2011 5 Series arrives bearing a whole new round of electronic driving aids, and it’s been upsized substantially and gained a disconcerting amount of weight-factory figures indicate the new base car weighs 250 pounds more than our well-equipped February test car (unfortunately, there was no opportunity to weigh our loaded 535i test car at the vehicle’s launch in Portugal). So rather than passing judgment on the new 5 after driving it all by itself on roads BMW selected for its launch, we procured a German-spec Mercedes-Benz E350 CGI BlueEfficency sedan for a comparison of these two two-ton Teutons back to back on roads of our choosing in the hills and on the flats surrounding Lisbon.
Tags: 535i, BMW, E350, Mercedes Benz