I'm kind of with yellow dog, I think it just grew too big. I didn't look at the X350 or 351 because of the size. The X350 gained 3 inches in length, but worse yet, it gained 4 inches in width. The X351 is nearly six inches wider. There'd be no room in my garage for any of the typical stuff you find in everyone's garage, I'd be freaking out trying to thread it through the garage door after dark and there'd be a moonscape of door dings along both sides from the parking garage at work. Seriously, I just looked it up and the long wheel base X351 is now the same length and only three inches narrower than my crew-cab truck. That's huge for a sedan. Any number of SUVs with more interior room in a smaller footprint, hence where the market has been headed.

 

Yes my former female associate had a X350,reminded me of wider Nissan Altima.

 

Well I have to disagree with you .... we had both growing up. In fact I still have both my mothers 67 300se coupe and my dads 72 300SEL V8. My dad had Jaguars in the 50 and 60's ... he bought a very early XJ coupe as well (70's). Don't get me wrong I love Jaguars ... but in the 70's the V8 W116 was nicer car. In my opinion the W126 was the best MB they ever made -- the W140 grew too large. Everything about the W126 was great. Another thing to remember is MB did not have anything like the number of models back then as they do today ... The S class cars were very expensive. much more expensive in real terms vs today. Wish I had kept my mother 83 -- it was blue/white ... paint back then did not hold up. Jaguars were better looking ...

 

I always thought the X350 was "smaller" than the X308, I didn't realize they were actually a little longer and a little wider, they look so "bloated" and stubby, that must be because they are a full 6 inches taller!

 

I agree - it's the extra height that makes the X350 look so different from its predecessors.

 

The XJ's were always tight for people over 6' ... and the trunk could not take two golf bags. The X300 was better with the gas tank behind the rear seat ... going to the small spare in the later x308's gave a bit more usable space (flat trunk).

The X350 had to fix those issues ......

 

My father is an MB man too. I remember he had a W123, R107 SL, a late 80's 190E, diesel W210, and his most recent is an '08 ML Bluetec. He's got at least two classics from the 60's, don't remember which ones exactly. I remember he was looking for an Adenauer W189 once.

I love MB's too but I got completely bit by the Jaguar bug.

 

Hi AJ16er,

I'm sure your father has researched this, but the BlueTEC diesel V6s have some known issues he will want to do his best to prevent or address promptly. Clean oil of the correct M-B specification is one of the absolute musts, but there are several other things to be aware of. I maintain some M-Bs with with the same engine.

Cheers,

Don

 

I learned to drive in the late 70's in the 300SE ... my mother had an early SL (72) that I drove often. My parents had more that one residence and my dad worked in NYC -- so he always had two cars there. My 88 W107 (SL) was I think 72k ... I bought it a few years old with 5k miles. 72k ... was a ton of money back in 1988 .. and MB did not discount much on the SL's if at all. Sadly -- it was damaged in a house fire (2012) w/ only 50k on it.

 

Having owned two E38s, they are some of my favorite large sedans I've ever driven. Beautiful design, good handling, decent ride, decent power, excellent build quality. I will own another. Despite my XJR being faster, I miss my 750iL. They're significantly larger inside too.

 

You have truly owned some spectacular vehicles I must say. I have driven E38's and like them as well.

 

While never a huge BMW fan ... the E38 IMO was a particularly nice car .... much better than what replace it. The 635 is still a great looking coupe. Actually, BMW has some nice looking current cars ... but, Just like MB .... too many models.

From an ownership/ driver point of view I never liked or wanted the long wheel base version. My 95VDB was short WB -- Jaguar did not come out with the LWB until 96. I never liked my later VDB .. when it was totaled I bought the 02R.

That's my problem with Bentley/RR ..... they are just too big. The older big Bentley coupe is cool because it's "old school".

 

Not the new X5. Have you seen one roaming about? I agree, their current lineup is way too overcrowded. It used to be the three saloons, one SUV, and the Z3.

 

the rolls Royce and Bentley looks nice and of course they're more classy than the x308 but personally I would stick with clean x308 for some reasons those cars are highly over engineered imo and it's not simple as the x308 and few if any car parts dealer have parts for them the parts are always In the dealership and I think some parts may take weeks to arrive and it's very expensive and complex many sensors many electrical parts and I think these cars have many electronic computers
thats just my opinion

they still look beautiful cars

 

Yes -- I agree. The current crop of German SUV's are not very good looking -- no edge. Have owned a couple Cayennes ... my first was an 06, and I still think the first generation was the best looking. I happen to be in the MB dealer last week geeing a new Wagon ..... So, I looked over all the new offerings. We do a lot of activities -- a full sized 4WD wagon is great to have around.

Many SUV's are not all that great in the "utility" department ... but the newer rounder styling has really cut into usablel space

 

The problem is that I seem to have been buying high and selling low lol.