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Some provisional thoughts on the pros and cons of the 2024 E-class vs. 5 series.
Engine - The inline 6 of the 5 is maybe the best 6 cylinder engine ever made. The E's inline 6 is fine but no one can touch the power and smoothness of the BMW 6 cylinder.
Exterior - The new 5 series is simply horrible. There's really no other way to describe it. It lacks the fluidity and grace of the outgoing G60 and the number "5" molded into the C pillar is childish and would be more at home on a Subaru or Nissan. I really wanted to love the redesign of the 5 but it's abysmal. The E is, by contrast, fluid and graceful and, I think, will age well. The taillights on the new E are idiotic with the three pointed star being used as taillights. A very immature decision on the part of MB. But, absent this, a timeless and elegant exterior design.
Interior - Aesthetically the new E is gorgeous with plenty of great tech (probably too much in many cases like the inclusion of a selfie camera for doing zoom meetings I guess and some really stupid childish video games) that seems quite well implemented. A couple of quibbles here. As in the past, the center transmission tunnel is too wide and intrudes on passenger foot room. And there are some cheap looking and feeling plastic pieces that don't belong on a car of this class.
Seat comfort - Long a BMW weak point, the front seats of the E have always been superb and I expect nothing less in this newest version. Seat comfort in the BMW is just OK and really should be quite a bit better.
Driving dynamics - BMW has justifiably ruled this area for some time. The 5 drives very, very nicely and imparts a fair amount of excitement. Not as agile or responsive as a 3 series to be sure, but damn good for a car of its size and weight. We'll see about the new E but I doubt it'll offer the driving experience of the 5.
Reliability - Both quite good though the BMW clearly has a bit of an edge here. As I buy my cars and drive them for 5-6 years, this is an important factor that weighs toward the BMW. Thankfully the MB has good reliability, just not quite on a par with the BMW.
Safety - Both superb.
Anyway, just wanted to share some random thoughts and see what some of you thought.
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