I have the station wagon model of the E320, which replaced a C220 (my first venture into the world of Mercedes cars). I had leased the C220, and when the lease ended, I went looking for a replacement that was as comfortable as the 220, but had a bit more hauling capacity. The dealer had a couple of new C240s, a C280, a couple of sedans, and off to one side, a silver 1997 E320 wagon. I wasn't going to look at it at all, but the wife commented that having a bit more space was nice in her Volvo 850, and that we tended to use that car more because of the cargo capacity.

Thus, we took a test drive. To my astonishment, it came out to be by far our favorite of the cars we tried. The wagon we have has leather interior, the AM/FM/cassette/weather band radio, individually adjustable climate control, and heated seats. Our car did not have the automatic parking distance indicator function, or a CD player, however the dealer was able to add the CD player for an additional fee.

The things we liked about the car:

1) The engine in the E320 is substantially more powerful than you would expect in a station wagon. It's got pep. If you step on the pedal to pass, it gets right down to it and gives you the mobility and performance of a sedan, and the extra length and weight of the wagon body don't seem to impact it at all.

2) It handles *extremely* well. It's a large vehicle (with the back seats down, you can get plywood sheets in the back w/o too much trouble), but it turns on a very small radius, and it *wants* to be driven places. You turn the wheel, and it reacts almost instantly -- but just as much as you wanted it to. The power steering is just enough to assist, but not be soupy or mushy.

3) It has the classic Benz fit and finish details. Smooth and quiet inside, excellent paint job, good undercoat and detailing. Ours has the rounded headlights, which give it a somewhat "fuddled professor" look (I liked the rectangular headlights of the C220 better), but it's kind of charming, and boy, does it look spiffy in the driveway..8-)

4) The electronic keying system is well thought out and executed and has a very long range. It does have some problems though -- read on for more details.

It's a classy and elegant vehicle. It does have a few minor nits, though.

Nits:

The first aid kit is in the rear of the car, away from the drivers or passengers. I can see the Benz engineers doing this for a reason -- they want you to stop if you need a band-aid or something -- but it's kind of a pain that if you get a paper cut or something, the bandages are 8 feet behind you when you're stuck in traffic on the expressway.

Second, if you order additional keys, be prepared to leave the car unlocked in the driveway overnight with the new key inserted in the ignition. The electronic keys have about 16 million possible combinations and the combination changes every time the key is used. The only way to get a new key synchronized with the car is to put the key in the ignition and wait for it to try all 16 million combinations until it matches the one the car is using right now -- a process that can take 12-18 hours if the key and car are far apart in the cycle -- the keys don't have a lot of CPU power, and generating combinations is hard work. This probably isn't a big deal if you have a garage, but if you have to park on the street, this is kind of tantamount to hanging a "STEAL ME" sign on the car.

Third, the price of service. As others have commented, Mercedes scheduled maintenance isn't cheap, and you probably don't want your street-corner mechanic messing with the sophisticated Benz computer systems and parts tolerances. You pretty much have to grin and pay a dealer for the premium service to keep your Benz running well.

Last nit is, of course, the price. Any Benz station wagon is expensive, but even a 5 year old E320 wagon will still command $40K (we bought the 97 in 2002). The plus side is that it'll probably resell for almost that much, but he pocketbook dent still doesn't feel any better at the time.

Overall, I love the car. I drive between Washington DC and NYC area often, and this is the car to do road trips in. In another 5 years when the lease goes out, I'll probably go with another Benz, and I don't see any reason to change my mind based on this car.
Amount Paid (US$): 40,000
Condition: Used
Model Year: 1997
Model and Options: E320 Station Wagon