BMW 523i(e60) and Mercedes Benz E240(W211)

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 The BMW's 523i

This car here is a drivers car i would say chiefly because whenever it feels better when you're in the drivers seat rather than the passenger's. The best thing that in noticed about this car is when i turned the ignition key and revved the inline 6 all the way up till 6k rpm, and it feels damn smooth, infact alot smoother and silkier than i-vtec engine which i regard as the best engines i've ever sampled.

Power wise, its able, but you'll have to be a little aggressive on the throttle to see it go real fast.The NB25 engine produces 218Bhp at 6500rpm, and generates 250Nm of torque at a low 2750rpm, and it accelerates from 0-100kmh in 7.9 seconds.On paper it does look pretty damn mighty, but in real life it doesn't go as aggressively as the specification suggest. It is quite difficult to provoke a wheelspin, probably due to the large grippy wheels. Although more powerfull than the mercedes e240, the noise that it came from the exhaust still lacks the manly growl that came out from the double sided exhaust of the mercedes. 

Ride wise, as you would expect is sporty. The standard spring of this BMW is comparable to the Avantgarde mercedes with lowered sports suspension, which i think is a little bit bumpy. The cabin is quiet during highway and town runs.The steering is very sharp, responsive, accurate, and with every millimeter of steering inputs, the movements of the wheels can be felt. overly Aggressive Active Steering system perhaps?

The cabin is quite spacious, comfy, quiet and the seats are quite comfortable if you're a passenger, And if you're a driver, there's lots of toys that distract you from driving. The I-drive for example takes time to master, and the gearstick is gimicky and confusing. You push the gear lever down for up shifts and up for down shifts, and to enter P, you'll have to press a button. 

As for conclusion, if you're aged between 20-35, you can buy one for yourself, because this car will probably be one of the most expensive TOY you'll ever had.  With a sea of functions and gadgets for you to play with, and an engine that  revs so sweetly till its redline suggest that it can outrun ah bengs in between traffic lights.And if you don't mind the hard ride, go for the M-sport package, highly recommended.

The Mercedes Benz' 

This e240 has a 2600cc engine that is quite smooth too, but it still looses out to the BMW, in terms of power, its 205hp and 245NM torque is no challenge to the mighty BMW's engine. Where it looses in output, it gains in offering a growly induction noise when revved. When driving around town, this engines needs to be revved to get it to the next traffic lights ASAP, but it doesn't have the silky smoothness of the BMW, and the it feels lazy and relaxed.

The gearchange in this Merc is BADDDD, gearchanges at low speed is jerky, it doesn't matter if the transmissions selector is pressed to comfort, and if its in sporty its even jerkier, but if you drive it faster, these problems disappear. I usually drive it in sport settings, because it sharpens the throttle and gearchanges. The throttle is clasically mercedes like, requiring long travel before it will GO, tricky to modulate at low speed. 

The brakes on this mercedes is a SBC(sensotronic brake) and it doesn't give of much feel to the driver, in town drive the pedal feels is OK, but when you hit it when doing a 180kmh run, it'll scare you, because a slight travel will induce a hard brake, nonetheless the brakes are powerfull enough to stop this big exec.

The ride on lowered and harder avantgarde spec package is good, it betters the BMW, and its good in the corners too. Body roll is very minimal and the Continental premium contact tyre is excellent in holding the big exec on the road as well as offering a quiet ride.

The seats are comfy, but shoulders support is quite lacking, but generally these firm seats are good in holding you in place during spirited driving. 

The cabin is also a very nice place to be in, and personally, i think it is much more better than in the BMW. Rear aircond vents in the center console and B-pillar is a god sent, and they are powerful enough to quickly cool the cabin in the hot weather, and the BMW doesn't have that. Passenger at the back will also enjoy huge space and comfort on long journeys, and it felt less claustrophobic in the light coloured mercedes cabin rather than the darker BMW cabin.

One of the bugbears of this exec is the low ground clearance. The 15mm lowered suspension compared to the elegance version means that the avantgarde car will have to go really slow on speed bumps or poorly surfaced roads. The low front bumper is also susceptible to scratches from road divider, or other higher obstacles.

As a conclusion, If value comfort in your day to day drive to work or holiday, you'll certainly wanted to be wafted home/to your destination with a mercedes. This mercedes is a car that is easy to drive if you do not like to refer to the drivers manual, and if you're 35-50 get the elegance specification because it is much more comfortable and has a higher ground clearance, but if you're young, get one with the AMG bodykit and aggresive 19'inch rims.