I have to disagree. I have seen all three models as well and the E-Class along with the 5er have solid verygood quality interiors as the ratings suggest. The materials in the Audi A6 were a little spongy feeling.

These ratings are for the pre-face lift E-Class. Remember these ratings are owners ratings. Not JDPower ratings.

GTA you said earlier that you are a perfectionist. Do you conider Mercedes to be the perfect car? Do you find any flaws in Mercedes?

When talking about the quality of interiors of cars such as these, you always have to remember that it is perceived quality that we are assessing. What gives each of us the perception of high quality differs considerably. For me, the A6 interior felt "just right" when I first sat in it at the dealer. Yes, it has less wood than the other two but I don't mind one bit, and to my eye the plastics seemed (slightly) nicer than in the other two. But of course, that is just my opinion.

Good question Just_me.
Being a perfectionist is not looking for "flaws in design" because humans beings design cars and humans arn`t perfect.

Being a perfectionist requires looking at the "budget in design ratio"
for example if it seems the company is putting too much attention and money in one area (like interior design) while overlooking something else (like safty)
is a flaw. No car is perfect in this area but some companys do a better job
than others.

I think Mercedes-Benz does a pretty good job of the "budget in design ratio"
with cars like the C, E, CLK, SLK, CLK, SL, and S-Class cars.

my family owns a 2005 E350. personally i think the interior is very well put together. I must say the buttons on the COMMAND and the air con are a but fimsy and too plasticky, but other than that i think it is a high quality interior, can u tell me which parts of the interior that makes u think the build quality isn't so great?

I admit, I was being very critical monster, the overall quality of the W211 is superior to the W210 - I was just bugged by a cheap feeling of some of the details - nothing terrible, I've seen worse, like the old Bentley Turbo R interior ...parts of that were quite disgraceful in places, considering how expensive the car was.....as one wise person once said .."God is in the details"

One detail of the CLK - which I suspect the E class might also suffer from is the flimsy build quality of the window frames - I noticed this quite some time ago in a friends car .......it's the sort of thing that really irritates me about Mercedes-Benz today. My intention is not to be critical of your choice of vehicle monster, the E class is still most certainly one of the finest cars you could buy, I just have some reservations about the overall build quality .....I mean, it's a Mercedes for heaven's sake ...the damn thing should be built like a bank vault.

Here, here!

My business partner drives an E270 CDi so I've spent a fair amount of time in it. On bad roads there's a fair amount of "snap, crackle and pop" as I like to call it. The circular switchgear that controls the ventilation isn't the best; it's not all that solid feeling and the plastic bezels feel brittle. This is a key area in which tactile quality needs to be good due to the frequency of use.

Y'know those plastic pull levers that open the storage compartment in the centre armrest? Flimsy and prone to breakage. I've seen both of them broken off.

There are some aspects of the E's interior that really do scream "Hear ye, hear ye, Mercedes of yore..." and the overall impression is good but there a too many detail areas where the quality isn't up to scratch.

Less criticism could be levelled at the 5er interior and much less again at the A6's - though I have to say that the dash on the A6 has a hollowness about it that isn't apparent in the 5 or E - but that's just a personal experience of mine... Other than that, the important touchy feely items in the A6 are just super. I just don't like the shape of the darned thing...

Good gracious, Roberto what am I going to do about you? Such scathing criticism. Yes you're right here some of the details are off for sure in the W211...hopefully the facelift will help somewhat. Does the W221 pass your test? The 5-Series is no better in my experience...neither of them are as good overall as the A6 on interior build.

Though I'm not sure what you're talking about regarding the window frames on the CLK it doesn't have any.

M

LOL, yes the W221 is certainly a major improvement Merc1 - I know I can be overly critical, but I really admire the build quality of the classic Mercedes cars ...........I have very high expectations.

LOL....... Yeah I know and I'm thinking they'll never meet those post expectations/standards again. Back then those cars could do without all the fancy electronics and airbags in every nook, you know things that put so much weight in cars now. For them to build them like that now they'd be seriously overweight unless they used some really exotic mix of materials but that costs $$$$$$.

M