[jberks]

My Dad has the identical car. Metallic black (or is yours blue?) 2016 E220cdi. He hasn't willingly driven anything other than a Merc since 1979. They are extremely comfortable, very much an armchair car, compared to my Jag's more sporting setup. it's also far more practical and roomy, in fact people could be excused for asking why we'd be so daft to ignore these and by a Jag in the first place! At least until they'd driven the Jag.
I loved my Mercs, probably because I'd grown up with them. I bought my first. a C220 in 1998, then swapped to an E240 in 2001 (because I wanted a V6 and aircon and E's were selling for the same price as the just released new Cs) and finally an E270CDI in 2006 when I started to commute distances and the poor mpg and lack of power of the 240 started to make my teeth itch. I ran that until I got my XF in 2014. Put 180,000 miles on it and it never missed a beat in all that time. I loved it.
I actually went out that day with the specific intention of buying a 12 month old W212 E320cdi replacement for my E270 and would probably have been very happy with it had I been successful. The problem at the time was 2 fold. Firstly I wasn't in love with the styling (Your facelift model is far prettier). It was very much a head rather than heart decision. I drove E Classes and that was what was available. Not the best motivation. Secondly I had to deal with dis-interested MB salesmen who utterly P'd me off.
Hence, after visiting 2 MB dealers and leaving both feeling insulted, the Mrs dragged me to Jaguar and after talking to a very helpful salesman, and despite the lesser tech and practicality, the looks and the way it drove had me sold.

 

[jberks]

Ah, good point and thank you for that jberks, as I have just cast an impartial and more critical eye over my photos and you are quite right, they do look a bit dark and easily taken for blac, so I will put up some more to show Deseree in a better light, showing off her beautiful glossy coat of blue.

I like your dad already and I bet he is well known for his impeccable taste View attachment 58397

Wow, you do have a fine history of Mercs and I have to agree with you on comfort, I would spend a good deal of time in mine either on a long commute and/or most of the day with home visits attending patients work wise, even slept in the back at lunch times ... yes indeedy comfortable to a tee.

I still remember that day, back in 1979. Just arrived back from School and my Dad rolled up in a brand new gleaming W123 250. It looked so modern. It’d been his dream for years. In those days, anything with a 3pointed star was rare so it might as well have been a Ferrari. The bright orange colour didn’t exactly help disguise it either. He’d always wanted one and finally, he could.
It was pretty basic, black plastic dashboard, windup windows but oddly electric sunroof and silent vacuum powered central locking. Funny days. In ‘86 he got the best car ever. (I still consider it one of the best cars ever made) A 2 year old W126 380SE. V8 engine, wooden dash, electric everything, even little wipers on the headlights Next best thing to a rolls - and even better, 18 year old me was handed the keys!! My then girlfriend (Mrs for the last 31 years) had a Saturday job. The manger was a bit of an arse and would pick on the fact that she lived in a council flat. The look on his face when she walked out that evening and climbed into a purring S class with a phone aerial on the boot (remember how rare carphones were in the early 80s)!😂
He’s had his ups and downs and had to drive a cavalier for a while. The look of pride on his face when I came home with my first C class! and the buzz I got when a few months later he was finally able to chop the cavalier in for a C of his own. He later bought an E220 as his ‘see me out’ retirement car but thankfully he outlived it and had to buy his current car.
Funny the effect cars have on people.