UDel

The Continental interior certainly blows away those awful Cadillac interiors. That alone would be the reason I choose a Continental over a Caddy despite the Caddy's handling much better.

mmarshall

Yeah.....he was the type of guy who apparantly could care less which wheels actually drive the car. What sold him was basically what you and I liked...the interior, general looks, and demeanor.

Unfortunately, I don't think that a whole lot of others actually think like him right now. I just don't see that many privately-owned ones around here....I suspect that most of them are going to the Limo and executive car business.

Aron9000

Still think the new E-class Benz with the V6 blows the Cadillac CT6 and Lincoln Continental out of the water. Configured the way I wanted it, some but not all the options(E400 with the turbo V6, 4Matic, real leather and all digital display/gauges) was $72,000

Granted I know you can get some better deals on the CT6 and Continental, but even those cars with the turbo V6 and AWD option had similar MSRP's of $65-75k with similar options.

I've sat in all 3 of these cars, the Cadillac interior is crap for a car costing this much, I liked the Lincoln's interior(not so much on the exterior styling), but the E-class Benz blows both of these cars away in execution, styling, fit/finish, technology. Option it right and it feels just as special inside as the S-class but for $40,000 less. IMO that's why the big American cars aren't selling, the competition is that damn good. There is going to be a new Audi A6 and A7 out as well, which I'm sure will give that Benz a run for its money as well.

mmarshall

If I don't see a new E-class at the dealership by then, I'll look at it at the D.C. Auto Show in a few weeks. Hope they have one on the floor, unlocked.

Contis start at only 45K....quite a bargain (I was tempted to get one myself). IMO, one does not need the turbo engines in this car. I test-drove one with the standard non-turbo 3.7L V6, and found it perfectly satisfactory except for some engine/exhaust noise (a little more than expected) accelerating at low speeds....Steve concurred on the engine noise. But the Conti, at least, given you a V6 as the basic power plant (for less money)...not a turbo four like the CT6.

Wouldn't necessarily call it crap (the heavily wood-toned dash is nice)...but, you're correct in that the quality of the hardware can't match the Lincoln's by a long shot. But the Lincoln, IMO, has one major flaw inside.....the awkward electric push-buttons for the door releases, and the fact that the manual back-up handles (for an electrical failure) are hard to reach. Ford needs to dump those buttons and put in real handles.


True...and 40K is a lot of money. But that 40K also buys a car that, in a several ways, is simply in a class by itself.

Toys4RJill

I like both the Conti and the E Class. Some E class in lower trim don't look as good as the ones in higher trim, especially the E class with analog gauges. That said, I think the Conti is more interesting to look at, has a more interesting interior. Both seem to have the same power type numbers.

Aron9000

Guess its all personal opinion. I agree the lower level E-class dash with the analog gauges isn't top shelf. But the higher trim levels, man the way they do the leather, the wood, the way they integrate the center screen with the driver's gauges into two LCD screens, man it just looks like the future, like on a glass cockpit jet where you have two different primary LCD screens that are highly configurable. Both inside and out, if you order the higher spec E-class, it does a pretty passable imitation of the $40,000 more expensive S-class.

As far as styling, the E-class looks like a proper current Benz. The Continental looks like a re-hash of styling cues Lincoln has used for the past few model years, the grill and headlights look like a Jaguar XJ knockoff. About the only thing I can knock the E-class for is it doesn't offer a traditional Benz grill(sans tri-pointed star) with the traditional hood ornament.

mmarshall

You got it backwards, Aron. The Continental is not a re-hash.....it actually started the current theme of the Jag-style grille. The mid-cycle MKZ re-fresh, all-new Navigator, and MKC/MKX updates are simply following suit.