When you are looking for the ultimate luxury sedan, you are bound to think of the Mercedes S-Class and BMW 7-Series, and if you are looking for the ultimate luxury sport sedan, you probably think of the Mercedes C-Class and BMW 3-Series. But what if you want something in between? A sedan that can deliver a high-end luxury experience, but also liven up when you want to fling it down a backroad. Well, that’s where the 2024 Mercedes E-Class vs. 2024 BMW 5-Series battle comes into play, and both are all-new this year. But which one should you pick for your driveway?
Pricing and Equipment
So, before we hop in, let’s establish the prices quickly.
While substantially more affordable than the flagship S-Class and 7-Series, neither of them are cheap by any stretch of the imagination. Both begin at over $60,000 and need a lot of al-la-carte options in typical German fashion. All told, for the Mercedes E-Class, we land at a total price of $80,230.
MSRP (E350 4MATIC): $62,300 + Options ($16,780) + Destination ($1,150) = $80,230
For the BMW 5-Series, the pricing is very similar but a little less as equipped today with most of the options. Our total price is $73,245.
MSRP (530i xDrive): $60,200 + Options ($12,050) + Destination ($995) = $73,245
By the way, if you want to get the best price from local dealerships and access to invoice pricing info for these two models or any vehicle, we have a tool on our website to do just that. Click here for more information!
Exterior Design
If you remember the previous generations, you will notice right from the start that both are making quite the styling departure. BMW and Mercedes have been going in very different directions recently for designs, and while that’s the case with these two as well, both borrow heavily from their flagship brethren.
The all-new 5-Series is quite a bit bolder than the previous generation with large kidney grilles up front and a large blacked out piece underneath since we have the M-Sport package. The E-Class has a simpler grille, but it’s still relatively sporty since AMG-Line styling is now standard this generation. Both grilles are also illuminated so even at night you’ll stand out.
Speaking of lighting, as you would expect, both have advanced full-LED lighting technology, like adaptive abilities. The Mercedes also includes digital lighting abilities which allows it to project images, such as warnings, in front of the vehicle.
At the side, the average person may mistake these two for the 7-Series and S-Class respectively. The BMW comes in about 5 inches longer than the Merc, and we’ll see how that translates to the rear seats and cargo space later in this video.
Length: 199.2-inches (5-Series) | 194.9-inches (E-Class)
Punctuating the designs, both are rocking expensive optional wheels; 21-inchers on the BMW and 20s on the Mercedes.
More importantly, the E-Class has the optional rear wheel steering which allows it to turn more like a compact sedan than the large sedan. That’s something only available on the electric BMW i5.
And then finishing off the designs in the back, both have rather unique designs, but be sure to let us know which one you like better in the comments below. For features, both have fully LED taillights, but it’s only the Mercedes that has faux exhaust outlets.
Additional Features
Now heading on to some of the other features, both have loaded mirrors with heating, power-folding, auto-dimming and active blind spot monitoring plus both also come optionally with the full-gauntlet of super-advanced safety systems.
It doesn’t stop there, though, because in addition to all the active safety features, the BMW also features a hands-free highway driving system at speeds of up to 85MPH. It also allows you to switch lanes automatically just by looking at the mirror.
Finally, when it comes to warranties, both have 4 year, 50k mile basic and powertrain warranties, but only the BMW comes with 3 years of complementary maintenance.
But the fun is just now warming up, so now let’s get to the tech and luxury filled cabins.
Interior Design
So, walking up to the vehicles, both of course have smart entry with extremely nice metal key fobs. The Mercedes comes with automatic pop out door handles, while the BMW sticks to a more traditional setup.
We’ll let you decide what you think about that, but once we reach the interiors, you’ll immediately notice the tech has gone through the roof for these new generations. We’ll dive into that here in a little bit, but let’s talk about the seats first.
Neither of them includes real leather, although most people would not be able to notice the difference. Besides for the radically different colors, both seats are extremely adjustable with heating, memory, and available massage. The Mercedes does have some advantages, though, with a power thy extension and headrest and it also includes seat ventilation at this price.
Once inside, we can talk about the cabin materials. While both cabins are finished nicely, it’s the Mercedes that takes the lead here. It’s finished in a full leather dashboard and upper door trim compared to just soft touch in the BMW and it also includes extensive use of open-pore wood trim instead of piano black plastic in the Bimmer.
Additionally, I want to point out that both have interactive and very advanced ambient lighting throughout the entire cabin. The BMW has a cool interaction light bar, and the Mercedes can sync the lighting up with music for a club-like experience.
So, after starting them up we can turn our attention to the gauges. Both are using very similar looking, tablet style, 12.3-inch digital gauge clusters. Additionally, both have augmented reality head-up displays.
And coming back to the steering wheels, both are fully leather wrapped, power adjusting and heated.
Storage and Technology
Okay, so next up, let’s dig into the major area of interior storage. They have similar sized center consoles that even open in a similar fashion. The front bins also have similar storage, two cupholders and standard wireless phone chargers.
Both use electronic shifters, the Mercedes a column mounted one, and the BMW a nub one. When in reverse, both have 360-degree camera systems with very cool 3D views.
Now let’s go ahead and check out the audio systems. Both have very premium good-sounding audio quality, but the Mercedes does take the lead here. It has a 17 speaker Burmester 4D Surround System with real metal speaker grilles compared to the BMW’s Bowers and Wilkins with plastic speaker grilles.
5-Series: Bowers and Wilkins Surround Sound
E-Class: 17 speaker Burmester 4D Surround System with Dolby Atmos Spatial Audio
As far as climate controls, both have dual zone automatic setups and are adjusted via the touchscreens.
And as we come to the infotainment systems themselves, you’ll notice the BMW has the curved look, while Mercedes went for a seamless integrated design. For sizing, the BMW comes in at 14.9 inches compared to the Mercedes’ 14.4 inches which is within 5% of each other.
For functionality, both have amazing resolution and snappy performance, plus built in navigation and wireless ACP and AA. Mercedes does have a trick up its sleeve. It has what they call a “Super Screen” which adds an additional 12.3-inch passenger display. This can control various entertainment functions and even includes a selfie camera.
Finally, the last things to mention up front are the auto-dimming mirrors with HomeLink and large panoramic moonroofs. The BMW’s is a single piece but does not open which gives the Mercedes the slight edge.
Rear Seats and Cargo
Alright but now let’s move on to the rear areas, which may not be as nice as the 7-Series and S-Class but will still impress most. While we don’t have official headroom figures from both, legroom slots in within 5% of one other with the BMW ever so slightly edging out the Merc.
- E-Class: Legroom: 35.8-inches | Headroom: 38.2-inches
- 5-Series: Legroom: 37.0 inches | Headroom: — inches.
For being so opulent in the front, both of these sedans are rather modest in the rear seats when it comes to features. They do both have vents and a center armrest, however, it’s only the BMW that includes USB ports.
Neither have rear seat heating, although, you can option it on to both.
Heading to the cargo areas, you’ll certainly be impressed and relieved that the golf clubs will fit in both. They match each other coming in quite large at about 19 cubic feet. That’s once again under the 5% difference required to score a point and both their rear seats do fold. Only the BMW includes a spare tire.
- E-Class: 1 cubic feet
- 5-Series: 18.4 cubic feet
But executive sedans are supposed to drive nicely, so let’s take these two out for a spin and see who comes out on top!
Powertrains
Now at this point, you may get the hint these German luxury sedans like to match each other tit for tat. That’s also going to be the case for under the hood where both are rocking 2.0L Turbo 4-cylinders as their base engine setups. Ironically enough, they produce the exact same horsepower AND torque figures not to mention they have their brand’s latest mild hybrid technology. The BMW is faster to 60, by 5.1% so that’ll give it a point here.
- E-Class: 2.0L Turbo I-4 w/ EQ Boost: 255 hp | 295 lb.ft | 0-60: 6.1s
- 5-Series: 2.0L Turbo I-4 w/ Mild Hybrid 255 hp | 295 lb.ft | 0-60: 5.8s (xDrive)
You can further upgrade to inline 6-cylinders as well, and for transmissions we have an 8 and 9-speed automatics respectively with great performance. They both also have AWD, and let’s go ahead and discuss ride quality. While the BMW doesn’t have it equipped, the Mercedes has an available air suspension. However, ride quality in the standard suspension setups are very smooth, so the air suspensions are hardly needed. They feel very similar, canceling out all but the largest bumps, and nearly identical to one another.
Test Drive and Fuel Economy
For driving dynamics, it is worth mentioning the BMW has a sportier character than the Mercedes. Its steering feels faster and overall, the body is more composed with better body control when driving quickly. Neither are sloppy by any stretch, though.
But as luxury vehicles, they also need to be quiet, and something we always do at Car Confections is measure the sound levels for all the vehicles we test. Unfortunately, we cannot officially give a score since the BMW was tested on a rougher road surface in South Carolina at the media event, but we went ahead and included the samples for your reference here. If you want to see the sound level readings of all the vehicles we test out, make sure to head over to www.carconfections.com/sound-level-readings .
E-Class: 53.5 dB @ 55 MPH
5-Series: 55.0 dB @ 55 MPH
Finally, as far as fuel economy, you might be surprised to find out the BMW gets a whopping 3 MPG better combined despite having the exact same horsepower and mild hybrid setup. We have no idea why that’s the case, but it certainly will save some money especially since they’re both using premium fuel.
E350 4MATIC: 24/33/27 MPG
530i xDrive: 27/35/30 MPG
2024 BMW 5-Series vs. 2024 Mercedes E-Class winner!
Well, that’s it for another very close comparison battle! Let’s discuss who should be your personal winner.
Mercedes:
- More advanced technology
- Advanced lighting
- Sunroof that opens
BMW:
- Better fuel economy
- Sportier dynamics
- Hands-free driving on highways
Now we want to know your opinions, so make sure to head to the comment section and let us know which one you would pick!
Thanks for joining us for another Car Confections Comparison! We’ll catch you next time as we sample the latest automotive delicacies!
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