Delivered brand new in 2005 at McIntosh of Mosman Mercedes Benz (Now Mercedes-Benz North Shore), the Mercedes E320 Avantgarde marked a significant achievement for my mum: Her first brand new car and the flourishing of our family business. My dad followed suit very shortly in 2010 with a W221 S500. To this day, the W211 E320 keeps its timeless and classic Mercedes Benz look; from the semi-modern exterior design with its signature twin oval headlights and the signature 3 pointed star hood ornament. I grew up associating this timeless and classic look to be the basis of what a Mercedes Benz looked like.
In 2012, my mum purchased her second brand new car, a Porsche Cayenne S which coincided with the time I got my Learners Licence. As both the S500 and Cayenne S were new cars, my parents dreaded the thought of me ruining their new cars so they handed down the E320 to my possession.
The car was a weekend-driven car throughout its entire life of ownership, clocking just under 60,000kms in the last 15 years. After my purchase of my first car, the WRX Club Spec Evo 7, the car sat patiently in our garage only to be driven once a fortnight or month.
As time went on, our family discovered endless headaches, electrical problems with our S Class which was deemed too expensive to repair so we sold it and the E Class came back as our A to B car. Surprisingly, it is still very rugged and reliable. After purchasing my C63, I can confidently say that the E320 has had far less issues and problems in the last 13 years than my C63 in the two years that I've had it.
During the ownership of my C63, I became overly cautious and would obsess over minor imperfections on my car and began to realise the ones on our family car. I had the car ceramic coated, just in time for the sale of our Porsche Cayenne S and the E320 has taken up daily driving duties for my mum.
The Mercedes W211 E320 is a testament to the reliability, longevity and build quality of Mercedes as I have seen relatives and close family members in Hong Kong who have owned their W211 E320s that have travelled more than 250,000kms on its original engine
Read More ∨
