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The W124 had a bit of a battle on its hands at the end of the production cycle, as the onslaught of upscale vehicles from Japan began to eat into its hold in the mid-sized luxury car market. Still, the E class soldiered on until 1995, when a fresh new look with quad headlamps appeared. In hindsight, it’s quite apparent how great the W124 was, even late in life. I prefer the facelift that graced this car the last two years, and this low mileage 1994 E320 for sale in Minnesota is a very tempting proposition indeed.
While the 300CE we featured the other day exemplifies the kinder, gentler side of the W124 equation, the 500E/E500 was anything but. If you looked at the performance figures of this super sedan, you would think this might be a car for lunatics in a hurry. But it was so much more than a tool for speed freaks. Few cars before had so seamlessly blended brute performance with refined luxury, save for some Maseratis and Mercedes own creations such as the 300SEL 6.3 and 450SEL 6.9. The 500E kicked up the luxury sports sedan game a bit more. In collaboration with Porsche, the W124 was thoroughly worked over from engine to brakes to suspension to create the ultimate sleeper. This 500E for sale in New York does its best to blend into the woodwork with its Smoke Silver paintwork.
Mercedes-Benz has stayed the course in offering coupe versions of its mid-sized and large fleet. While not as flashy as some of the competition, the W124 E-Class coupe of the 1980s and 1990s offered the consumer a decidedly conservative choice when it came to personal luxury. This was perfectly acceptable by established customers of the brand, as they weren’t seeking the radical styling cues and glitterball details so common in the lineup today. This 1991 300CE for sale in New Mexico is a one owner, low mileage example that is perfect for playing out your old money fantasies.
You never have to go very far to find an 500E or renamed E500 on these pages; in fact, last Friday we had an interesting comparison between an E28 M5 and E124 500E. People came down on both sides of the fence there, and I think it’s reasonable to like either for various reasons. The E28 M5 is a very special car, with many less made than the W124 super sedan. But numbers alone don’t tell the whole story, of course, and the W124 has many fans for good reason. It may not have been the first super sedan or even the first super Mercedes-Benz, but it was an exclamation point on a legendary period of some of the best sedans the world has yet seen. Pick the one that you like – they’re all legends now; Audi V8 quattro, 200 20V or S4/S6, BMW E28 M5 and E34 M5, the Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3 and 2.5 Cosworth and, of course, the 500E/E500:
What’s going on here? Tax returns are still heading out and we’re feeling rich? Well, not so much but it is nice to dream. While normally on Friday we look for the best deals, this duo was too good to pass up. You could argue about who started the super-sedan trend, but there’s no doubt that the Germans perfected it. Two of the most memorable of these are the E28 M5 and W124 500E; blunt instruments that achieve their goals of luxurious speed in very different ways. We’ve covered many M5s recently of different generations, but as I mentioned in the M5 Roundup, while it’s tempting to buy the cheapest M5 you can get your hands on that’s often a poor decision; in many ways, the same could be said about the 500E. So, here are two quite nice examples to choose from – which would be your dream? Let’s start with the M5: