The Cadillac CTS 3.6 Takes On The Audi A6 3.0T, BMW 535i xDrive, And Mercedes-Benz E350 (Part 3)

Mercedes-Benz E350

Senior editor Tony Quiroga reckoned that if we swapped out the "fun to drive" category from our scoring chart with "gratifying to drive", the Mercedes E350 would have aced that cell. And he's right.

Mercedes has been building large, satisfying luxury sedans for longer than just about any carmaker, and it shows in the E350's air of cool imperturbability. It pours down the road fluidly. It shelters its occupants from the nastier bits of the world without completely isolating them from the experience of driving.

The basics are so very right. The dash is low and the windows are tall, providing excellent visibility. Its straight forward rectilinear instrument panel implies quality, solidity, and durability. And the apparent quality of the materials and finish is impeccable, with just the right amount of gleam. Its infotainment controls are even sensibly designed - no small accomplishment these days. And the E350 has the second-roomiest and most comfortable back seat of the bunch.

Its straight forward rectilinear instrument panel implies quality, solidity, and durability

The E350 encourages you to drive it as you would a Mercedes. This is to say, at a reasonable pace with none of that high-school nonsense. Should you choose to push it further - and we did - the seemingly imperturbable car becomes perturbed. Its seven-speed transmission gets confused in hard running (even in its sport setting), delivering shifts at odd, inopportune times. The big-displacement V-6 gets loud and gritty-sounding. And the suspension stops bothering to control body motions. The Mercedes was the only car without a selectable sport setting for its suspension.

The Mercedes was the only car without a selectable sport setting for its suspension

Cool down a bit and the E350 eases back into its happy place and, frankly, so does the driver.

The E-class is a car that nails one side of the luxury-sport equation and disregards the other. If that's the kind of car you're looking for, stop looking.