Driving a 202 gives you no idea about the 203, they are totally different animals. The 202 is so much like the 124 that I'm surprised that MB even built it. What was the point?

Okay I will try to be more specific and cover all your categories as best I can, but this is sort of like trying to diagnose a vibration or a noise over the internet. You just have to have your hands on it to really know for yourself and make up your own mind.

Handling:

Although the 203 has a very supple ride, especially considering its small size, it has incredibly predictable and precise handling characteristics. The steering is absolute precision with great road feel and silky smooth with no vibration being felt through the steering wheel. It feels as controllable and precise at 130 MPH as it does at 70 (yes I've been there.) It has enough tire and suspension control to handle winding roads absolutely effortlessly, even though you would think that the supple suspension would give a more pronounced feeling of roll. Even though there might be as much roll as a 124 car, you just don't notice it because it has no noticable effect on handling feel.

My 124 car has sportline sway bars so it doesn't have as much body roll as most 124's, but you still notice it when driving spiritedly on the winding, hilly roads that I frequent. The 124 is a car that sits very high. Look at it from the back or front while it is parked next to almost any other Benz made since the fifties. I would expect that a true sportline suspension with the shorter springs and shocks makes an improvement in this area. The 124 also has reasonably predictable handling, but with a feeling of road vibration more pronounced through the steering wheel. This is one of the things that makes me comment that it feels like a pickup RELATIVE TO a 203 car. The steering wheel is relatively large which is another thing that makes it feel like a truck RELATIVE TO the 203.

Ride:

The 203 has an incredibly quiet, smooth and supple ride for such a small, lightweight car. I'm probably not a good person to comment on ride because that category has never meant much to me, handling and feel is much more important to me. We all have are wants and needs.

The 124 has a decent ride too, but you feel and hear the road vibration much more. There again, RELATIVE TO the 203, making it feel like a truck.

Build Quality:

To me any time you try to define "quality" you've got a tough job ahead of you. This means so many different things to different people. I think that this is a wash between the two cars. There are some things that seem a little lacking in the 203 but they are only perception things. Example the 203 door when slammed feels a little lighter than earlier models. At first I really disliked it because I thought it rattled when I shut it. A little later I discovered that it was the grip exerciser that I always keep in the drivers side door pocket.

The 124 is well built, but it too had a "door close feel" that IMHO was inferior to earlier models. The 124 was an overly complex car IMHO. I mean that from a repair standpoint. It is very difficult to take things apart RELATIVE TO other MB's. To those who don't do all or any of their own work, this obviously doesn't mean anything. The 124 construction methods were different than the 203. The 203 has some sort of solid foam structure in the floor pan that I think might be responsible, at least partially, for the "quality" feeling of the car. This kind of technology just didn't exist in 1986.

Visibility:

This is a category where I just don't notice any difference with any MB. I've been able to see well from every MB I've ever driven with the slight exception of the SLK. That roll bar kind of bothered me.

My Own Categories:

Vibration and Harshness:

The 203 is incredibly smooth and quiet. Not only is the driving and road impression smooth, but the engine feels like an electric motor instead of a gasoline engine. To me it is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING just how smooth this engine is. The six speed manual gear box is so slick I can't even begin to compare it to anything.

The 124 car, for its era, was a smooth and quiet car. That technology is ancient history RELATIVE TO the 203. The 103 and 104 engines both are difficult to make idle smoothly and they are noisy (relatively speaking) as they rev up. RELATIVE TO the 203 car road vibration just comes right through the steering wheel. Road vibration also comes through the five speed shifter which is odd since this shifter is mounted to the body, not the transmission as most American cars are. Again Vibration and Harshness is not bad on a 124 car when compared to most any other car of its class and in its era, but RELATIVE TO a 203 car, it's a pickup truck IMHO.

Power:

I have a C4 Corvette that is very quick. A guy that I worked with when I bought my C240 has a Corvette similar to mine. After I bought my C240, he was in the car at lunch time and this was with himself and another guy. Both of these guys are pretty heavy. In spite of the added weight, every time he rode in it he asked if it was faster than my Vette. Some cars just feel faster than other cars even though the performance numbers might be the same. The C240 is just one of those cars that FEELS faster than it really is. It is just amazing when you think that it is only 2.6 liters.

You are just dealing with technology in the 203 engine that they hadn't even dreamed of when building the 124 car. I could write a very long post, and I think I already have, about the technology in these V6 engines. These engines are an absolute masterpiece IMHO. If you want I will do a search for my post of about three years ago after seeing one torn apart. The technology in these engines is probably Formula One technology of ten or fifteen years earlier.

The 124 car with a 103 or 104 engine has a great engine FOR ITS TIME. They had their achilles heels, but they were really nice, but making seat of the pants power was not their forte'.(sp?) Smoothness and quietness RELATIVE TO the V6 is not their forte' either.

Various Technology:

To go into all the technology put into the 203 car RELATIVE TO the 124 would be sort of pointless. The 124 was loaded with the latest technology of the time but it was nothing compared to what is found fifteen years later. The 124 had SRS, ABS and afterthought electronic engine management(the KE was an electronic add on to the K fuel injection.)
The 203 technology short list includes; TeleAid, ESP, Air bag management including side curtains and side airbags, ABS as part of the ESP, fiber optic signal distribution as weight savings, far advanced engine management advancements, intake resonance, roller cam followers, cold cracked rods, cross bolted mains, alloy liners with open deck configuration, on and on.

Summary:

These are both FABULOUS automobiles IMHO, FOR THEIR TIME. Technology marches forward. When the 124 was introduced, there were only a very few people in the civilized world that had a mobile phone or even knew what one was. Upon the introduction of the 203 virtually EVERYONE had a handheld mobile phone. Technology changes and the articles that are built with and influenced by technology change.

As far as I'm concerned the 203 and other MB products of the 21st. Century reflect this in a big way.

One last thing. I've said it before and I'll say it again. In 1977 when I bought my first 240D several people told me that the new MB's just aren't as good as the old ones. I bought it anyway and as far as I'm concerned the 123 was the best car ever built for its era. People still say this about new MB's but they continue to be fabulous automobiles. Have they changed? Of course, what hasn't changed over the years. Some of the change might be considered bad, but the vast majority of this change is fabulous.

DslBnz,

If you would like for me to elaborate, let me know.

Have a great day,