What's the view on Mercedes?

Skipped

The last post is an excellent endorsement for choosing a car based on safety. Of course I get that.
I guess the next reason is sheer driving pleasure. I am finding it hard to get that in 2013 which may explain why I now see a vehicle as simply a comfortable box to take me from A to B.

Fretwired

mike_l said:

one thing I really don't like on the A class is the battery in the drivers footwell, ok it's under a cover, but, IMO should be safely in the engine bay.

 

That'll be the original A Class which was meant to be an electric car, hence the strange shape .. there was room under the car for batteries.

wibble

Van_Hayden said:

wibble;55686" said:

I've driven a few, the thing I hate most on Mercs is the archaic foot operated parking brake -  if there's one car that needs to move to electronic parking brakes, it's Mercs! At least they now have hill hold assist as standard now.

That's never bothered me to be honest - and I live in hills.

Is yours an auto?

chillidoggy

I'm afraid I'm too working class to own a Mercedes.

mike_l

chillidoggy said:

I'm afraid I'm too posh to own a Mercedes.

Hence why there's a Bugatti at Chilli's place

dindude

Can't vouch for the C class, although I don't think Merc lead the way any more for out and out quality, and their deisgns have turned a little too, er Korean for my liking. 

I have though been banging around in a new 3 series 320d for the last week or so while the insurance company mend my car that someone kindly drove into the back of!

I last drove a 3 series about 10 years ago and it was a compact sporty-ish saloon which drove very nicely indeed.

Can't help but feel the latest version has grown a bit fat, it feels a lot more like a standard exec-u-barge, has a heavy cluth, stiff gearbox, noisy engine. It's pretty great on the motorway but in town it's just tiresome.

Anyways, my new Golf GTD is on a boat so should get my hands on it in the next few weeks, and whilst I agree with the comments on the price of Golf's (it did make me wince) it's an incedible all rounder, and once you look at how much it holds over 3 years, it makes a bit more sense.

boogieman

TTony said:

Fretwired said:

Another client has a Jaguar which he swears by - he drives all over Europe in it. Could be worth a look.

I did take a quick look at the XF.  Nice without a doubt, but It just felt big ... but I might just check out the local dealer to see if they've got anything that they want to shift ...

 

I bought an XF recently and am delighted with it. Beautifully built, comfortable,very well equipped as standard, handles really well and goes like stink. They are big, but don't feel like it on the road. Parking is a different issue and it can feel massive....the standard rear parking sensors are essential .The top spec Portfolio has front sensors and a rear view camera too but I think these can be had as options on lower spec models. The Portfolio is a bit overkill for spec anyway, I went for the Premium Luxury and it has every toy you could sensibly want...auto stop/start, cruise control, sat nav, climate control, DAB stereo, heated seats, electric everything.

I went for the 3 litre diesel, the 2.2 is a lot cheaper to run but doesn't feel as nice on the road. The gearbox isn't well suited to the smaller engine and it's constantly shuffling gears to keep up, which is really irritating. I'm getting 39mpg with mixed town and motorway driving, way better than my old 1.8 petrol Focus. Go for the later model if you can, the one with the smoother headlights and LED running lights, they have much better engines and all the early niggles have been sorted.

AlexHunter

If you're looking for luxury and reliability then surely it's worth having a look at some of the new Lexus models?

Sporky

I tried two C-Classes a year or so ago (and then bought another Yeti).

The C250CDI estate was comfy, didn't feel too big on the road, but the auto was rather jerky out of junctions and the engine a little coarse under load. The C350CDI coupe was much nicer engine wise (and the gearbox was smoother with the bigger engine, I felt).

The big problem for both of them was that half an hour previously I'd tried an XF, which rode better, went better, felt more expensive (as it should - it is, rather)...

But the C wasn't bad at all.

The Skoda Superb might be worth a look as well. The 4x4 versions are decent to drive, they're cavernous inside, not too thirsty, lots of kit for the money too. Not, I will concede, the most handsome of automobiles from the outside, but how much time will you spend looking at it?

holnrew

I find Superbs perfectly handsome.

Paul_C

monquixote

The bloke next door to me has a couple of Mercs as he is a Chauffeur. 

He buys them new puts 200k on them over the course of a couple of years and then sells them. He absolutely loves them, says the dealers are pretty good and they never go wrong. 

I know three people who have been BMW drivers for most of their lives who have defected to Mercs, Jags etc because they think BM have lost the plot combined with the shitness of the dealers. 

As Sporky mentioned the Skoda Superb is an awesome car and if you don't care about the fact that people sneer at them Lexus make brilliantly engineered cars. 

Bucket

My dad's a Merc fan - he's had a 90s C-Class for years and it still runs well. The other car (my mum's daily car) is a more recent A-Class, from 2007, which is pretty good too. Dad now wants a first-gen CLS at some point...

Van_Hayden

wibble;55944" said:

Van_Hayden said:

wibble;55686" said:I've driven a few, the thing I hate most on Mercs is the archaic foot operated parking brake -  if there's one car that needs to move to electronic parking brakes, it's Mercs! At least they now have hill hold assist as standard now.

That's never bothered me to be honest - and I live in hills.


Is yours an auto?

Currently yes but I've had a manual one - took a bit of getting used to, heel and toe!

nanoman

I've got the C250 CDI estate from 2011 so same engine just pre-facelift. Lovely car, build quality is superb, boot is better than the equivalent BMW. Performance is good and smooth once up to speed but a bit rough at idle compared to the BM.

Mine is a manual and it's not ideal for this engine as it is very peaky on the torque. Just over 7 secs 0-60 and it feels like they tuned it just to get the figures. You are out of 1st and 2nd so quick. Maybe wouldn't be noticeable in the auto but I didn't try one as I got a good deal on mine.

Maybe better to go down to the 220 with it's smoother torque curve and better economy or up to the 350 for the better engine.

Nitefly

If you do buy one, there's some good advice on the Schools Zig Zag thread about parking it.  

Van_Hayden

I thought yellow lines on roads were reserved parking bays for mercs, no?

chillidoggy

I feel privileged to be rubbing virtual shoulders with so many affluent members of the Fretboard!

Sporky

Stop rubbing our shoulders, you filthy peasant!

Drew_TNBD

Too young to care about such things.