Best Merc for a European road tour

[Tom Newton]

Evening all,

During the week leading up to MB on the Green I'm doing abit of a road trip down to Worthersee in Austria. Plan looks something like this

I currently have a 190d and whilst I do 700 trouble free miles a week in it and I'm sure it do make the trip unphased, I'm after something with a little more pace and more importantly, cruise control.

I'm looking at sourcing another Merc in a couple of weeks so just wondered if anyone has any suggestions for the trip? My budget is £5000 max but ideally less and am not made of fuel money so would probably have to be a CDI, that said i've found myself looking at CLs and S500s on LPG just for the hell of it.

I'm naturally being drawn to a W220 S Class, but for my budget i'd be looking at a earlier car with high miles so potential air suspension issues would always be in the back of my mind. I'm also considering a W211 but have already had one of those and fancy something different to make the trip a little more special.

Open to suggestions, if you were in my shoes what would you be looking at?

Cheers!

 

[HB]

What's wrong with the C270 ?

 

[Tom Newton]

What's wrong with the C270 ?

Sold that a while ago, really should update my profile :fail

 

[jonnyboy]

what is your budget?

 

[JamesRan]

W220 S Class alllllll the way

 

[renault12ts]

what is your budget?

£5000?

 

[Giantvanman]

How many people going? The 'ideal' GT car is one where the roof comes off, IMO.

 

[Charles Morgan]

Get a nice V8 W126 S class, which is reasonably light on the gas on a long run, and use the money saved on your budget to do a couple of things needing doing, plus pay for the use of the loud pedal when you want to (or fit LPG).

 

[C36fan]

Get a nice V8 W126 S class, which is reasonably light on the gas on a long run, and use the money saved on your budget to do a couple of things needing doing, plus pay for the use of the loud pedal when you want to (or fit LPG).

w220 S500 all day long!

 

[SL300-24]

Get a W140 and use some cash left over for the fuel...

 

[Simon_M]

Can you really get a CLS for 5 grand? Jees, that is a great cruiser right there. 320CDI.

Oh sorry, think you mean CLs.

 

[MD5]

If only two of you, a 129 SL500 (95/6 on for the 5sp box).

 

[Scott_F]

A W211 320 CDi would be a very comfortable and economical mile-muncher for under £5k.

 

[d w124]

Did that and even further last summer and really enjoyed it

Take some pictures of the trip if you can

 

[d w124]

A W211 320 CDi would be a very comfortable and economical mile-muncher for under £5k.

Or this http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/classifieds-cars-sale/187483-mercedes-benz-e220-cdi-avantgarde.html

 

[ItalianTuneUp]

+1 W220 S class: S320CDI

Get one which has had front airmatic struts replaced recently, and check for leaks before buying.

I can only recommend what I know, and my car has been superb driving across Europe: very comfortable mile-muncher. I expect the bigger V8 engined models are even more fun though. The I6 engine of this car is super smooth though, which, with the airmatic suspension, will make you appreciate the comfort on a long journey.

 

[merc85]

Im doing a similar trip, Harwich - Saalbach/Austria in my e320 cdi 211 in August

 

[Mercland]

Diesels under £5K spells problems to me... CDI injectors, pumps etc etc.

I would stick to a large petrol and go for something simple, so not a CL or S Class!

An older R129? CLK320 or 430? Maybe a C43.. Keep say £1000 aside to get a decent garage to ensure everything is tip top before you go.

 

[gaz_l]

OP, I take it the new car is planned as a replacement for the 190, and not just for the trip? I'd be wary of taking a car I didn't know well on a journey like that..

In 2011 my wife and I did a European road trip, similar in mileage to yours - nearly 3000 miles in 12 days. Our steed? An elderly (17 years old) Fiat Barchetta, which no breakdown insurance company would touch with a bargepole. But we'd had it for 3 years and I knew it was all squared away, so off we went. It ran like a swiss watch - I think it actually enjoyed doing the miles rather the short trips it was normally used for - and gave us zero problems. Well, other than getting caught in a rainstorm of biblical proportions in Italy - the roof wasn't entirely waterproof so we did get a bit damp, but no mechanical or electrical grief.

So if the 190's still giving good service, I'd say take that and allow a leisurely pace - enjoy the drive with no worrying about "what's going to break".

Cheers,

Gaz

PS over the course of the trip, thanks to the leisurely driving style the Barchetta turned in 41 mpg average - not bad for a 1.8 petrol..