D'oh, accidentally brought this home instead of the Smart again.

[Peter DLM]

The GL's are cracking value second hand but its the older engine means probably less mpg...

Same 265hp 3.0 V6 as all the other 350s unless I'm mistaken.

The V8 is an old engine now though.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

SPX, if your buying one soon you better hurry up and get that E55 !!

Haha!

I'm getting a bit of a taste for sporty classics at the minute, so I might buy a GL for the family stuff and finally buy a 190e Cosworth...

 

[Peter DLM]

Now I have this until Wednesday morning.

E250 CDi Sport. Horribly grumbly and harsh after the GL, though I'm reserving judgement until I've more miles on it. First thing I don't like, can't rest right elbow on top of door, way too high. I'll try raising the seat as I've got stacks of head room. Seats are pretty nice too.

Please stop raining.

 

[st4]

Loving that E Cabrio. Thats much more like it.

 

[Peter DLM]

Oh, 70mph in this car at 1600rpm. 55mph at only 1250rpm, blimey

 

[st4]

Oh, 70mph in this car at 1600rpm. 55mph at only 1250rpm, blimey

Can it pull it effectively.

Whilst tall gearing seems impressive for cruising. It leads to a car thats less flexible in real world driving as it needs to down change to make any form of progress. If it were doing nearer 1600rpm at 55 it would be able to go up hills without changing down.

 

[Peter DLM]

From what I've seen so far by watching the dash in Sport mode, more than felt, is an unperceptable drop to 6th when anything more than gentle acceleration is required. I guess like an overdrive gear. I'll do more tests this evening/tomorrow.

 

[st4]

From what I've seen so far by watching the dash in Sport mode, more than felt, is an unperceptable drop to 6th when anything more than gentle acceleration is required. I guess like an overdrive gear. I'll do more tests this evening/tomorrow.

To be fair, thats what 7th is like on a normal 7g. You can feel it, and its not as smooth. Great when on motorways, DCW or cruising on flat roads.

I bet however, when our NSL becomes 80mph that it will be more usable as it will be nearer 1800rpm and nearer peak torque.

Must drive very fast Peter to make the most of this car.

I'll be curious re refinement and performance of the car, I look forward to your posts.

 

[Dr-Nab]

good choice of cars there not that I'd be biased or anything..

I find my E-cab not so pleasant to drive after wafting around in the GL, but a swift prod of the accelerator soon changes that for me. Leather stitched dash is standard yeah and looks great.. I believe it is also on the run out ML's - the grand edition ones with the little LED running lights. Mine's black with black leather.. more practical than beige but I do prefer lighter coloured leather on a black car for how it contrasts.

I think the only downside to the COMAND in the GL is that it doesn't have the bluetooth streaming which I often use in the E-cab, other than that they're more or less the same

E250 CDI, I think the 250CDI/7G+ is a great combo but a bit harsh on sound so I'd always opt for the 350CDI and take the slight hit in fuel economy

 

[jefrs]

I'll bet you'll be glad to get that Smart box back.

 

[st4]

Spotted something I like the E cabrio and hate in the GL to the extent it would put me off the GL completely.

Look at the accelerator pedal, nice full foot length floor hinged pedal, the sort you'd expect in an expensive car like an E class or any nice German car (anything golf upwards).

Look at the GL. Cheap horrible pedal that is hinged in a cheaper arrangement from the top of the footwell, and doesn't go the floor. Cheap like a budget hatch back.

I'd buy an X5 purely for the pedals as mine had a lovely pedal like the E class.

 

[Peter DLM]

I'll bet you'll be glad to get that Smart box back.

it's fine for my little commute around Milton Keynes, it loves being hurled around Roundabouts. The ESP light on the dash has more hours on it than the Headlights!

 

[Peter DLM]

Spotted something I like the E cabrio and hate in the GL to the extent it would put me off the GL completely.

Look at the accelerator pedal, nice full foot length floor hinged pedal, the sort you'd expect in an expensive car like an E class or any nice German car (anything golf upwards).

Look at the GL. Cheap horrible pedal that is hinged in a cheaper arrangement from the top of the footwell, and doesn't go the floor. Cheap like a budget hatch back.

I'd buy an X5 purely for the pedals as mine had a lovely pedal like the E class.

lol Y'know pedal design is not even something I've ever considered.

For what it's worth, the GL feels more expensive and more robustly built than the 212.

 

[st4]

lol Y'know pedal design is not even something I've ever considered.

Its a key contact point of the car, it would remind me of a Corsa. Real nice cars have pedals like that E cabrio IMHO.

For what it's worth, the GL feels more expensive and more robustly built than the 212.

Thats no claim to fame. Critisms I have of the 212 in terms of cheapness

Plastic where there should be carpet in the RHS of the upperfoot well.
Cheap tinny lock mechanism. Sounds like a broken mechanism.
No dual visor, you have one you can pull down to stop the sun entering the screen, and thats it. A 211 has one that flips out to blank the sun on the doors too then another for the screen. Really handy if you have to spend the night in the car.....
Folding headrest mechanism removed. Nice feature of the 211.

Thought you were picky. BEJ will tell you about a walk around MB World, I can find fault with anything. The least knitpicking I did was on an E cabrio. I liked that bar the visors and a lack of cloth for the A pillar lining, but on a drop top you can excuse these things.

 

[Dieselman]

No dual visor, you have one you can pull down to stop the sun entering the screen, and thats it. A 211 has one that flips out to blank the sun on the doors too then another for the screen. Really handy if you have to spend the night in the car.....

You get sun at night?

 

[st4]

You get sun at night?

That twin visor design probably buys you another 30mins peace in the morning.

 

[Peter DLM]

Well, my suspicions were right about this engine in a Cabriolet, imho of course. It's ok once you're moving but manoeuvring it around was almost embarrassing in an underground car park. Transit like, well sorta.

No complaints about performance or economy at all though. It was even more economical than the same engine in the C-Class somehow. This car only has a couple of thousand miles on it as well. 70mph equates to 1600rpm in 7th, and in D and M modes will stay in top and pull it nicely and even gather speed at an acceptable rate. In S mode it'll drop to 6th smoothly if you give the throttle a gentle prod.

Complaints about this car.. sun visor is made of sandpaper or something, and each time I grazed my head against it (often) I'd leave a streak of skin particles embedded in it. Obviously not just me, as I has wondered what all the marks were on it, now I know, other people's skin

There was an annoying trim creak behind my right shoulder which was really annoying.

Scuttle shake is apparent over rough surfaces, but not nearly as noticable as my Brother's S4 Cab, but more so than the SL I had recently.

Handling is really good, but as with most modern cars the steering is pretty void of feeling though precise and nicely weighted.

Nice things, I like the way you get handed the seat belt when you insert the key. I like the AirScarf feature, I like seats also.