Fifth Gear-last night

[grober]

Johnny did a piece on the new Skoda Superb V6 Estate. He used some "iconic" estates as bench marks to determine how good it was. The first was an E320 W124 Estate for refinement the second the new W212 E250CDi? Estate for space and finally an old Volvo 850R for performance . According to him the Skoda beat them all altho he was testing the all singing / all dancing Superb V6 4X4 S DSG boxed car.

Interestingly the latest "Desire strikes when you least expect it" Mercedes advert featured during one of the commercial breaks so I guess the MB UK marketing guys figure some potential MB buyers watch the program.
This isn't the advert in question but it also "features" an SLS [YOUTUBE]epqSuvrBWQs&feature=related[/YOUTUBE]

 

[trapperjohn]

Oh boy that engine roar when it fires up!

Neat finish with both doors popping up at once too.

 

[bolide]

Johnny did a piece on the new Skoda Superb V6 Estate

I had forgotten how awful Fifth Gear was. Can I have that five minutes of my life back, please?

Nick Froome

 

[grober]

And here was me thinking he was quite complementary about the old W124 estate.

 

[MOCAŠ]

This isn't the advert in question but it also "features" an SLS

Nice to see MB taking their inspiration from a Fiat Uno advert circa 1988.

 

[219]

Just watched it on DemandFive

" The W124 ...... popularly believed to be the most over-engineered car - EVER "

ERM ...... NO .

There are many examples of things that were made cheaper and lighter on the W124 compared just to the preceeding W123 , before we even consider other models .

Don't get me wrong , the W124 is still a very well engineered car ( I have had two ) but the above statement is well wide of the mark considering many other products from the same maker . W123's had their faults as well , but they were certainly a more solidly engineered car than the 124 .

Window regulators : I went through three on my 300TE during the seven years and 100K I ran it for , failure of them is very common and the reason why is evident when you examine them - the geared quadrant is a cheap casting made of putty-metal . Compare that to a W123 and you will see a solidly engineered mechanism , failure of which is practically unheard of .

Indicator lenses : on the W124 held in by a flimsy plastic clip which sometimes breaks ; on the W123 still a plastic extension of the lens , but held in by a brass bolt and knurled knob .

Even looking at some of the cabin fittings - the air vents on a 124 are made of plastic ; look at an S Class ( 116 or 126 ) and the vents look very similar - only these ones are made of metal , painted black with a chrome effect detail round the edges .

Just shut the doors on a 123 and you will feel the difference in solidity between that and a 124 , then again try shutting doors on a W116 S Class or a R107 and you will come closer to the feeling of shutting the door on Fort Knox .

The programme also made much of the panoramic wiper and the percentage of the glass it cleared - however , the earlier 'clap hands' wipers used on all models during the 1960's came very close without the mechanical complexity ( and unreliability ) . One principle of good engineering that should not be ignored is that if there is a simple way of doing something , it is preferable to a more complex way , all other things being equal - a good example of this being the manually adjustable drivers door mirror rather than having it electric like the passenger one .

Of course , probably THE most over engineered car of all time would be the W100 , or the 600 as it was more popularly known . The quality of construction , the advanced technology and the levels of refinement set it a world apart from every other car of its time , AND it could probably still show a lot of current cars a thing or two .

 

[stwat]

I think you'l find, the W201 is, 'the most over-engineered car - EVER'

 

[jasonyw]

I think you'l find, the W201 is, 'the most over-engineered car - EVER'

Why?

I had one until I have to get rid of it because of the rusts in Scotland.

The oil smell remind me of my Singer sewing machine.

The soft ride is excellent but 4 forward gears on automatic is a no no for me.

The W202 is a better engine but stiffer ride. I still got it after 14 years and starting to rust. God knows when the exhaust is going to give up that worry me for the last 6 years. I made the mistake of not connecting back one of the lead properly while changing the spark plugs damaged the catalyst which barely passed emission MOT test.