Hi - I'm not an MB owner (yet), but certainly very tempted and looking to find out as much as I can! My history (of cars worth mentioning) is an Accord Type R and a Mondeo ST220 (which I currently own). As a former biker many a year ago and fond of the odd day on track (with someone else’s car!), I’m always wanting for a more responsive car.
I'm in the market for a C32 AMG ... I think ...! Here's a little background on where I'm coming from:
The ATR was lots of fun and had incredible handling for a 4 door saloon - lightweight and well balanced. The 209 BHP and high revs went fantastically well together for blasting through country lanes. Great soundtrack! The problem came with a fully laden car on the motorways - no torque and not so much fun dropping to 2nd out of every roundabout plus redlining at 7,500 with the wife and kids in tow! Honda garages were professional, but pretty expensive places! Very good at spotting problems and always willing to investigate without charge (and then charge you £90/hr to fix of course!).
The ST220 is a powerful, relaxing car. 223 BHP might not sound like much more, but with bucket loads more torque, it reduces 2nd and 1st to stop/start gears and the silky smooth 3.0 V6 is a joy. However, it just isn't very exciting! It feels heavy and unresponsive under 60mph and a little tentative when pushed in lower speed twisties - understeer a particular favourite (more than you'd expect). Great fun on the motorways, even fully laden - can embarrass many a premium brand! Ford garages though - my God, they are terrible! Tried several and they seem to be just full of wideboys and half-hearted mechanics that rarely spot problems. Most won't even look at your car without a chunk of money up front. How to make a customer feel unimportant!
Now, after a couple of years almost with the ST220, I'm basically a bit bored. I'm also moving from 2 cars to 1 as a result of a job change and being on the Tube now for work. The wife loves the gadgets in the ST220 (honestly similar to much higher end cars like many MB, etc.), the huge boot and how relaxing it is to drive ... but hates how wide and long it is. I'm never going to be happy with a 2.0 Focus, so her car is for sale .. however, it got me thinking about getting rid of mine too! The ST220 is a 05 plate with 40k miles, so not really wanting to go much older or much higher mileage.
My boredom issues - handling isn't nearly what it could be for me. I want something that will hold the road and not feel like a very powerful elephant. The front wheel drive is much more of a problem with this than the ATR. Under 60mph acceleration is bland (ok, fast by "normal" car standards, but not excitingly so). MPG is terrible already, so as long as I don't get worse, I'm ok (about 20mpg at best for me when commuting on town and country lanes and not being too silly; about 17mpg for the wife doing the school run all week; 28mpg is my record on a long run "trying" to take it easy!).
As it's a single family car, it must have 4 doors and a large boot and be easy to drive for a non-enthusiast (my lady-wife!!). So, to cut a long story not-so-short, I arrived at the C32 AMG or Audi S4 as two possible solutions (EVO or Scooby way too raw and precocious for a single car family!).
I am/was very nervous about the fact that the C32 is an auto - I've never ever liked autos! Have taken a test drive in one however and most of the issues I had are .. well .. not such a problem! It doesn’t really feel any quicker above 60mph than the ST220, but looking at the numbers go by, I know it is. Under 60mph it was a real rocket (if only petrol were cheaper!) and the handling seemed quite good, although I certainly didn’t push it since it was a private test drive!
So, currently, I think the C32 is more exciting than the S4 and lighter on petrol it would seem (well .. V6 vs. V8 isn’t fair!). I want a 2004 model as it otherwise seems like a little too far back in time and I don’t really want over 60k miles. I’ll only be putting 5-8k miles on it a year. Problem is, I don’t really want to spend more than about £10k, which may be a little optimistic (depends what I get for the other two cars). Do you think my logic stacks up car choice wise? Anyone else out there using a C32 as an everyday family car? Any advice much appreciated and look forward to taking part in the forum
)
alan
I'm in the market for a C32 AMG ... I think ...! Here's a little background on where I'm coming from:
The ATR was lots of fun and had incredible handling for a 4 door saloon - lightweight and well balanced. The 209 BHP and high revs went fantastically well together for blasting through country lanes. Great soundtrack! The problem came with a fully laden car on the motorways - no torque and not so much fun dropping to 2nd out of every roundabout plus redlining at 7,500 with the wife and kids in tow! Honda garages were professional, but pretty expensive places! Very good at spotting problems and always willing to investigate without charge (and then charge you £90/hr to fix of course!).
The ST220 is a powerful, relaxing car. 223 BHP might not sound like much more, but with bucket loads more torque, it reduces 2nd and 1st to stop/start gears and the silky smooth 3.0 V6 is a joy. However, it just isn't very exciting! It feels heavy and unresponsive under 60mph and a little tentative when pushed in lower speed twisties - understeer a particular favourite (more than you'd expect). Great fun on the motorways, even fully laden - can embarrass many a premium brand! Ford garages though - my God, they are terrible! Tried several and they seem to be just full of wideboys and half-hearted mechanics that rarely spot problems. Most won't even look at your car without a chunk of money up front. How to make a customer feel unimportant!
Now, after a couple of years almost with the ST220, I'm basically a bit bored. I'm also moving from 2 cars to 1 as a result of a job change and being on the Tube now for work. The wife loves the gadgets in the ST220 (honestly similar to much higher end cars like many MB, etc.), the huge boot and how relaxing it is to drive ... but hates how wide and long it is. I'm never going to be happy with a 2.0 Focus, so her car is for sale .. however, it got me thinking about getting rid of mine too! The ST220 is a 05 plate with 40k miles, so not really wanting to go much older or much higher mileage.
My boredom issues - handling isn't nearly what it could be for me. I want something that will hold the road and not feel like a very powerful elephant. The front wheel drive is much more of a problem with this than the ATR. Under 60mph acceleration is bland (ok, fast by "normal" car standards, but not excitingly so). MPG is terrible already, so as long as I don't get worse, I'm ok (about 20mpg at best for me when commuting on town and country lanes and not being too silly; about 17mpg for the wife doing the school run all week; 28mpg is my record on a long run "trying" to take it easy!).
As it's a single family car, it must have 4 doors and a large boot and be easy to drive for a non-enthusiast (my lady-wife!!). So, to cut a long story not-so-short, I arrived at the C32 AMG or Audi S4 as two possible solutions (EVO or Scooby way too raw and precocious for a single car family!).
I am/was very nervous about the fact that the C32 is an auto - I've never ever liked autos! Have taken a test drive in one however and most of the issues I had are .. well .. not such a problem! It doesn’t really feel any quicker above 60mph than the ST220, but looking at the numbers go by, I know it is. Under 60mph it was a real rocket (if only petrol were cheaper!) and the handling seemed quite good, although I certainly didn’t push it since it was a private test drive!
So, currently, I think the C32 is more exciting than the S4 and lighter on petrol it would seem (well .. V6 vs. V8 isn’t fair!). I want a 2004 model as it otherwise seems like a little too far back in time and I don’t really want over 60k miles. I’ll only be putting 5-8k miles on it a year. Problem is, I don’t really want to spend more than about £10k, which may be a little optimistic (depends what I get for the other two cars). Do you think my logic stacks up car choice wise? Anyone else out there using a C32 as an everyday family car? Any advice much appreciated and look forward to taking part in the forum
)alan
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Last time I had an auto (Volvo XC70) I nearly broke my nose .. twice! If you can't guess how, just picture a roundabout, me looking left and my bloody great left boot searching for a clutch .. no wait .. a brake pedal! How to look like an imbecile in 1 easy step! 
