Alfajock
Active Member
Hi
Haven't posted for a while but thought you might like a quick write up about my new toy, a w219 CLS 350 CDI Grand Edition in Black with Black Leather. Or, according to the kids, the Batmobile for short!
She is my fourth Mercedes (might have to finally change my username) after a series of increasingly sensible company cars; an 08 w204 C320 Elegance, 12 C250 Sport and then a 14 E220 SE.
The C320 was lovely – really quick, a fabulously amusing Q-car in Grandad Elegance trim and she never missed a beat in 94k. No issues at all with either the 320 engine or the 7g box, which I know isn't everyone’s experience. As a first Mercedes she really set the tone for me – hugely capable and satisfying, much more fun to drive than I was expecting, and a car for grown ups after a succession of fun, fast and flawed Alfas and Saab Aeros.
Four years on the C250 seemed like a good compromise as it offered most of the performance for half the tax bill, and the Sport styling and 18s suited my forty something mid life crisis. Sadly, the firmer suspension ruined the ride on anything other than smooth surfaces (seem any of those lately?) to the point where my kids were getting car sick and the 250 engine is a strong and economical but gruff beastie. COMAND and ILS were big pluses though.
An opportunity arose on the company fleet to swap it early for a three month old current model E220 SE which restored calm and harmony to the ride, and the extra space and toy count (came with ILS again and memory seats) made it feel genuinely luxurious. The plush ride comes with body roll but I'm old school and I quite enjoy that in a cars’ handling – it's part of the feedback and once heeled over its actually pretty grippy and neutral. The 220 engine was much quieter too, though still not great, and even in the big E body it always felt adequately brisk and certainly in keeping with the general calm, loping demeanour of the car.
Now a career decision to go freelance means the company car goes back and I needed to source a replacement. I love car shopping and in this case the loss of the convenience and someone else taking the depreciation hit for the high mileage that went with my last job, was more than offset by the freedom of choice gained from being unshackled from either fleet choice lists or company car tax rules.
I did look long and hard at some great PCP deals being offered on the E class (like for like with my E220 was going to work out £100 a month cheaper than my wife’s X3 on order) and the equivalent BMW 5 Series. But at the moment I don't know what my mileage pattern will be with my new business and I didn't fancy either going hugely over the agreed mileage or conversely having £450 a month sitting depreciating in a train station car park every day while I commute into London, so I decide to go second hand for now and see what happens.
So – the criteria.
Definitely E sized rather than C sized – pre-teen kids are about to need the leg room and frankly you just get more for your money second hand at this size.
6 cyl not 4 cyl – partly because the emissions no longer makes much difference financially, because second hand they are less popular and therefore better value if you can afford the higher fuel bills, and partly because – well, just because!
Non Sport - I've just grown out of that.
Worst over from a depreciation point of view and easy to shift on (so no return Alfas or Saabs then).
Budget was somewhere around £15k and I didn't want starship mileage (because I may be adding that myself) and something relatively up to date and well equipped – diesel, auto, nav and leather basically for both enjoyment and resale.
I looked at some late w211 E320s (lovely, but starting to date a bit), early w212 E350s (nice enough, but too many Sports and not keen on the fussy pre-facelift styling), E60 530ds (again, why are they all M-Sports with concrete suspension – are us Brit males really so insecure…), 3.0TDI A6s (way too bland and ditto all this S-line nonsense) and 2.7d Jag XFs (underpowered and a bit too much whiff of the Golf Club and the Coffin).
But what really drew my eye was the first gen w219 CLS – which is odd because it never really grabbed me when new, but it seemed to tick all my boxes and its offbeat nature appeals to me hugely. I love the styling – gothic with a hint of Zeppelin – and because it was unique (I'll even use the much overused and abused word “iconic”) and didn't fit the design language of the rest of the range at the time, it seems timeless now and to me at least it has not dated in the way the w211 has. In addition they are almost all V6 CDIs with lots of kit, and because of the nature of the vehicle new they tend not to have had company drivers like me sticking 25k a year on them.
Much research concluded that the facelifted 08 onward with HDD Comand and Media Interface was the one to go for, and Parktronic was essential. The Grand Edition seemed to be the most sought after with the extra kit and 272bhp Brabus chip as standard, but standard 350cdi would also have been fine with me.
I looked at a number and finally settled on a Grand Edition from an indie dealer, 10 plate with lowish 48k miles and full dealer service history. Immaculate and apparently cared for with two private owners, and I got a decent 2 year warranty and all the alloys refurbed thrown in, so I'm very happy with the deal.
Only picked her up yesterday and pottered around a bit in the pissing rain, so not much chance to report back on the driving impressions yet. Thoughts so far – lovely supple ride is maintained from the E-class chassis combined with nicely taut handling relative the E220, the parameter steering is much nicer, and the v6 sounds luxuriantly gorgeous. Little chance to exercise it but it certainly has the thrust I remember from the C320 and it will be interesting to see whether the extra 48horses really make themselves noticeable. The interior is gorgeous, materials and build quality are outstanding and I can see where the premium over the E class went. The kids love the separate rear buckets and the frameless doors, and have approved the clarity and bass extension of the stereo…
Weather looking drier this morning so a good wash, some photos and decent play seem to be in the cards and I will report back!
Haven't posted for a while but thought you might like a quick write up about my new toy, a w219 CLS 350 CDI Grand Edition in Black with Black Leather. Or, according to the kids, the Batmobile for short!
She is my fourth Mercedes (might have to finally change my username) after a series of increasingly sensible company cars; an 08 w204 C320 Elegance, 12 C250 Sport and then a 14 E220 SE.
The C320 was lovely – really quick, a fabulously amusing Q-car in Grandad Elegance trim and she never missed a beat in 94k. No issues at all with either the 320 engine or the 7g box, which I know isn't everyone’s experience. As a first Mercedes she really set the tone for me – hugely capable and satisfying, much more fun to drive than I was expecting, and a car for grown ups after a succession of fun, fast and flawed Alfas and Saab Aeros.
Four years on the C250 seemed like a good compromise as it offered most of the performance for half the tax bill, and the Sport styling and 18s suited my forty something mid life crisis. Sadly, the firmer suspension ruined the ride on anything other than smooth surfaces (seem any of those lately?) to the point where my kids were getting car sick and the 250 engine is a strong and economical but gruff beastie. COMAND and ILS were big pluses though.
An opportunity arose on the company fleet to swap it early for a three month old current model E220 SE which restored calm and harmony to the ride, and the extra space and toy count (came with ILS again and memory seats) made it feel genuinely luxurious. The plush ride comes with body roll but I'm old school and I quite enjoy that in a cars’ handling – it's part of the feedback and once heeled over its actually pretty grippy and neutral. The 220 engine was much quieter too, though still not great, and even in the big E body it always felt adequately brisk and certainly in keeping with the general calm, loping demeanour of the car.
Now a career decision to go freelance means the company car goes back and I needed to source a replacement. I love car shopping and in this case the loss of the convenience and someone else taking the depreciation hit for the high mileage that went with my last job, was more than offset by the freedom of choice gained from being unshackled from either fleet choice lists or company car tax rules.
I did look long and hard at some great PCP deals being offered on the E class (like for like with my E220 was going to work out £100 a month cheaper than my wife’s X3 on order) and the equivalent BMW 5 Series. But at the moment I don't know what my mileage pattern will be with my new business and I didn't fancy either going hugely over the agreed mileage or conversely having £450 a month sitting depreciating in a train station car park every day while I commute into London, so I decide to go second hand for now and see what happens.
So – the criteria.
Definitely E sized rather than C sized – pre-teen kids are about to need the leg room and frankly you just get more for your money second hand at this size.
6 cyl not 4 cyl – partly because the emissions no longer makes much difference financially, because second hand they are less popular and therefore better value if you can afford the higher fuel bills, and partly because – well, just because!
Non Sport - I've just grown out of that.
Worst over from a depreciation point of view and easy to shift on (so no return Alfas or Saabs then).
Budget was somewhere around £15k and I didn't want starship mileage (because I may be adding that myself) and something relatively up to date and well equipped – diesel, auto, nav and leather basically for both enjoyment and resale.
I looked at some late w211 E320s (lovely, but starting to date a bit), early w212 E350s (nice enough, but too many Sports and not keen on the fussy pre-facelift styling), E60 530ds (again, why are they all M-Sports with concrete suspension – are us Brit males really so insecure…), 3.0TDI A6s (way too bland and ditto all this S-line nonsense) and 2.7d Jag XFs (underpowered and a bit too much whiff of the Golf Club and the Coffin).
But what really drew my eye was the first gen w219 CLS – which is odd because it never really grabbed me when new, but it seemed to tick all my boxes and its offbeat nature appeals to me hugely. I love the styling – gothic with a hint of Zeppelin – and because it was unique (I'll even use the much overused and abused word “iconic”) and didn't fit the design language of the rest of the range at the time, it seems timeless now and to me at least it has not dated in the way the w211 has. In addition they are almost all V6 CDIs with lots of kit, and because of the nature of the vehicle new they tend not to have had company drivers like me sticking 25k a year on them.
Much research concluded that the facelifted 08 onward with HDD Comand and Media Interface was the one to go for, and Parktronic was essential. The Grand Edition seemed to be the most sought after with the extra kit and 272bhp Brabus chip as standard, but standard 350cdi would also have been fine with me.
I looked at a number and finally settled on a Grand Edition from an indie dealer, 10 plate with lowish 48k miles and full dealer service history. Immaculate and apparently cared for with two private owners, and I got a decent 2 year warranty and all the alloys refurbed thrown in, so I'm very happy with the deal.
Only picked her up yesterday and pottered around a bit in the pissing rain, so not much chance to report back on the driving impressions yet. Thoughts so far – lovely supple ride is maintained from the E-class chassis combined with nicely taut handling relative the E220, the parameter steering is much nicer, and the v6 sounds luxuriantly gorgeous. Little chance to exercise it but it certainly has the thrust I remember from the C320 and it will be interesting to see whether the extra 48horses really make themselves noticeable. The interior is gorgeous, materials and build quality are outstanding and I can see where the premium over the E class went. The kids love the separate rear buckets and the frameless doors, and have approved the clarity and bass extension of the stereo…
Weather looking drier this morning so a good wash, some photos and decent play seem to be in the cards and I will report back!
. What about seats? It was only thing i did not like on my facelift. Not real leather even not vented 
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