New Member Saying Hi

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RussellS

New Member
Joined
Aug 3, 2020
Messages
18
Location
Portsmouth
Car
C220d AMG Line Premium Estate
Hello, I have just registered and thought I would introduce myself.

I'm Russell and I live just up the road from Portsmouth on the south coast of England. Last year I bought a used (less than one year old) Mercedes C220d AMG Line Premium Estate.
The Mercedes replaced a Hyundai i40 Premium which I had from new and was 5 years old. I absolutely love the interior of the Mercedes and the controls etc. However, I have to be honest, there are a couple of things that I am dissapointed about and I think should be much better on a supposedly high end car.

Firstly, the sound quality from the audio system is not particularly good. Now I've looked into this and I now know that I have the Audio 20 system installed which just has 4 x 4inch full range speakers (one in each door) and I think a 6.5inch subwoofer (if such a small speaker can be called a subwoofer) somewhere which I haven't found yet. This is all driven directly from the head unit and not from a separate amp. Personally I think this is shocking given the cost of the car and the fact that this is labelled a Premium model and not just the base model. My Hyundai i40 on the other hand was superb in this department with a full Harmon Kardon setup with mid range speakers and separate tweeters in the doors and a proper subwoofer in the boot all powered from a seperate HK amp. I was shocked to find that there weren't even any tweeters mounted in the tweeter panels in the front doors on the Mercedes.
The other thing with the Audio 20 system I was surprised about was the hands free telephone system and the lack of voice dialling. However this wasn't really an issue once I discovered that the voice button on the steering wheel connects directly to the Google Assistant on my phone and I can voice dial using that which works perfectly. I now actually prefer this system as I can also send text messages etc using the same method.

The second thing is that I find the left foot rest (sometimes referred to as the dead pedal) uncomfortable. It doesn't really appear to be a proper foot rest but just a lump in the carpet. I find it not wide enough for my foot to rest on properly and so my foot tilts and slides off it. It would have been nice to have a proper foot rest there.

However, apart from these two issues I love the car. The performance if great, the equipment level is good and lots of room in both the cabin and the boot.
I'm currently in the process of fitting some Alpine tweeters in the door housings to see if that improves the sound at all and later on maybe fitting a proper powered subwoofer in the boot. I will document my progress in these forums as I go. I am also looking at a foot rest addon to see if that improves the comfort.


Oh, and the other thing that was a tough pill to swallow but not Mercedes fault is the car tax. The Hyundai i40 was £30 a year whereas the Mercedes is £485. How does that even make sense, the Mercedes has a more efficient engine with less emissions. I also have a 4.2L V8 Supercharged Jaguar XKR in the garage which does around 20mpg and the tax on that is about £200 less than the Mercedes. ~The adverts used to say 'tax doesn't have to be taxing' ...... I've got news for them lol


Anyway, sorry for the long rambling post,

Russell
 
Welcome to the forum.

The sound quality of the sound system in the Merc is shyte because they can get away with charging you a lot more for the Burmester - which I think is shyte too if you appreciate good sound quality and a depth of sound.

The 6" woofer could probably reproduce some subwoofer frequencies but at best they would be quiet and the speaker would distort easily trying to do so as it is made of old crap they cobbled together from a recycling centre.

The footrest is the same situation as the audio... because they can.

This arguably make the Hyundai better value but it's not always about that for the car enthusiast of course!

The car tax situation has changed because they revised things April 2017.

It's now based on the car value new as well as emissions.

You can find it quite easily searching but if your car is over £40k, you get rogered. If it is high polluting, you get rogered. If it is both, make sure you buy some Vaseline. It's for the first 5 years of the car this applies IIRC.
 
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There’s plenty of dead pedal foot plates on the internet, if you can find one that fits.
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This arguably make the Hyundai better value but it's not always about that for the car enthusiast of course!

Yeah, it's strange isn't it. On paper the Hyundai is undoubtedly better value for money. It was a very well built car, with very good spec list. The sound system really was superb and apart from the performance it was a great car. However, it was uninspiring to drive and had no character. The Merc on the other hand I look forward to driving even with it's draw backs.

There’s plenty of dead pedal foot plates on the internet, if you can find one that fits.
View attachment 100418
Yeah I've found a few. I'm just a bit dubious how stable they are as they are only stuck onto the carpet with double sided tape albeit 3M VHB tape.
 
Hi and welcome :thumb:
 
Yeah I've found a few. I'm just a bit dubious how stable they are as they are only stuck onto the carpet with double sided tape albeit 3M VHB tape.
Mine is Velcro on the rear and never had an issue with it. Mine also has a lip on one edge which also helps to keep it in situ.
 
Hello and a warm welcome:thumb:
 
Hi all just registered here as I am planning on being an owner soon fingers crossed 👍🤞
 
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Wecome Russell, sorry to hear your not 100% smitten (Yet) with your new Merc, but think how many browny points you have earned upgrading from the hyundai:p:p:p
 
Hi all just registered here as I am planning on being an owner soon fingers crossed 👍🤞
Welcome J8y1 and get that Mercedes bought, I have never been a car guy, 2 wheels was more my thang, but I find myself looking at my W211 Estate like a loved up teen at his/her first crush:)
 
Welcome, J8y1. :) 👍
 
Wecome Russell, sorry to hear your not 100% smitten (Yet) with your new Merc, but think how many browny points you have earned upgrading from the hyundai:p:p:p
I actually had a hybrid Hyundai before and it was ok but didn’t get a great feel from it also so I’m on the hunt now lol
 
Wecome Russell, sorry to hear your not 100% smitten (Yet) with your new Merc, but think how many browny points you have earned upgrading from the hyundai:p:p:p
Thanks Geoff, don't get me wrong, I love the Merc and as I said earlier I look forward to getting in it and driving. I've had many cars over the years and I don't think any one of them was 100% perfect but I've always modded them to address the shortcomings.
I've never been what I would call a badge snob, I have always chosen a car based on value for money, comfort and level of equipment and I've not normally been swayed by a badge or taken performance into account. If I want performance I've got a 4.2L V8 Supercharged Jag convertible in the garage which is my real pride & joy. However on this occasion I decided I wanted something a bit more prestigious for the family car (call it a mid life crisis) and after looking at everything out there I couldn't find anything I liked as much as the Merc. It also really does look nice sitting on the drive and I do like a car with a proper front grill which is sadly lacking on a lot of cars these days.

I will hopefully be addressing the sound quality issues and am currently fitting some Alpine tweeters as a starting point.
 
I actually had a hybrid Hyundai before and it was ok but didn’t get a great feel from it also so I’m on the hunt now lol
Yes I imagine they are a good reliable car but not the most exciting to drive, so happy hunting
 
Thanks Geoff, don't get me wrong, I love the Merc and as I said earlier I look forward to getting in it and driving. I've had many cars over the years and I don't think any one of them was 100% perfect but I've always modded them to address the shortcomings.
I've never been what I would call a badge snob, I have always chosen a car based on value for money, comfort and level of equipment and I've not normally been swayed by a badge or taken performance into account. If I want performance I've got a 4.2L V8 Supercharged Jag convertible in the garage which is my real pride & joy. However on this occasion I decided I wanted something a bit more prestigious for the family car (call it a mid life crisis) and after looking at everything out there I couldn't find anything I liked as much as the Merc. It also really does look nice sitting on the drive and I do like a car with a proper front grill which is sadly lacking on a lot of cars these days.

I will hopefully be addressing the sound quality issues and am currently fitting some Alpine tweeters as a starting point.
Sounds like you will soon get the sound system licked inot shape, I have back into the fold myself after having Volvos the last 10 years and fair play the HK system in my old S60 sounded amazing
 

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