New mercedes models - interior quality?

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bulldoze

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Aug 29, 2008
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I have a 55 W203 Avantgarde and my wife has a 2009 SLK 350 - why is my interior quality so much better than hers? everything from the feel of the plastics to the fuel filler mechanism is inferior in the SLK - I have also recently been in both a Boxster and a TT and they put the SLK to shame.

Wandered around Mercedes World this weekend and sat in most of the cars and with the exception of the top of the range MLs and the AMG models all the interiors seemed plasticky and cheap especially the W204 and the new E Class.

Obviously this is perceived quality on my part - does anyone else feel the same?

I have had the W203 for 2 years and everytime I sit in it I get a sense of satisfaction and solidity and everytime I sit in the SLK I am disappointed!
 
Yes, my friend has a 2010 ML and the interior plastics and switch gear are the same as in the 2007 A class that I had.
Very very poor IMO, if you're paying that kind of money for an ML, I would like it to have a luxury feel to it and not be the same as in the base Mercedes model.
 
The big problem for all car manufacturers is that the luxurious-feeling soft touch plastics that we've all got used to over the years are very difficult to recycle. That was fine while there wasn't an absolute requirement on the original manufacturer to provide recycling for their products at end-of-life, but not any more.

Developing luxurious-feeling soft touch plastics that are easy and cheap to recycle - which is critically important to keep future costs under control - is hugely expensive. VW Group (for example) have invested heavily and have some really good new ones, Mercedes-Benz don't - yet.
 
I thought it was just me :D I looked at the interior of a C63 AMG and the dashboard was straight out of a Mondeo or Mazda 6 (plastics wise)
 
Same here, my friend has an the new e-class cabriolet and its is very plasticky..... not gud enough...
 
mercedes spend millions of pounds a year on a special team of professors just to get that cheaper plastic feel to your interior.

(due to current climate conditions i think they may have borrowed a few people from another manufacture....... name withheld lol )
 
Yes, my friend has a 2010 ML and the interior plastics and switch gear are the same as in the 2007 A class that I had.
Very very poor IMO, if you're paying that kind of money for an ML, I would like it to have a luxury feel to it and not be the same as in the base Mercedes model.
That was exactly my feeling about the 2007 ML500 I had for a couple of weeks earlier in the year. Very cheap feel inside, not up to the cost level in my opinion. Hate tyo bang on about it, but the CLSs I've tried all seem to have nice feeling interiors with what "feel" like good quality materials. Was a special effort made with these?
 
mercedes spend millions of pounds a year on a special team of professors just to get that cheaper plastic feel to your interior.

(due to current climate conditions i think they may have borrowed a few people from another manufacture....... name withheld lol )
Maybe Mercedes are dumbing down? :D
 
It seems they are always the first to get there with technology and innovation etc and due to the standards slipping / cost saving (or what ever the use of words) for some time maybe they saw the future and predicted the downturn...
 
Or maybe they are reducing their costs while still robbing us the buyers with high costs of buying and ownership....
Which begs the question - - why do we do it?? :D
 
Maybe I'm just inherently cheap but I find the interior on mine pretty decent!
 
...........with much Mercedes love.......
we wouldnt be here without :bannana:
 
Absolutely! And long may we feel that way! :D
 
Or maybe they are reducing their costs while still robbing us the buyers with high costs of buying and ownership....

I wouldnt say robbing. Look at a 1996 eclass pricelist and look at whats standard in the cars now. Its cheaper to buy and own an E class now than its ever been.
 

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