Picking up my New E Class Coupe 350CDI sport

[Odochartaigh]

at 10am tomorrow morning. I have to say im a little nervous. I have had three Audi's leading up to this.

2004 A3 1.6 sport
2007 TT Mark II 2.0T
2008 TTS

This is very strange territory for me as merc has always been the older mans car (im 32) to me! - I seen the E class coupe and my opinion changed. I cancelled my TTRS order and bailed in.

Spec is basic enough.

Memory
Comand
Calcite white

Wish i had got the black/glass roof but I picked up a cancelled order so only had just over a week to wait.

I just hope the car suits me! - Im a flash git so I think the 18's will have to be replaced pronto!

 

[christopherwk]

merc has always been the older mans car

Nah, I was 24 when I got mine!

 

[trapperjohn]

So tomorrow morning you are going to find out what so many "old men" enjoy By tomorrow evening you will have put away any thoughts of "old men and Mercedes" You will know you have arrived. BMW's and Audi's are for people who have to be seen getting there. Mercedes are for people who have arrived. You will be quietly impressed. You will probably have the rip taken out of you by non Mercedes drivers, even some of your buddies may have a pop, let 'em. They will not "know" what is it to own a Mercedes (and a very nice one at that)

Enjoy your day tomorrow and we look forward to your posts tomorrow night, if you are not too busy arriving somewhere with a on your face.

 

[mikeyodowd]

mercs not just for oldies

gota say that mercedes do have the image as an old mans car but i bought my first w203 when i was 19 and i loved it. they just that bit more classy than anything else out there. on my second w203 now would love an amg but because of tax and insurance in ireland i have to wait a bit longer. tax on any car over 3ltr in ireland €1500!!!! and the maximum now is €2500. but i gota still go with mercedes all the way and youl defo love the new e class coupe

 

[The Boss]

put some pics up as soon as mate

 

[renault12ts]

^ I think you'll find not only has he posted pics already, but he's looking rid of it asap !!

 

[blondebier]

^ I think you'll find not only has he posted pics already, but he's looking rid of it asap !!

I think it started to rust...

 

[gIzzE]

If you had come from BMWs you may have found it slightly lacking dynamically, but far more luxurious and comfy, however, coming from an Audi you will love it, it beats the Audis you have had in every department, being RWD it is still more dynamic than 99% of Audis. (RS4 and new S4 are the exceptions).

You buy an Audi because they are bland I reckon, nice enough in every area but never really excel in any, but you can turn up anywhere and people don't bat an eyelid, they just disappear into the background.

People buy Audis because of the badge.

People buy BMWs despite the badge.

People by Mercs because they are Mercs.

 

[gIzzE]

Oh, my current cars are A6 3.2 Avant and a BMW 123d M-Sport. So not exactly a Merc fanboy.

 

[Barryh]

"People buy Mercs because they are Mercs".Yeah I made that mistake.
Mercedes could not give a monkey if you bought their cars or not.
Yes the cars are good,reliable,but not Great.
When it snows you are goosed,loose the back end goosed,Have a problem-Goosed.look at the disgrunted posts on customer service.

Have to say i have never been made to feel really good in Mercedes ownership-reading comments on the Forum ,neither do many others.
To slate BMW & Audi is foolish,they are premium brands.BMW does better dynamics,Audi better interiors & Quattro ,Mercedes -image.
Have to say image has been detrimental as my customers look with some sceptisism at my Merc-You may say they should look on it as sucess,but most people are narrow minded.

Do I like my car -Yes,Do I Love Mercedes Benz-Not really,Why am I on this Forum-Because we love our Mercs and without this comradeship,Mercedes would be nothing

 

[pamrit]

Oh, my current cars are A6 3.2 Avant and a BMW 123d M-Sport. So not exactly a Merc fanboy.

Hi Guy, surprised to see you on the Mercedes forum. I have also moved on, sold the BMW E93 together with the sat nav you supplied and moved on to a new E Class Sport. Have to say I am just loving it - what happened to M3

 

[gIzzE]

I don't ever buy a car to get good service, I expect nothing from the big German dealers other than frustration and disapointment, if I get any better than that I class it as a bonus.

I am not slating BMW and Audi, I own both, however, I do think Audi is the least dynamic of the three marques and definitely the dullest to drive.
They still can't get FWD right and so Quattro is essential, but it is seriously dull.
BMW for me is absolutely light years ahead of just about every other brand as an all round package, however, it is also the one brand that seems to bring out a real hatred from owners of other marques, so a lot of people will never realise just how good they are.


Your point about the Merc is the reason I own an Audi, I can turn up anywere and no one gives it a second look, doesn't annoy anyone, doesn't impress anyone, it just blends into the background, I guess a Volvo V70 is about the only car that does that job better.

"People buy Mercs because they are Mercs".Yeah I made that mistake.
Mercedes could not give a monkey if you bought their cars or not.
Yes the cars are good,reliable,but not Great.
When it snows you are goosed,loose the back end goosed,Have a problem-Goosed.look at the disgrunted posts on customer service.

Have to say i have never been made to feel really good in Mercedes ownership-reading comments on the Forum ,neither do many others.
To slate BMW & Audi is foolish,they are premium brands.BMW does better dynamics,Audi better interiors & Quattro ,Mercedes -image.
Have to say image has been detrimental as my customers look with some sceptisism at my Merc-You may say they should look on it as sucess,but most people are narrow minded.

Do I like my car -Yes,Do I Love Mercedes Benz-Not really,Why am I on this Forum-Because we love our Mercs and without this comradeship,Mercedes would be nothing

 

[gIzzE]

Hi Guy, surprised to see you on the Mercedes forum. I have also moved on, sold the BMW E93 together with the sat nav you supplied and moved on to a new E Class Sport. Have to say I am just loving it - what happened to M3

Hey, how are you mate??!!

I wish you'd let me know you were selling that on, I would have probably bought it back off you.

I got pulled over too many times in the M3 in the last couple of months, got done for 59 on a dual carrigeway that has been 70mph until the other week, and got points, and again on another dual which I thought was 70mph but turned out the the 500m strip before the roundabout was 40mph and they pulled me over doing 60mph and gave me another 3 points.

He said that loads of idiots were buying E46 M3s now the prices had come down, and driving them through the city at silly speeds, so while others in estates etc. were going faster than I, I was always the one to get tugged.

So decided to sell it on, 6 points in a few weeks with more to come no doubt took the shine off it somewhat.

I had the E320 estate when you bought the 3er nav off me, but was offered the A6 back in February at a cracking price I couldn't refuse.
However, as nice as it is, it is incredibly boring, and no where near as comfy and wafty as the Merc so it hasn't actually got much going for it, hence why I am thinking E350cdi estate next spring.


Sorry for taking the thread off on a tangent!!

 

[Barryh]

Should I be cancelling my Audi???

I have heard many people rave about the quattro.

The A6 seems the most user friendly and comfortable inside.The BMW is IMO hellish inside and the new E class too slab fronted a dash with plasticy buttons,but then again not spent much time in either.

Hopefully the quattro will hold better round bends,find the E can loose grip in wet/greasy roads.

On a recent visit to police driving unit,the cops there did not rave about their 5 series,in fact they were very damming as to handling.They preferred FWD cars and 4WD.

 

[gIzzE]

Should I be cancelling my Audi???

We all want something different, hence why there are different marques still going.

Audi is designed to be boring and safe. They (Audi) admit that, they build large amounts of understeer into their chassis' as it can be controlled with a natural reaction, unlike oversteer where you have to control it in a way that doesn't come naturally.
They believe that is what the Audi customer knows and wants from their car, which is probably true for the most part.

If you are finding the E Class is loosing grip with your driving on wet roads then I reckon you probably need the 4WD system, but don't expect great things from it, I can keep the speed up in my RWD BMWs through the corners in the wet far better than I can in any Audi I have owned, including the S4. The only real benefit of Quattro is pulling away in terrible conditions, like snow on a hill, getting out of mud etc. and on the very rare occasion where you aquaplane I'm sure it helps you recover quicker. In general though I would take a RWD over a 4WD if both were offered, in a RWD you can feel exactly what is happening, in a 4WD you can't, it takes away a level of feedback from the car, that last bit that gives you real confidence.

Edit: I should try and explain what I mean about taking away a level of feedback.
In a RWD chassis, even my old E320 elegance estate, which is not exactly a dynamic drive!! I used to be able to feel what the car is doing, I could tell the back end was about to go and react to it, which in turn meant I could always push it to its limit.
Compare that with my S4, it felt more planted, however there was no feedback from the chassis, so you could keep the speed up but it was a case of learning how far you could push it, you could take a corner faster and faster but it was a case of upping the speed each time and remembering how fast you could go, problem with that is it suddenly bites you!! Wen it goes it goes and there is nothing you can do about it, it is not a nice progressive let go, it snaps and you are proper fecked!!

I know a few people who are into their cars, and buy BMWs, Mercs, Porsches and Audis, and 3 of them have written off their cars, and all three of them were in their Audis when it happened, which you would think would be the safest of all the brands. For the most part they are, but when you start to get into powerful 4WD RS cars I'm not so sure, obviously if you buy and RS you want to push it, and if the car is not letting you know whats going on it can be dangerous.

Audi are now rectifying this with the RS4 and new S4 with a 40:60 rear bias and it really helps, I think by the time we are two generations ahead with Audi they will be more like 20:80 rear bias.

I am really interested to see what the OP thinks of the Merc comapred with his TTS?? Have any scary moments in the TTS??



One last thing, BMW sell more 4WD cars than any other German Marque, they have been oustelling Audi for quite a few years now.
BMW UK spent alot of money marketing the 'Ultimate Driving Machine' being RWD in the 80's and it was a marketing decision not to bring the Xi and Xd range of cars to the UK, so even though we don't think of BMW as AWD cars, in Europe they certainly are.

 

[timskemp]

Always remember that although you may get better traction from all wheel drive, grip is still the same. If you rely on the all wheel drive moving power from rear to front to stop you spinning on a wet corner you're beyond the limit of your chassis and driving ability already.

 

[Barryh]

I would have bought another rear wheel drive if the option was there,had RWD for lat 4 cars(13years) .E class N/a yet and 5 series is seriously boring to sit inside everyday.As for its dynamic driving ,we do not need that characteristic every day if at all often.Audi was also a better value package.

as for the original post-Enjoy the coupe it still looks great,much better by far than the mundane saloon.

 

[gIzzE]

I really enjoyed the interior of my 5 series, the toys on it were great and every thing was easy to get to etc.

The A6 has a nicer feel inside sometimes, but the MMI is a bit of a pain compared with the iDrive, easier to pick up, but a bit limited when you know it.

This was my interior...

Which I agree is a bit boring, but then I have got this in the A6...

So not exactly the most exciting of interiors.

You can get a more luxurious interior on the 5 series with some of the lighter colours, and I love the cognac and vanilla interior, which a few have got in their Alpinas..

I actually really like the Elegance interiors in the new E Class, I think the new modern shape suits the lighter trims without making it look too old.

 

[dervdoc]

Nah, I was 24 when I got mine!

22 when i got mine