Rate your car

[gazzz]

I'm pretty happy with my car but know it's not everything I want, so thought it might be interesting to see how everyone else rated the main car they're driving against their "ideal".

Value for money - is the car, for what you get, a fair price to buy?
Fuel economy - is it reasonable for the type of car?
Running costs excluding depreciation and fuel - the cost of servicing and maintenance, reliability, tyre wear and spares, tax and insurance?
Handling - sticks to the road, corners well etc
Ride and comfort - interior finish, refinement?
Style - does it stand out in the crowd or say something about you that you like?
Performance - power and torque?
Feel good/ envy factor - does it make you feel good owning/driving it?


I realise this is completely subjective but here's my view against the above factors rated from 1-5 with 1 being not great, 3 being OK and 5 being everything I could want in that type of car:


Facelift 203 AV/SE estate (c200CDI) in obsidian black with sports pack, full leather and staggered 17" alloys

Value for money - 3
Fuel economy - 4
Running costs - Don't know yet but expecting a 2
Handling -4
Ride and comfort - 2
Style - 2
Performance - 3
Feel good/ envy factor - 3

 

[renault12ts]

5 for all of the above.

 

[Will]

Interesting, hmm. I'll go on the CLK55

Value for money - 5
Fuel economy - 3
Running costs - 3
Ride and comfort - 4
Style - 4
Performance - 5
Feel good/ envy factor - 3

My logic being:

VFM - superb, it was a £60,000+ car 8 years ago, at less than £10k these days that's a lot of car for your money now. Probably won't (can't!) depreciate an awful lot more.

Fuel economy - not bad for a 5.4 litre car to be honest. They naturally use a fair bit around town and/or when you're hoofing it, but on a cruise the economy is little different to the smaller engined CLKs. I don't do a lot of private miles so this isn't a big consideration anyway - happy with a 3.

Running costs - not a lot different to other CLKs really bar the brakes and spark plugs. But discs last quite a while and plugs are only once every 60k or something - not a big deal. Parts from MB are often reasonably priced.

Ride/comfort - pretty good, certainly comfortable enough for me, but taught enough to allow some 'pressing on' on A-roads etc. Perfect on motorways IMHO

Style - looks pretty good with the AMG wheels/bumpers/exhaust etc. The 208 CLK is a fairly nice shape too. 4 out of 5 seems fair

Performance - no complaints here. 340ish bhp and plenty of torque means that acceleration is fantastic in any gear at almost any speed. Kickdown at motorway speeds is impressive and it's no slouch off the mark either IMHO.

Feel good factor - fairly good. Nice exhaust note, plenty of shove when you need it, looks quite nice etc.

All in all, not a bad car. 27 out of 35

 

[stevesey]

Until 10 days ago - w202 C240 Sport

Value for money - 5
Fuel economy - 3 (31mpg)
Running costs - 4
Handling -4
Ride and comfort - 4
Style - 4
Performance - 4
Feel good/envy factor - 4

 

[greggster]

E320cdi S211 Avantgarde which i've just sold;

Value for money - 5
Fuel economy - 4 (28/45mpg)
Running costs - 2
Handling -3
Ride and comfort - 4
Style - 2
Performance - 3
Feel good/envy factor - 3

 

[Tim29]

1990 Mercedes 190E 2.5 16 Manual

Value for money - 5
Fuel economy - 2
Running costs - 2
Handling -4
Ride and comfort - 4
Style - 5
Performance - 4
Feel good/envy factor - 5

Tim

 

[davidjpowell]

W211 E320 cdi.

Value for money - 3
Fuel economy -4
Running costs 3
Handling - 4
Ride and comfort - 4
Style - 4
Performance -4
Feel good/ envy factor - 4

 

[crockers]

W203 320 cdi.

Value for money - 3
Fuel economy -4...in relation to performance 5+
Running costs 3
Handling - 4
Ride and comfort - 4
Style - 4
Performance -4 - maybe 5 on May1st
Feel good/ envy factor - 3/4....

 

[BenzedUP]

E320 CDi W211 Avantgarde:

Value for money / 4
Fuel economy / 4
Running costs / 3
Handling / 3
Ride and comfort / 5
Style / 5
Performance / 5
Feel good/envy factor / 4

SLK55 AMG

Value for money / 1
Fuel economy / 2
Running costs / 1
Handling / 5
Ride and comfort / 3
Style / 5
Performance / 5+
Feel good/envy factor / 5

 

[wemorgan]

For when I owned my 1998 W208 CLK320

Value for money / 4
Fuel economy / 4
Running costs / 3
Handling / 3
Ride and comfort / 4
Style / 3
Performance / 4
Feel good/envy factor / 4

Lots of 3's and 4's there but the 'sum of the parts' made the car a very good all-rounder to me, even with the rust issues

 

[GordonTarling]

2009 S211 E320cdi Sport
Value for money - 4
Fuel economy - 4
Running costs - 3
Handling - 4
Ride and comfort - 4
Style - 3
Performance - 4
Feel good/ envy factor - 4

 

[Rocco_W140]

1998 S500 W140
Value for money - 5
Fuel economy - 1
Running costs - 1
Handling - 4
Ride and comfort - 5
Style - 4
Performance - 5
Feel good/ envy factor - 5

 

[Simon_M]

2007 CLS 320CDI with Brabus Kit
Value for money - 4
Fuel economy - 4
Running costs - 4
Handling - 4
Ride and comfort - 5
Style - 5
Performance - 4
Feel good/ envy factor - 5


Is there no section for depreciation?

 

[ShinyF1]

I think these scores would have been higher when the car was younger.

Value for money - 3
Fuel economy - 3
Running costs - 3
Ride and comfort - 3
Style - 4
Performance - 5
Feel good/ envy factor - 3

 

[bpsorrel]

5 for everything for the S211, 5 for all except the envy factor for the Saab, which I don't recall receiving any envy for!

 

[N7OGP]

2002 E220 cdi Elegance

Value for money - 5
Fuel economy - 4
Running costs - 4
Handling -5
Ride and comfort - 5
Style - 5
Performance - 4
Feel good/ envy factor - 5

 

[Niks]

1995 W124 E280 Saloon

Value for money - 5
Fuel economy - 1
Running costs - 1
Handling -2
Ride and comfort - 5
Style - 5
Performance - 2
Feel good/ envy factor - 5

 

[Will]

Sounds a bit harsh Niks! - 1 for running costs and 1 for fuel? 2 for performance?

It could be worse surely

 

[Adam230K]

Going to do 2 cars as honestly as I can (some of these ratings come down to comparing them to each other):

1998 W202 C230 Kompressor (Manual) Saloon

Value for money - 5
Fuel economy - 5
Running costs - 5
Handling - 4
Ride and comfort - 3
Style - 4
Performance - 5
Feel good/ envy factor - 3

33/40

1999 E39 540i Sport Saloon

Value for money - 5
Fuel economy - 2
Running costs - 2
Handling - 3
Ride and comfort - 5
Style - 5
Performance - 4
Feel good/ envy factor - 5

31/40

Let me explain! .

Why have I rated the little kompressor over the E39 for handling? Well maybe its all down to initial perception, but I thought the BMW would handle better than it did, and I thought the kompressor would handle worse than it did, if that makes sense . The kompressor is soo much lighter, and more I felt more in control when I drove it, might be down to the transmission too here I feel, but the E39 gives you the perception you are in a small car, but you really aren't!

The 5 series is a much better equipped car (of course, its a tier above the C-class, and also a generation ahead), and the ride is a league above the c-class.

Of course (this is down to opinion aswell), I feel that the E39 is a better looking car, and when you are in it, you feel like you are in something special.

Why have I given the Kompressor a 5 and the E39 a 4 in performance? Well I'll tell you. Looking at it straight on, the w202 is a 190hp 14xxkg saloon 4 banger, and the E39 is 286bhp V8 monster weighing in at almost 1700kg, but in town, they honestly feel identical in speed, if not slightly favouring the W202 because of its weight and transmission. Of course if you put them on a motorway, the kompressor can kiss the e39's rear goodbye, but that's my point. I live in London and I honestly couldn't access that part of the E39's power that puts it above the w202 as often as you might think. Its very hard to explain if you haven't understood me thus far, but its all about how & when you can access all the available power, and I feel the w202 was more suited to my location and driving habits.

All in all, I personally feel the 202 gave me more 'bang for my buck' as the yanks would put it, and thats why I've rated it above the E39. The E39 is a monster, and its a beautiful drive don't get me wrong, much better equipped and its clear that its probably as well built as the w202 (maybe better in some areas), but I just remember the w202 being a more 'fun' car to drive, and I was less worried about things going wrong because it was a cheap and simple car to run. Horses for courses and all that.

Also keep in mind that I've not driven as many cars as some of you! I still have a few years of driving ahead of me

 

[JonMad]

2010 Ford Fiesta Titanium TDCi

Value for money - 5
Fuel economy - 5
Running costs - 5
Handling - 3
Ride and comfort - 4
Style - 3
Performance - 2
Feel good/ envy factor - 3

30/40

2003 W209 CLK55 AMG

Value for money - 4
Fuel economy - 2
Running costs - 2
Handling - 3
Ride and comfort - 3
Style - 5
Performance - 5
Feel good/ envy factor - 5

29/40

erm...!