S211 and 300C estate...

[bpsorrel]

Just thought this was funny..

My S211 and some guy's 300C estate getting washed at the same time (no, this was not fixed for the photo, they really washed them like that!)

Have to say, the 300C does look good, but compared to my monster wheeled S211, it's a pu55y!

 

[st4]

Its an ugly pic of a thing a 300c tourer. The saloon has some real presence about it, but thats a monstrous looking thing.

 

[bpsorrel]

Not as slick and stylish as an S211 Actually, SWMBO really likes the style of the S211 and has even complimented me on my choice! However, this has taken a while as when I first bought it she was horrified! LOL!!!

 

[bpsorrel]

No wonder really, as I sold this 730d to buy it...

And she really liked it!!! Can see our C sport coupe too, which was part ex'd for the Saab a few months after this photo was taken.

 

[A210AMG]

aaarggghhh you pay someone to wash your car...

the sponge has probably been dropped several times before it end up on your paintwork...

As for the 300C Estate, the boot is tiny also very High.

 

[bpsorrel]

You're totally right, but I'm soooo lazy! Once a month (or so..) I wash the cars myself and do all the polishing malarchy - but for general washing off the road crud, I let my Romanians take care of it! Funnily enough, after meeting my Russian wife and talking to me in Russian (my mother was Russian too) they seem to have developed a respect for me that seems to border on fear...

 

[st4]

Hi Barry,

The C coupe I have always liked. Nice wee cars. Probably wouldn't have swapped myself for a Saab but suppose you wanted a rag top.

The 7, heaven.

Very luxuriously appointed and classy looking car. Nice to drive but IMHO no more comfortable than a 211 but very imposing looking and the gadget count, WOW!!!

 

[bpsorrel]

You got it Steve! That car was seriously "feel good"! It wafted along majestically and I still think looks second best to a CLS. My wife loved the interior (I had black leather with matt, light wood) But, it cost a lot to run and so far (fingers tightly crossed!) the S211 has been remakably inexpensive! By comparison, our C coupe was a total disaster! And, I bought it from my client, a major MB dealer group!!

ps- Interestingly, SWMBO had absolutely no problem sussing iDrive, just minutes after we colected the car!!! She still misses that now and often asked why I didn't buy a 211 with Command!

 

[wemorgan]

Sorry to jump on your thread, but I'm interested to hear what you thought of the C coupe.

My sister has one and I drove it briefly over the w/e. I thought the steering was VERY heavy (it's the Evo with "17) and the steering had little or no self centering. Does this tally with your coupe?

 

[James Rothwell]

I've driven a few of those 300C things and they are aren't great to drive they feel old and worn somehow, the HEMI powered thing is pretty hilarious but no matter what the papers say it isn't a E55 AMG.

 

[bpsorrel]

Hi Barry,

The C coupe I have always liked. Nice wee cars. Probably wouldn't have swapped myself for a Saab but suppose you wanted a rag top.

That's it. I looked at several other convertibles, CLK, C70, 3 series, A4 etc, but at the end of the day, something about the Saab appealed (to wifey too!) and, the deal was amazing!! It's a pre-reg that ended up with £12K off the new price!! Nice!!

 

[st4]

You got it Steve! That car was seriously "feel good"! It wafted along majestically and I still think looks second best to a CLS. My wife loved the interior (I had black leather with matt, light wood) But, it cost a lot to run and so far (fingers tightly crossed!) the S211 has been remakably inexpensive! By comparison, our C coupe was a total disaster! And, I bought it from my client, a major MB dealer group!!

ps- Interestingly, SWMBO had absolutely no problem sussing iDrive, just minutes after we colected the car!!! She still misses that now and often asked why I didn't buy a 211 with Command!

yer missus is smarter than me. I've sampled iDrive on a E65 7 series and an E60 5 series and found it quite tricky. The interior was one of the best bits of the 7 series, as were the door hinges, they had struts to allow you to open the door at any angle and hold. Very nice touch.

A 7 is really to big for me though, a 211 I can drive with "conviction" over twisty back roads, a 7 would be just too cumbersome. I am probably better off in a smaller car, next one, a C320cdi. That V6 is just sooooooo good.

 

[bpsorrel]

yeah!! And everything that looked like it was wood, WAS wood and metal things were metal! The quality really was very high. I still think that huge plank of wood across the dash is attractive - the CLS has a similar thing, and I like that too.

 

[Charles Morgan]

I believe the 300C uses a W210 chassis. However, it will be built by Americans, so the whole thing will last about the time it takes to eat a superkingsizedjumbo bucket, or whatever the current light snack fad is there.

Never really got on with the looks of a CLS.

 

[bpsorrel]

But for sheer quality, this is the interior I like best...:bannana:

Can you suss what the car is?

 

[Charles Morgan]

Bentley Arnage?

 

[bpsorrel]

Sorry to jump on your thread, but I'm interested to hear what you thought of the C coupe.

My sister has one and I drove it briefly over the w/e. I thought the steering was VERY heavy (it's the Evo with "17) and the steering had little or no self centering. Does this tally with your coupe?

Sadly, my experience with the C180K sport coupe evo panoramic (what a name!!!) was not all that good!

It looked great in it's jasper blue and alpaca leather but felt flimsy, compared to the S60 before it.

Before I talk about the faults, the driving experience. I agree, the steering did feel heavy and not especially communicative, so cornering was not the joy I'd hoped it would be. The engine was OK, but not really powerful enough for fun, but OK for pottering around. Quite economic though, with a regular 40 mpg average!

Biggest issue I had was a "looseness" in the steering, which even after having the front struts replaced (warranty) and some other suspension components, still felt loose. In fact it got worse and that led to it's being sold tbh.

Other faults included coils breaking down causing the engine to go into limp mode, serious rattles from the panoramic roof, rattles (I cured) from the tailgate, paint bubbling (!!!) round the window frames, BOTH horns going awol at the same time!! The MB service guy said he'd never experienced this before! To be fair, all these items were covered by the warranty, but the car was off the road for a long time!! It was this experience that put me off a CLK convertible when i was looking to change! (plus the fact the interior looked VERY similar!! )

Would I reommend one? Yes, if you find a sorted one, with a larger engine (350 is probably fun!) 'cos it looks so nice IMO and is very practical for a "coupe"!

 

[bpsorrel]

Bentley Arnage?

Yes!! Lovely car, sooo sumptious!

 

[Charles Morgan]

A proper Bentley (not like the Volkswagen Continental GT).

 

[bpsorrel]

Yes! Was VERY powerful too!!! The one I had for a week or so was a Red Label and it's acceleration was scary!! Possibly (after the 66 Mustang..) the car I got the most attention in....not all good though..