S350 CDi BlueTEC drive ...

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AlanD

Active Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2011
Messages
609
Location
London
Car
CLS55 AMG IWC
Well, to cut a very long story short, I've landed up with one of these for a week on loan. It's a strange world. :eek:

Anyway, thought I'd share some opinions, as one who would most certainly not class themselves as the average target audience for such a car!

It's BIG! Damn .. big! Doesn't fit in my driveway without sticking out a foot or so big. Quite wide too .. certainly have to choose not to squeeze through a few spaces that would otherwise be acceptable in a normal sized car!

Now all that aside, it is plush. Quiet, comfortable, ridden with gadgets and a beautiful feel and finish to it all. Incredible air suspension and seats. The kids almost exploded in ecstasy at all the buttons and seat adjustments they could make in the back! The stereo is nice, but totally unimpressive.

You know, the funny thing .. this car gets WAY more attention than the C55! I dunno .. maybe it's because my taste is more Q cars and most people who strive towards one-upping the neighbours understand what an S Class is better, but I've had estate agents, neighbours, passers by ... all sorts comment on it! Ok, so it's a nearly new £70k-ish car .. I guess that must account for something. Strange though.

To drive, it pulls away like nothing I've ever driven - like it's designed from the ground up for a chauffeur! Such silky smooth pull-aways every time. The torque gives a real kick in the back when you poke it. Well, about 1-2 seconds after you poke it. Especially when already on the move. Then it runs out of revs. Quickly. And changes gear. Slowly. But then another big shove of torque.

All in all, I'm grateful for the experience and would enjoy being driven around in one, but it's not the car for me. That's not a bad reflection on it with my car history! It's a bit too lazy - even with the suspension in sport and the drive in S, it's still slow to react and wallowy when pushed (not that I pushed it much .. would be uncouth to do so!!). I know it's not meant to be driven like that.

Also, the styling didn't quite work for me. It's a huge car to stand by - very tall and the doors are like bank vaults. It looks imposing, but it's just not quite .. I dunno .. "sexy" is the wrong word, but it doesn't quite float my boat. If I had the money, I think I'd have to go for something a little more curvy and special looking. Just my tuppence :D
 
Well it's gone now after a week. Have to say, I was glad to have the C55 back. I missed that V8 rumble and the revs that only petrol can bring! It certainly felt odd getting straight out of one and into the other! Heavier steering, lower, shorter, narrower ... and FASTER! ;)

The S Class is impressive - and apparently very desirable to a large slice of the .. ahem .. over 40s shall we say (but generally the over 50s!!). I base this on the sheer amount of comments from anyone and everyone of that age and a middle class background!

It's an odd car in many ways still - enormous torque, but delivered with huge lag, slow shifts and very little rev range. Even that torque doesn't get it moving too quickly at motorway speeds mind you (I am comparing to an AMG, so possibly unfair!).

It's comfortable, it's luxurious and it's easy to drive (if a little large). If I had the money, maybe I'd get a bigger brother S Class and have someone else drive me in it. But then .. styling .. nothing "wrong", but nothing to fall in love with on the outside for me.
 
S500 is the way to go ;)
 
S500 is the way to go ;)

But then he is still left with the very large car that doesn't fit on his drive, or wallows.

Horses for courses. The C55 will be a hard act to follow I reckon.
 
LOL, true, but I think we established the S Class in general probably isn't for me! I assume the point LTD was making was that the S350 is somewhat overshadowed by the likes of the S500 - I certainly found some odd shortcomings that perhaps the larger brother would improve. Perhaps a bit of a 316/318 compared to a "proper" BMW ..!?

Not having being in one, I can only guess however! :)
 
I probably would say a 6pot engine is really more for the likes of C's and E's, an S is a very large car, too large for only 3000cc engine. You're however, still left with the wallowing, and the largeness of car that you simply won't feel if you were in your C55. However, comfort wise, the S is in a league of its own.

Both feel good cars, one relaxes you, the other thrills.
 
Yep, and I loved the comfort of the S350 .. the 3.5 V6 diesel didn't seem like the greatest match however .. bucket of torque or not! Someone lend me an S500 and I'll compare ;)
 

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