Test drive in E 250 CDI

[renault12ts]

Want an estate so will have to wait til March.

Anyway went into the dealer for first impression of the w212. Got a test drive in a 250 CDI. Want to try a 350 because the 250 feels like a 4 ( which it is ) . Powerful enough with 204 bhp and 500 torques, but in brochure it states max torque between 1600 and 1800 rpm, ( must be wrong ).The interior was black, an SE, felt oppressive.

Whilst hanging about waiting to be noticed I sat in the saloon and a coupe. The cup holder in the saloon was broken ( one of the spring loaded holders was solid ). I would spec a light interior. The 350 gets the little switch to engage gear and also therefore gets more storage between the seats.

I am sure these cars are a leap forward from the w210 which I currently drive, but you know, it wasn't huge. I didn't get back into my car and feel I was missing out. The prices are ( although not released for the estate ) at about the same level as they were 10 years ago and therefore in real terms cheaper.

The equipment level is far higher, and the estate is better planned than even the w211 so I feel a great urge to leave bangernomics behind and put my name down for spring delivery. I will do PCP, but the dealer can't give much more than a vague idea of costs because they change the deals every quarter, but I should not lay out much more than I did 10 years ago for a 2 year old E300td AG estate.

When driving it everything fell to hand and felt familiar. But the wide open space in the w210 was ( it seemed ) replaced by a tighter space, though apparently its bigger. I'm 90% there, I suspect when I try the 350CDI i'll be 100%. But the leather and interior will be a light colour. The AG has 17" wheels so will look better. In the showroom there was a runout CLS320CDI with nice 5 spoke 18s, that was nice.

Am I mad? Answers on a post card.

 

[Gareth]

I much prefer the darker interiors, but have yet to see a W212 in the flesh, I should pop along to Mercedes Benz World with it being just up the road but haven't had the time.

 

[Mactech]

No you are quite right! The black interiors in the 212 are very dark places to be. I've had both light and dark in 211 estates and both my cars now have light interiors. Less practical maybe, but I feel a much nicer place to be
Unfortunalty I'm now spoilt with the S, so if I have to downsize I will go the whole hog and go for a small cheap diesel, then blag the ML if I have to go far!

 

[fast_eddie]

Hi,

agreed on the 250, I test drove a UK-spec SE and - compared to my v6 E320cdi - while it had most of the power, it felt quite clattery and inelegant.

Obviously runing costs are highly advantageous though - currently in Ireland, the annual road tax on a 3.0 litre engine is a spit under eur1300 per annum (unless you have an '08 or later, when we switched to emissions-based banding, in which case the 200g/km will cost you eur1000 per annum).

The car I drove was silver with black leather and alumium interior, and I found the interior very "squared" and ultimately less attractive than the flowing lines of the 211 interior.

Now waiting for the same dealer to get an Avantgarde E350cdi for hopefully a closer comparison with my current car...

Cheers,
Eddie