Dryce
Hardcore MB Enthusiast
- Joined
- May 17, 2006
- Messages
- 11,476
- Car
- GLE
Despite my extended ongoing defection I do get the chance to drive MBs from time to time and I recently had the chance to spend some time in a W205 having a drive round some bits of Wiltshire and Dorset and Somerset.
It was basic C200 petrol with the 7G box and leather.
And to avoid forcing you to read any further and bothering with the extended waffle below - I thought it was rather good.
My view of MB is that they lost the plot a bit round about the time the W204 appeared. Not that the W204 is a bad car - but I whenever felt like having one on my driveway. With the W205 MB have fixed some of the issues that irked me - it looks cleaner and less cluttered from the B pillar forwards - and isn't too offensive from the rear. Oddly though the car seems small from the outside - less is perhaps more - but it feels more like a car from another generation in terms of its apparent size.
Inside the front accommodation is fine - again it doesn't feel big. But the rear looks and feels smaller to me. The rear seat squabs seem tiny.
When I picked the car up it was in Sport+ mode. The 4 pot petrol lump is smooth and quiet. S+ didn't feel particularly inspiring. I quickly moved it back to C for Comfort. Oh dear oh dear. Now previous MBs I've driven have tended to be put in C and the car just gets on OK - less snappy but a bit smoother. This W205 felt clumsy and awful in C - the pedal response was slugged and the transmission response ... well 'response' implies it was responding - I think it was mainly ignoring. So I ended up the rest of the trip in Sport which seemed fine.
It's not fast. But it is comfortably brisk. On 16" wheels it was really good on As and Bs. Road noise was low, it was comfortable, and yet still poised. No rattles or shudders. The 7G box pretty much seamless - it got caught only a couple of times on steep curves on down shifts. It felt lighter than the W204. The steering feels a bit lighter than I think is right for a MB and the feedback isn't perfect - but these are minor niggles. It was actually nice having a bit less torque at the low end as it made it easy to just firm up the car a little through tight bends with the right foot = I find RWD diesels a bit less subtle. Though I'd be a bit concerned that with two more passengers in the back and luggage that it would get slugged by the weight - but with just a driver or driver+passenger it seems fine.
In terms of refinement the engine was endearingly unobtrusive unless pushed. And a special word on the stop-start - the engine is quiet and vibration free on idle - and there was none of the slight diesel judder on stop-start taht I'm used to from BMW and VAG's 6 pot diesels.
Economy wasn't great. I reckon I got 35mpg on roads that in an equivalent diesel saloon I would have got 45mpg. But, and it's a considered but, the better refinement of this 4 pot petrol lump could win me over - particularly if I was using the car with an appreciable amount of suburban and urban driving in my usage mix.
The interior design and dash are not great IMO. The round vents felt cheap - and reminded me of a late 60s Cortina - but shinier and cheaper. Yes they are functional - but they irked. That smnall poxy tablet like screen is .... oh dear I'm going to say it again - cheap. The centre consiole with the rotary controller doesn't look cheap - it feels better than BMW's iDrive - but then I don't like the iDrive dial setup and MB aping it doesn't impress me. My feeling is taht they put the money into that and skimped on the rest.
I didn't particularly like the steering column based gear selection. Easy to use and I could get used to it but I'd prefer that if they stick a stalk on that side they made the wiper control up down / back forward instead of the rotary stalk setup which on this car was fiddly - more fiddly than my old W211. I prefer the gear selector on the centre console.
The coloured display between the two dash dials reminded me of a Mondeo from five years go - even down to the information colour clutter. Trying to do too much and the colours doesn't work for me. I prefer the more monochrome styling on my VW - it's less obtrusive and clearer.
And one oddity. My recollection is that on my W211 the aircon light was on if the A/C was *off*. This setup had a red light that was on when the A/C was on. That is a tiny detail but it just sucks because a red light to my mind means a warning - the old MB way of the A/C being on and no indication was the right way and that MB have lost a bit of their soul on this.
So final thoughts: Really decent car if you avoid Comfort mode. Does the driving bit nicely and without fuss or drama. And anybody considering a diesel but lookign for refinement should have a serious think about the petrol option.
It was basic C200 petrol with the 7G box and leather.
And to avoid forcing you to read any further and bothering with the extended waffle below - I thought it was rather good.
My view of MB is that they lost the plot a bit round about the time the W204 appeared. Not that the W204 is a bad car - but I whenever felt like having one on my driveway. With the W205 MB have fixed some of the issues that irked me - it looks cleaner and less cluttered from the B pillar forwards - and isn't too offensive from the rear. Oddly though the car seems small from the outside - less is perhaps more - but it feels more like a car from another generation in terms of its apparent size.
Inside the front accommodation is fine - again it doesn't feel big. But the rear looks and feels smaller to me. The rear seat squabs seem tiny.
When I picked the car up it was in Sport+ mode. The 4 pot petrol lump is smooth and quiet. S+ didn't feel particularly inspiring. I quickly moved it back to C for Comfort. Oh dear oh dear. Now previous MBs I've driven have tended to be put in C and the car just gets on OK - less snappy but a bit smoother. This W205 felt clumsy and awful in C - the pedal response was slugged and the transmission response ... well 'response' implies it was responding - I think it was mainly ignoring. So I ended up the rest of the trip in Sport which seemed fine.
It's not fast. But it is comfortably brisk. On 16" wheels it was really good on As and Bs. Road noise was low, it was comfortable, and yet still poised. No rattles or shudders. The 7G box pretty much seamless - it got caught only a couple of times on steep curves on down shifts. It felt lighter than the W204. The steering feels a bit lighter than I think is right for a MB and the feedback isn't perfect - but these are minor niggles. It was actually nice having a bit less torque at the low end as it made it easy to just firm up the car a little through tight bends with the right foot = I find RWD diesels a bit less subtle. Though I'd be a bit concerned that with two more passengers in the back and luggage that it would get slugged by the weight - but with just a driver or driver+passenger it seems fine.
In terms of refinement the engine was endearingly unobtrusive unless pushed. And a special word on the stop-start - the engine is quiet and vibration free on idle - and there was none of the slight diesel judder on stop-start taht I'm used to from BMW and VAG's 6 pot diesels.
Economy wasn't great. I reckon I got 35mpg on roads that in an equivalent diesel saloon I would have got 45mpg. But, and it's a considered but, the better refinement of this 4 pot petrol lump could win me over - particularly if I was using the car with an appreciable amount of suburban and urban driving in my usage mix.
The interior design and dash are not great IMO. The round vents felt cheap - and reminded me of a late 60s Cortina - but shinier and cheaper. Yes they are functional - but they irked. That smnall poxy tablet like screen is .... oh dear I'm going to say it again - cheap. The centre consiole with the rotary controller doesn't look cheap - it feels better than BMW's iDrive - but then I don't like the iDrive dial setup and MB aping it doesn't impress me. My feeling is taht they put the money into that and skimped on the rest.
I didn't particularly like the steering column based gear selection. Easy to use and I could get used to it but I'd prefer that if they stick a stalk on that side they made the wiper control up down / back forward instead of the rotary stalk setup which on this car was fiddly - more fiddly than my old W211. I prefer the gear selector on the centre console.
The coloured display between the two dash dials reminded me of a Mondeo from five years go - even down to the information colour clutter. Trying to do too much and the colours doesn't work for me. I prefer the more monochrome styling on my VW - it's less obtrusive and clearer.
And one oddity. My recollection is that on my W211 the aircon light was on if the A/C was *off*. This setup had a red light that was on when the A/C was on. That is a tiny detail but it just sucks because a red light to my mind means a warning - the old MB way of the A/C being on and no indication was the right way and that MB have lost a bit of their soul on this.
So final thoughts: Really decent car if you avoid Comfort mode. Does the driving bit nicely and without fuss or drama. And anybody considering a diesel but lookign for refinement should have a serious think about the petrol option.
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