bensales

After two years with my C220 AMG S205, the time has come for it to go. Back to supporting British manufacturing, and collecting a new Jaguar XF-S on Saturday. Going from a 180bhp diesel to a 380bhp petrol is going to be fun :-)

So what did I like and dislike about the Merc?

Likes:
* Panoramic roof. I thought sunroofs had died out with the advent of climate control, but I loved it for the light. Especially with the black headlining making the inside of the car look like a coal bunker.
* Sound quality of the Burmester.
* Interior fit and finish.
* Seat controls on the door. Far better than buried on the side of the seat.
* Exterior design. The estate looks loads better than the saloon IMO. It's a lovely looking car.
* The front seats automatically moving forwards when you drop the rear seats.
* Column gear shift. I thought I'd hate it but it works really well.
* The infamous screen. Looks lousy in photos, but its perfectly positioned for your eye line.
* The smoothness. Even with the little oil burner, the car has continued to get smoother as it's got older.

Dislikes:
* The ergonomics are lousy. The steering wheel isn't centre to the driver's seat. There is a speaker with a cover above the left foot rest, meaning my foot doesn't fit on the rest. The plastic reinforcement in the seat base bolsters digs into my hips.
* The auto tailgate is an exercise in frustration. Never opens quite as fast as you want it to, and you're always paranoid in low car parks or that you've reversed too close to a wall, despite what the markers on the reversing camera screen say.
* The sat nav is ****. Telling you to keep left (UK) when approaching large motorway junctions because it doesn't recognise them as roundabouts is extremely poor. And not having the next manoeuvre always on-screen is something even £50 TomToms do. Live traffic also doesn't seem very good, despite being a TomTom subscription in the UK.
* COMAND in general is very unintuitive.
* It's nowhere near as fuel efficient as they say. I've mostly done long distance motorway journeys, usually in Eco once going, but Comfort around town. Little use of Sport as it's pointless in a car with so little power. MPG (UK) over two years has been 46mpg.
* Self parking? A fun gadget, but I can park faster myself.

In summary... there are worse places to spend a couple of years, but I probably should have leased an E-Class. It was always temporary until the new XF came out, and I should have stayed in the same segment. And whoever buys it from the lease company's auction is going to get a bargain. There isn't a scratch on it, nor a single swirl mark :-)

ManiacGT

I could list a few more things but like you sadly this car hasn't lived up to what I expected of the brand. Lovely design but flawed design. Parts that don't fit, hinges that don't meet in the boot properly, filler cap proud of body, loads I've found that is simply crap QA and no excuse.

bensales

Agreed. The way I've ended up rationalising it, is that it's a 20 grand car with toys to make it a 40 grand one.

It's not a 40 grand car to start with.

ManiacGT

I've had cheap cars where fuel flaps are flush, boot hinges aren't welded in the wrong place allowing the floor to fall out when moved, gearboxes don't feel like a 5 year old is driving, doors don't creak, dash doesn't squeak and rattle, glovebox doesn't fart when opening , oh god there's tons more.

it does annoy me because I really want to like it but you can just tell it was rushed out...

Mike5215

The C has always been the least Benz-like car Mercedes sells (pre CLA). The "luxury" is always more a veneer in the C rather than something baked through and through like it is in the S Class. Frankly, the previous gen E's were hewn much closer to the C than the S.

The 205 at least adds some pizzaz to the styling, inside and out. It's a veneer, but it's at least a convincing veneer. I don't think any modern Benz is built well enough to be considered a decent long-term prospect. Best to have some fun for a few years and unload them before the end of the warranty.

I've often said that the difference between owning a Benz in warranty and a Benz out of warranty is the difference between dating a stripper and marrying a stripper.

MASSC450

I hear you...most likely this will be my last Mercedes Benz as well. We'll see what the new redesigned 2018 BMW 340 has to offer.

Mostly, the value in owning a Mercedes to me is not there...you just don't get a lot for your money, and the technology is like 5 years behind the times. Don't get me wrong, I still like my C450 and it does a lot of things well, but it excels in only a few.

For instance with remote start, why bother even offering it when it doesn't activate the front/rear window defrosters, outside mirrors, and the driver's heated seat for a remote start below 37 degrees F? My wife's 2017 Jaguar XE does most of those things, and my old 2014 Grand Cherokee did those things too, AND it's heated steering wheel would activate as well! Hell, Mercedes STILL doesn't even offer a heated Sport steering wheel for the W205.