Lincoln

As some of you know, I purchased my 97 R129 from my father when he purchased an 05 R230 sport package. I finally drove the R230 for some time this weekend and here are my thoughts and comparisons to the R129.

The R230 handles nicely and has better steering feel then the R129 but neither has great steering feel like a BMW or Porsche. The ride is alot firmer on the R230 but it's still not quite sporty enough for my tastes. I was surprised at how much I didn't like driving with the top up on the R230...it's like being in a tin can (resonates a little) and creaks alot. Overall, the structure of the R230 with the top down is impressive and cowl shake in almost unnoticable compared to alot of cowl shake on the R129. I don't like the seats on most MBs I've driven or owned but the R230 are great and comfortable to me. The R129 seats are almost as good (I have the adjustable lumber/etc on my 129). The stereo on the R230 is terrible compared to the stereo on the 129. The cupholders on the 230 are useless, where the 129s are some of the best I've used. I don't like the fact that everything on the 230 is electric (more to break), especially for functions like tilting the seat forward to access the rear compartments...give me a manual setup like the 129, it's faster and more reliable. I love, love, love the exhaust sound on the 230, finally an MB that you can hear with the stock exhaust!!! I don't like many little things about the COMAND system in the 230 and find the steering wheel controls to be counter-intuitive compared to other makes...the real downside is that you MUST use the steering wheel controls if you are using the drivers side cup holder since it blocks the radio display and controls. I also don't like that to be in a mode to change the radio stations you must have both sides of the dash readouts showing radio info. I'd prefer one side showing radio with the other side showing either street location/direction or temp. I also don't like the HVAC controls on the R230, but can't say the 129 are really great either (just a little better). The main problem with the controls on the 230 is that at night if the system is off the indicator to turn it back to automatic has no light...it's something you would get used to after some more time in the car but it's just a dumb design. The range on the homelink on the 230 is terrible (and yes, I've followed the procedure on himelink.com to improve it). Would I trade my 129 for a 230??? Only if it was an SL55 or 65 but not for a 500. I'm still leaning toward a 911 cab for my next car.

mebeJOE

Thanks for the info; some questions:


What is the main reason you wouldn't trade the 129 for the 230? Is it the "tin can" feel you mentioned or the difficulty with the controls?

Does the 230 attract any more or less attention from "spectators" than the 129?

I think the tranny has a couple of more ratios on the 230 when compared to the 129. Did this make any difference?

Other than the "tin can" feel, was there any noticable build-quality differences?

Lincoln

It felt very solid, more then I expected from my few short drives I've taken that more time was spent learning how to operate the car then paying attention to the details. The 'tin can' feel probably wouldn't keep me from buying it since I tend to try and only drive my SL when it's top down weather, it's more the overall feeling about the electronics in the car that scare me. It just wasn't all that fun to drive (point of reference: I hated the way my 01 CLK55 drove too...fast but boring). I didn't notice any more or less attention but I tend to not notice this unless someone says something to me when I'm stopped as opposed to watching peoples reactions (that's just not me, I don't care what other people think as long as I'm happy). I will say that in two full days of driving the car a few hundred miles I only had verbal comments from one other R230 driver (our cars were identical). Contrast that to two days from the last time we had great weather in my 129 and I got comments everywhere I went (this has been constant since I put the 19" AMG reps on her).

As far as the tranny goes. The 230 is nice and smooth but slow to respond/kickdown when you want/need it to. It also seems to start in second gear if you don't floor it right away from a stop and it takes flooring it to get it to kick down to first once it's started in second. Again, too much car thinking for me and not enough car reacting appropriately to my inputs. Again the CLK55 had the similar issues and it's probably why I've always been a BMW guy and not an MB guy. I love my 129 as a cruiser and for it's tanklike feel and I might keep it for commuting to work on nice days for a long time, it's just not my "be all, get all" car that I thought the R230 might have a chance of being. MB has come a long way in trying to make there cars more fun to drive and closing the gap between them and BMW but I'd still rather drive a BMW if they weren't all so damn ugly now (where almost all the MBs are beautiful to look at with the 230 SL and CLS being my current favs).

JAM

Interesting that you feel the audio systme in the R230 is better than the R129. My R129 audio system just never sounds right. There is certainly lots of bass, but overall the sound quality is somewhat muddy....

I have never been a Bose fan, although out of all the MB's that I've owned, the Bose Beta system in my W140 was the best.

On the solidity of the ride, I can see the R129 as the winner. I test drove the R230 and thought it felt smooth but not as solid, not as heavy/weighted.

As far as looks and attention, I might be biased, but I thing the R129 wins. The R129 is far more distinctive. The front of the R230 could easily be mistaken for a C-class, or CLK.

c4791p

Interesting comment about the audio.

Just bought a 2001 SL in blue "designo" colors, 18K, one other owner. While looking this past Friday I drove several other 2002 and 2001 all with the same miles and all about the same pricing down in the Phoenix AZ area.

INTERESTING differences in the stereo sounds.

Took along the new Madonna CD my wife likes as a tester. Two had buzzing sounds in the front speakers, one sounded like you were listening through a pillow and even if you cranked the base up it just wasn't right, and one (just as goldilocks said) was just right -- great tonal qualities, super base, etc..

I am willing to bet there is not one MBZ dealer out there with repairmen with ears sensitive enough to tell the diffference, hell they can't even hear rattles when a car is under warranty

Chuck

CY

I've had both: The 230 is superior in every way IMO, except for potential problems. Out of warranty I'd probably have a 129, since the 230 wil cost $$$.

mebeJOE

My understanding is that in the next couple of years, MB is going to put that new V-8 from the "S" class in the R230. That might settle the question of which is more desirable, no?

Lincoln

I believe the 07 SL550 will be out within the next few weeks or months, not years. Have you seen the deals on new 05 and 06 SLs lately??? $20K off sticker for new 05s and little less on new 06s is what I've been seeing in the past few weeks. Those deals will probably get better once the 550s are on the ground.