Review of Mercedes C Class on Wall Street Journal

[vasudeva]

I recently came across a review of new Mercedes C Class on Wall Street Journal. The link is posted here:

The Driver's Seat - WSJ.com

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by vasudeva

I recently came across a review of new Mercedes C Class on Wall Street Journal. The link is posted here:

The Driver's Seat - WSJ.com

Vasudeva, that is a great link. I never knew that the Merc's image has started taking a beating !

BTW, we are already on the 7th day of March, so where is your excel sheet ?

[vasudeva]

As for the excel sheet, nothing on Feb 2008 figures as yet from SIAM.

[1100D]

I would quote some select portions from this, to say why I do not agree to this review at all.


1> The writer wants to have no difference between the S and C when it comes to equipment levels. I dont think he is ignorant enough to not know about difference in price points and segmentation.

As with the previous-generation C-Class, this new version of Mercedes's best-selling model is comfortable and competent, and somewhat resembles a shrunken S-Class. Except that most of the impressive technology that makes the brand's flagship all that it is -- the adaptive cruise control, the infrared night-vision camera system, the massaging seats, etc. -- has been stripped out. Worse, the diminution removed the big car's gravitas,

2> There goes,expecting a 3.5L V6 to have similar response to a 5.5L v8. I dont think knowledge is the issue here. Its just pretension, to write it that way, thats the problem, forceful brand bashing, I would say. I wonder what tagline he would take when the AMG would be launched in this region of the world.

On the road, the C300 rides and handles well, though the automatic-equipped car feels as sluggish as the S-Class doesn't. As delightful as the seven-speed is in the bigger car, the extra torque of the S-Class's V8 helps obscure the problem you encounter again and again in the C-Class:

3> Complete nonsense, If you have been given the option of using those paddles to shift a gear if you like, please get those adipose tissues on your fingertips to work for you. But then, with people obsessed with eating and gaining weight, well, moving that finger is such a pain. You can definitely get a limo and let the driver do the driving for you. Give him instructions to drive the way you want him to, without twitching a finger.

By the time you can jab the pedal hard enough to get the car to downshift, it's too late for the poky V6 to make up the difference. Yes, you can always use the "Touch Shift" to manually shift the automatic, but then why not just get the manual transmission in the first place?

4> This is the real reason for the niceties expressed on his article. Wants to appeal to the segment of the readerbase who were offended by the de-merger.

If it were a Chrysler, I might be raving about the C-Class,

Worse, the diminution removed the big car's gravitas, leaving the C-Class looking more like a restrained, less-ugly version of the Chrysler Sebring, that overstyled mistake that the Mercedes guys left behind when they took their half of DaimlerChrysler and fled back to Germany last year.

In the end, I dont think this article serves any purpose other than, taking a printout of and using as a tissue paper. If it had value, he would have actually compared the car vis-a-vis a 3-series BMW and I, for one, would not have had a problem if he found the 3-series to be better.

[GTO]

It will take more time than Mercedes had antipated, to make people believe that the good ol' Benz quality is back. In terms of material quality, yes....the new C and S are proof of Mercedes' renewed commitment. Sadly, the cars are still not reliable. The new S hasn't exactly been a trouble-free ride.

[Nikhilb2008]

Originally Posted by GTO

It will take more time than Mercedes had antipated, to make people believe that the good ol' Benz quality is back. In terms of material quality, yes....the new C and S are proof of Mercedes' renewed commitment. Sadly, the cars are still not reliable. The new S hasn't exactly been a trouble-free ride.

Oh really ? I didnt know that. I kind of assumed that the new S-class was just as reliable as the S-classes of old.

Do you have any links which I could read to educate myself ?

Edit : Reading my post again and it sounds like I am challenging you. Trust me, I am not. Am just too sleepy to retype the post in different words

[morphin1]

Great analysis Nikhil.
I agree with you and hope that the new C class proves to be what Mercedes claims.

[Scooby STi]

I have to admit that is a pretty lousy review, he can't seem to stop comparing a C-class to an S-class on equipment levels or lack thereof on the C. Its almost comical that he is comparing a 35k car to a 70k car and can't seem to stop, where is the objectivity and does'nt the WSJ have editors?

Mercedes build quality is definitely on the up since the last generation, they are getting back to their basics. He has a point though that Mercedes has a car for every imaginable class of vehicle, it is diluting the brand image, but again in their defense its because of the present state of the market.

Coming to driving a C and comparing it to a 3 series or an A4, its the more glitzy car (something the new A4 with its LEDs might change). But one thing is apparent after driving all of these cars, the 3 has some sort of intangible X-factor that makes it a superior driving machine than the other two. Its something about BMW's thats built in that puts them apart. This is what is missing with the C-class, Mercedes used to have its own intangible X-factor that made them seem more solid and indestructible than the opposition, which they sadly seem to have lost.

[merve_extreme]

Originally Posted by GTO

It will take more time than Mercedes had antipated, to make people believe that the good ol' Benz quality is back. In terms of material quality, yes....the new C and S are proof of Mercedes' renewed commitment. Sadly, the cars are still not reliable. The new S hasn't exactly been a trouble-free ride.

I think the quality is back and people know it.The S-class has been the most trouble free new Benz since 1995.At least i have not read much about its troubles.There may be a few instances though.

It was ranked highest in JD Power IQS along with the A8.

[GTO - Touring]

Originally Posted by nikhilb2008

Oh really ? I didnt know that. I kind of assumed that the new S-class was just as reliable as the S-classes of old.

Originally Posted by merve_extreme

I think the quality is back and people know it.The S-class has been the most trouble free new Benz since 1995.At least i have not read much about its troubles.There may be a few instances though.

It was ranked highest in JD Power IQS along with the A8.

Merve : JD Power accounts for dung when compared to actual ownership reviews. 17 actual S-Class owners (6 whom I know personally) have filled out our ownership reports and given it a below average rating on reliability. You really can't argue with the person who has paid 80 lakhs of his own hard earned cash for a car.

Problem areas within the air suspension, electronics, air-conditioner, horn etc. still remain. I do agree with you that Mercedes quality is on its way up, this shows in the New C, E and S Class.

Buttttttttttttttttttttttttt reliability is yet not a Mercedes forté. The newer complicated cars are a far cry from the simpler construction previous generations.

[merve_extreme]

Originally Posted by GTO - Touring

Merve : JD Power accounts for dung when compared to actual ownership reviews. 17 actual S-Class owners (6 whom I know personally) have filled out our ownership reports and given it a below average rating on reliability.

Where,in India or the US?

[vasudeva]

Of course, Mercedes-Benz has long been an innovator and a leader in engineering and safety. Most of their models still are great to drive and sit in-when they move. Daimler is claiming that their quality has improved. However, consumers here and in the US have long memories and it takes some time for reality (if it has changed) to catch up with perception built up over some years of `worse than average' (these are Consumer Reports' words) reliability.

Even owner satisfaction for Merc S class (as per CR) is at the median (73% would buy that car again) as compared with 88% for Lexus LS460, and 83% for Infiniti M35

[vasudeva]

By the way, CR is also a customer, since they claim to buy every car they test and rate (unlike most mags and arm chair critics). They bought a MB S550 in Mar 07 for $90200. According to them, the highs for MB S class is Acceleration, ride, handling, steering, interior room, seat comfort, fit and finish. Lows are controls, price, rocker window switches, reliability.

[greenhorn]

the reviewer is from detroit- which side do you think he'll take

[JayD]

Want proof that older mercs are better? Here in kerala, the good old 123's are still favoured over the 210 series. Butt, the newer mercs are showing an increase in quality to their old lofty standards!