[akj53]

Originally Posted by entropy

Disappointed with the pricing. Is it a CBU import ?

Merc has been pricing its locally assembled cars as if they were CBU imports and pocketing the import duty benefit themselves.

Audi and BMW have very gladly copied Merc's above mentioned pricing policy. So all 3 are making lots of money at the expense of Indian customers.

[Caramelo]

Originally Posted by S350L-E240

Caramelo, Nope none of those, infact it's just a Avantgarde spec car with a few casual options, nothing out of the extraordinary as part of the Indian Standard specification.

I thought they would try 1up BMW, who offer nightvision on the 5 series.

aw crap so they don't provide this as an option too?this is after all the money is paid and add to that the duties and taxes, its really sad!!

lane assist : this is wont work as we don't have good roads forget the lanes

blind spot assist:just think of it lane assist can help you when idiots come from the left and right without warning to overtake!!

night-view: can spot cows and camels in highway far away when you are doing like 200 kmph on a remote highway1!

adaptive cruise control: they actually have developed a system which is specifically great in stop go traffic!! and it breaks and can bring the vehicle to a complete stop the most advanced among ACCs!! people hate cruise control and think its of no use in india!! well this system should be used in india!!! it would be so useful in traffic heavy highways!!

[GTO]

Audi and BMW have very gladly copied Merc's above mentioned pricing policy. So all 3 are making lots of money at the expense of Indian customers.

Very true. Consider this : The E Class cost only 22 - 23 lakhs in 1997. By 2006, even entry level E Class' started at 40 lakhs while the top-end largest engine variants nearly touch the 50 lakh mark. Heck, even a C Class in 2005 (30 lakhs) cost more than the E did only 7 - 8 years back. BMW & Audi have joined the party too. The 3 series & A4 hover in the range of 30 lakhs while the 5 series & A6 are in the 40 - 50 lakh rupee price range.

Originally Posted by S350L-E240

Any idea on the 0-100 times on this? I mean for the indian spec car?

We tested the E350 petrol at 7.9 seconds (Review linky). The diesel, with more low end torque, has got to be quicker.

[canonball]

GTO isn't there something we can do to get pricing at real levels. As a forum & as a group isn't there anything we can do about this? This has been going on for long and I think some consumer activism is needed. Some stray articles pop up every now and then but no one has done a campaign.

All CKD ops ensure that the car certianly turns out cheaper than a similar import yet if you cost the Ex showroom prices you see a very very fat margin and they seem on par with an import!

I thought competition is suppose to make consumer king which is the buzz now

[Yeldo]

Base Deutschland prices:

E350CDI Blue Efficiency- 50,991.50EUR
E350CGI Blue Efficiency- 51,943.50EUR (but then it's a CGI)
Avantgarde trim 3,361.75EUR extra.

S350CDI Blue Efficiency LWB- 80,860.5EUR
S350LWB- 84,014.0EUR (non- CGI)

So, on the E Class, the usual practice of pricing as per engine size/ designation remains, and CGI prices are higher than similarly designated CDI BE prices, but that equation somehow is not there in the S Class.

Finally, the E350 BlueTEC is 53,371.50EUR.

As 1EUR = +/- 70, you do the math. All prices have European VAT included.

And, features like DISTRONIC, KeylessGo, Lights package, etc. are options even on Avantgarde trim. Honestly, I wouldn't want a car to judge itself the safe distance from the vehicle in front of it- how one would ever drive in almost all Indian cities? And night vision? Look on the road, not the screen, would you?

[GTO]

Originally Posted by canonball

GTO isn't there something we can do to get pricing at real levels. As a forum & as a group isn't there anything we can do about this? This has been going on for long and I think some consumer activism is needed. Some stray articles pop up every now and then but no one has done a campaign.

Hey, its a free market. As long as customers are willing to pay 50 lakhs for a BMW 530d.....

Competition is the only factor that can set things right. Look at how the Fortuner shook up the 20 lakh SUV market. Heck, you have HM selling a 20 year old SUV for a higher price! On a related note, I hear Lexus is coming to our shores soon. Expect value pricing

[Yeldo]

The Government make a good big fat margin too, as the tax component in the price here is way higher than the US, and many EU countries. But when you look at the prices through the Purchasing Power Parity lens rather than the real exchange rates, the price distortion grows even higher.

Originally Posted by GTO

On a related note, I hear Lexus is coming to our shores soon. Expect value pricing

I doubt it. Toyota priced the LC200 at 85 lacs, almost equivalent to grey market dealer imports which had by then stabilized at around 90 lacs for the Diesel variant.

[Caramelo]

Originally Posted by GTO

Hey, its a free market. As long as customers are willing to pay 50 lakhs for a BMW 530d.....

Competition is the only factor that can set things right. Look at how the Fortuner shook up the 20 lakh SUV market. Heck, you have HM selling a 20 year old SUV for a higher price! On a related note, I hear Lexus is coming to our shores soon. Expect value pricing

yup lexus will just cause a price flu here i think!! .

i feel so angry when you see that all the cars in US cost half of what you pay here. audi Q7 is like 25 lacs there! and the landcruiser is 40 lacs OMG!!!! yeah but options can add some price to it!! but its still bloody cheap than here!

[hanmust]

Sorry for the delay in posting the photos! As said earlier due to intimely & heavy smoking we couldn't snap more or better photos. I've clubbed the launch during my official trip, hence I had another appointment after the launch & I rushed to there, hence couldn't take more snaps!

[Caramelo]

hey what does CGI stands for?

[hiren959]

CGI is Stratified Charged Gasoline Injection technology. It's been developed by those masters of the TLA at Mercedes Benz.

[kbk_75]

OMG! Look how jacked up the suspension is! I fully understand the need for it here, but it completely ruins the taut, muscular stance that cars like these have abroad! It makes it look like it is standing on tip toe constantly!

[hiren959]

Today there is a full page advertisement in TOI of this beauty now available in diesel, Blue efficiency.

[jigbarai]

Saw 2 of these already at Hiranandani, Powai - black ones. With proper number plates.

Some kind of Post.D.I. was going on from what I could judge 50 mts away.

[Dippy]

Note from Team BHP Support:

Please continue discussions in this thread (Now updated with a review of the E350 CDI)