[sidindica]

Originally Posted by S350L-E240

Sid, and any info about SLS?

planned for fall 2010 launch priced at Rs. 1.75-2 cr approx

[issigonis]

Digressing here, I am looking for a thread on the C Class ( W204) TD or reviews. Haven't found any in the forum yet. Can anyone direct me if there is one?
Which engine is doing well in India and why?

Regards

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by issigonis

Digressing here, I am looking for a thread on the C Class ( W204) TD or reviews. Haven't found any in the forum yet. Can anyone direct me if there is one?
Which engine is doing well in India and why?

Regards

Here is a testdrive thread by Stratos- http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...04-driven.html

220 CDI is the best most popular version in india, Its incredibly refined, powerful yet has very good FE. Manual version is no longer available.

[sidindica]

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ml#post1612928

E 350 CGI coupe is confirmed for auto expo launch, will be displayed there.

And of course, I will have a glimpse of the expo vehicles sometime by mid of this month.

Maal utarne hi wala hai. Where, when? I do not know. Pics? sorry.Nope.

[Ickx]

Excellent review... would just like to clarify one point... although the clock is indeed 'analog', that dial in the picture in question is not for setting the clock. It's a dimmer switch for the lighting on the speedometer panel. Try it out and see the difference
I almost broke the darn thing off trying to wrestle with it while atempting to reset the time on the clock...later found out clock settings are done through the 'COMAND' system

Originally Posted by funkydevil

That is indeed the clock brother.

Beautiful review there GTO, altough I would like to ask you the same question as Ramsagar here, won't the push system on the fuel cap allow fuel to be stolen easily??

And also an off topic question, but do you have any idea as to when the face lifted S-Class with LED's be made available?

[issigonis]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

Here is a testdrive thread by Stratos- http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...04-driven.html

Anshuman,

Thank you - will check today.

Regards

[sandeepvr]

Quoting my post from the other thread

Hi guys, I just wanted to add my perspective on the ride comfort of the C E & S class and try an understand why anyone would pay so much for these cars in India besides for status of course.

I live predominantly in the US and for 4 months in Bangalore. I own a 2007 S550 4 Matic in the states. The S550's ride is simply exemplary. When I bought the car in 07, I paid $102000 including all taxes, converting it to todays Inr equivalent thats Rs.47lacs approx (In Aug 2007 it worked out to 40lacs) . Now I am not trying to stir up any "in the US cars are so much cheaper" debate, so please don't go there!

During the course of ownership of the S550, I have been given a loaner every time I get my car serviced (loaner is when the dealership gives you a car to use during the time your car is being serviced, yes at no cost to you, its pretty common in the US)

Last week, I was given a gorgeous red 2010 C350 sport as a loaner, while the dealership was getting some air suspension issues sorted on my S550, turned out it needed a new air compressor for the suspension.

Needless to say, I had the C350 for a whole week. I put a total of 700 miles during the week, because I went out of town for the Thanksgiving weekend. The C350 that I had runs for $41000 on road and after a week, I would NEVER EVER by this car in my lifetime, that's how pathetic this car was, I had 2 other friends drive this car and they came out disappointed. They own a Hyundai Sonata and a Nissan Altima and they felt their cars were waaay better than the C350, definitely not worth the $41k.

We shared the same conclusions, the car is really zippy and has nice acceleration for driving in the city but definitely NOT A HIGHWAY CRUISER. During short drives to the mall and back the seats are about average; but after 2 hours surprisingly, your back start hurting, in 3 hours my legs felt numb, because I think the seats sit too low to the floor of the car. I am 5'7" and at near maximum seat height, I felt a little better, but the seats of the C350 are extremely small and uncomfortable. The insides of the car and the fit and finish were nice, but the car too small, rear seat space is cramped. The car was extremely zippy but the steering felt over servo-ed, which you eventually get used to, the engine would rev really high and felt like it was under strain when it was pushed. I simply cannot phantom forking out $41K (18.9INR) for this car let alone the 35 lacs it costs in Bangalore for a lower spec-ed car. I think it is substandard for a Mercedes and just not worth the money here in the US, there are far better cars for that money, like Acura and Infiniti. Infact my 2005 Infiniti FX35 that costed 43K is far far better value than the C350 and is better in every single aspect! I give the C350 4 on 10 and would not recommend it for any highway driving.

Now coming to the E, the loaner I was given sometime back was the last gen W211 E350 Bluetec Diesel. The car had some amazing torque but the ride was just about decent, I did not get a chance to take this on a long drive and had it for only 2 days, so my opinions formed were for In the city driving. Back seat is still not great, my FX35 had more space.Of course this is not a fair comparison SUV to car, but the E350 diesel costed about 60K on road, thats 27.6 lacs , my Infiniti seemed like a Bargain compared to the E350. Again the Infiniti I felt outscored the E350 in most aspects except ride comfort, where the FX35 is know to be a little stiff in the ride department. Although the E350 was a whole lot better than the C350, but the interiors were no where near as nice as that of the S550. The E350 just did not feel and ride like a Mercedes. Considering everything I would give the E350 a 6 on 10 after paying US prices.

The S550, I know its a lot more money, but the car is simply the BEST car I have driven to date, nothing I mean nothing comes close to this. This car feels as regal as a Mercedes should feel. The S550 here in the US comes only in the long wheel base version, so at sharp turns you can feel the length of the car, thats about my only gripe. The car has sooo much power that u forget your in such a big car. This car feels as safe as a tank, the same cannot be said about the E. The E feels tinny in comparison. I am not getting into details about the S because everything is excellent about it, there is really nothing to complain about. Id give a 11 on 10 for the S550 and worth every single penny!!

Now what I dont understand is, given the fact that you cant really push any of these cars in a Indian City why would anyone pay so much for the C or E in India? I cant justify their prices in the US forget India. Dont you think a Honda Accord or a Hyundai Sonata is more than adequate for Indian driving conditions. I just dont see the point of people giving away their hard earned money towards import duties and taxes which eventually end up lining the pockets of our politicians

[GTO]

Originally Posted by MonkeyMan

Just gone through the latest Autocar Issue and they give the New E Class 350 CDI a 10/10 rating.

Originally Posted by stanjohn123

Why would autocar give a 10/10 to Merc I don't know.

Originally Posted by akhilesh51

A 10/10 to Merc E class!

To be honest, I don't see anything wrong with ACI's evaluation and scoring. Does the E meet the requirements of its target market in entirety? You bet. Its comfortable, refined, has the best ride quality + rear backseat and is now well equipped too.

Originally Posted by sidindica

That awful Indigolight blue colour?

Oh, the one colour that takes the cake is the dull grey of the previous (W220) S Class. That's the absolute worst shade Merc has ever offered.

Yes, the 4 cylinder 250 will be a CGI direct petrol injection.

I'm looking forward to the E250 diesel, its got 500 nm of torque!

Originally Posted by Ickx

Excellent review... would just like to clarify one point... although the clock is indeed 'analog', that dial in the picture in question is not for setting the clock. It's a dimmer switch for the lighting on the speedometer panel. Try it out and see the difference

Thanks for the tip!

Originally Posted by sandeepvr

I own a 2007 S550 4 Matic in the states. The S550's ride is simply exemplary.

The whole car is exemplary! Congrats on owning a V8 S Class.

some air suspension issues sorted on my S550, turned out it needed a new air compressor for the suspension.

Unfortunately, a known issue with the new S Class as well as the previous W220. Why can't Merc get their air suspensions right, after making them for so long!!

Now what I dont understand is, given the fact that you cant really push any of these cars in a Indian City why would anyone pay so much for the C or E in India? I cant justify their prices in the US forget India. Dont you think a Honda Accord or a Hyundai Sonata is more than adequate for Indian driving conditions.

The Accord & Superb, without a doubt, are supreme VFM. But then, why even go to 20 lakhs? A 10 lakh rupee Altis is all that one needs in India (if not a 6 lakh rupee Manza). As you climb up the food chain, its less about what you get for the money, and more about the badge / feel good factor. That said, I do agree with you in that, 20 lakh cars today offer 98% of what your heart & head could ever ask for.

[twinblades]

A friend of mine bought a C class a few months back. He just bought it for sake of having a Mercedes. He seems happy about his car although he is the type guy who will no admit if he has made a wrong choice.

[sidindica]

Some news too good to be true, but true it is.

• 4 cylinder E class elegence, I will see it later today.
• S 500 CKD for 90 lakh confirmed.
• Base price of M class=48 lakh, confirmed.
• 7 seater GL 350 CDI for seventy lakh with decent loadings, confirmed.
• SLS at auto expo? confirmed.

[MonkeyMan]

Originally Posted by GTO

To be honest, I don't see anything wrong with ACI's evaluation and scoring. Does the E meet the requirements of its target market in entirety? You bet. Its comfortable, refined, has the best ride quality + rear backseat and is now well equipped too.

@GTO, As you have personally driven the E350 CDI and given your views it has to be true. My point was that in the last approx. 10 years that I have been reading ACI, I do not recall any car getting a 10/10 rating. And no doubt the E 350 CDI is a great car but it is not entirely VFM, which is I think a valid criteria to give a car a 10/10

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by sidindica

[*]Base price of M class=48 lakh, confirmed.

Sweeeet Is it still CBU or CKD now?

ML 350CDi at price levels of E 350 CDi !

[sidindica]

Cannot answer whether it is a CKD or a CBU, but the price I have quoted is basic without loadings. GL class will also be launched at the expo but see this:

C class facelift accidentally revealed, courtesy Worldcarfans

Mercedes-Benz UK has accidently posted the images of C class facelift elegance and avantgarde (with twin 6 spoke alloys) on their online configurator and now taken it off, not long before the article at worldcarfans saved these pics.

The differences are almost impossible to spot, but it has slightly modified front bumpers with daytime LEDs, full LED taillights and re contoured rear bumpers.

No changes can be seen inside. But what is surprising is that a left hand dive model was posted on a site which markets right hand drive models.

[sidindica]

GTO, hope you are coming to Delhi for the expo. I know you can't afford to miss the SLS.

[drifter]

Originally Posted by MonkeyMan

@GTO, As you have personally driven the E350 CDI and given your views it has to be true. My point was that in the last approx. 10 years that I have been reading ACI, I do not recall any car getting a 10/10 rating. And no doubt the E 350 CDI is a great car but it is not entirely VFM, which is I think a valid criteria to give a car a 10/10

Well at this price point, value for money isn't as important. This segment of buyers will pay if the car is good. And yes the car is good.

EDIT: Yes the SLS is delicious especially in red. But somehow it just didn't excite as much as I thought it would. But then again I'm yet to drive one.

Drifter