[sandeepvr]

Originally Posted by 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.

Twinblades, I guess this applies to any luxury good, you will seldom find anyone who admits he got ripped off. Most people will convince themselves that what they bought is the best money can buy. Again if you buy a Mercedes solely for status, then to each his own.

GTO you may have noticed, I started a new thread on weather a Merc C E or S class is worth the money in India. I had an option of a lexus LS460 for 75K, but the dashboard of the car felt like a Toyota, although I agree that it probably did 98% of what my S550 would have done. Although I think it did not have an adaptive suspension, as I live in a hilly region, the adaptive suspension of the S550 comes in handy.

[Sahil]

Comparison: New Mercedes-Benz E-Class vs. New BMW 5 Series

Like they say, "Doodh ka doodh, Paani ka paan"

[Caramelo]

Originally Posted by Sahil

Comparison: New Mercedes-Benz E-Class vs. New BMW 5 Series

Like they say, "Doodh ka doodh, Paani ka paan"

yeah i was looking for something like this . thanks for the link!

[Sahil]

Saw a newly registered E350 in juhu today with a killer regn number- EE-350
The model number in regn trend is catching up

[Caramelo]

Originally Posted by Sahil

Saw a newly registered E350 in juhu today with a killer regn number- EE-350
The model number in regn trend is catching up

wow, people go great lenghts to get fancy numbers!!

maybe i will get a fancy number myself on my next car!

what do you think beemer or the benz!! something about the benz feels akward(looks)and at the same time awesome(stand out from usual design)!! what do you think guys!

[Mohnish]

Hi guys, thanks GTO and Rehaan for an, as usual, excellent review.

My 2 bit:

I haven't sat in/driven the W212 so my opinion is limited to the exterior visual appeal from photographs and on road viewing, still cannot helo myself from commenting as I/parents have been a Benz owner for the last 30+ years.

In short: I was hugely dissapointed with the "looks", most particularly the rear. 100% agree with GTO about looking like a Jap/Korean whatever, but definitely not Benz.

It didn't do for me what the 123s, 124s W210s & W211s did when they debuted.

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by Caramelo

wow, people go great lenghts to get fancy numbers!!

maybe i will get a fancy number myself on my next car!

what do you think beemer or the benz!! something about the benz feels akward(looks)and at the same time awesome(stand out from usual design)!! what do you think guys!

It's more about luck here, the current series on at the Thane RTO is EE

The E stands out now only because it's new, in due time there will be a dime a dozen.

[GTO]

The mighty E parked next to the humble C. From this birds eye view, its clear how Mercedes has evolved the exact same body cut. So many similarities in design philosophy from the top, no?

[sidindica]

Is that your C 220?

OT: I really hate that Indigolight Blue shade in the W212.

[prateekm]

Originally Posted by sidindica

Is that your C 220?

OT: I really hate that Indigolight Blue shade in the W212.

AFAIK, GTO has a black Merc.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by prateekm

AFAIK, GTO has a black Merc.

yes so the car on the left is black isnt it?

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by Sahil

Comparison: New Mercedes-Benz E-Class vs. New BMW 5 Series

Originally Posted by Caramelo

yeah i was looking for something like this . thanks for the link!

We have a separate discussion thread on that article, check it out :
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...-530d-f10.html

Originally Posted by sidindica

Is that your C 220?

Yep thats GTO's C220.

cya
R

[Sahil]

So I finally test drove the E350CDi. The new MB dealer Shaman contacted us and offered to bring the car down for a test drive. I was more interested in testing the new S but only the E350CDi was there with him for test drive today, so I decided to call it over to see what the fuss was about.

Here are my observations, you will find several comparisons with the E60 525d mentioned that I currently own...

Likes

- Absoutley no diesel characteristics in terms of sound or vibrations. Maybe because it was a brand new car (2500kms driven) The BMW diesels have a LOT to learn !

- Park Assist. Although it is annoying to activate as you have to stop at a certain distance for it to sense the space. It's fascinating and helpful to use but I don't have the patience to wait for it every time.

- Wood on the steering

- Start-stop feature helpful for traffic

- Smooth power delivery

Dislikes:

- Although it's powerful on paper, it beats me where all that power goes in the drive. I sat in the car with great expectations, it has 140nM more torque and 30 odd horses more than my 525d. I pressed the accelerator all the way down and i had the biggest smile on my face, NOT because I was happy with it's performance but only because I grew a whole new love for my car. To put it more clearly, my dad's words when he pressed the E350CDi hard "It's notttt a patcchhhh on our car"

- This is a personal choice but I like the feeling of being thrown back in my seat when I downshift. The BMW does it aggressively, the E does it verrry smoothly but certainly gives no feeling of being pinned down.

- Rear space is not all that different compared to the 5, I expected more space. Although I preferred the rear seat angle much more than the 5. My fathers view: He went straight to the place where he sits the most as the car came- the back seat and in his words the minute he sat in "Is this a C-class???" The Superb is the culprit here

- Suspension seems harder than the previous gen E

- Handling could be better, the traction control light pops up too often.

- The display screen seemed a generation behind the iDrive

[prashanthyr]

Mercedes has done a special long wheel base edition of the E Class for China. I feel this would be a good seller in our market too. Would take some sales away from the S class, but I feel the competition has more to be worried about!

Mercedes E-Class long wheelbase - Road Test First Drive - Autocar.co.uk

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by prashanthyr

I feel this would be a good seller in our market too. Would take some sales away from the S class, but I feel the competition has more to be worried about!

This is precisely the reason why we don't get long wheel base versions.

Although from the consumer's view the longwheel base version is much needed. The space difference between the C and E is not all that much considering the price jump. The S-class feels a huuuge step up.

It requires just one of these 3 rivals to start the trend and then all would follow. In today's scenario A6/E/5 are all with very limited space at the rear. Audi would benefit by launching a long wheel base version as at the moment it has no real competitive advantage, the longwheel base version would give them the edge.

I don't think it will hurt the sales of the A8/S/7 all that much as these aren't just bought for their space, they are largely bought for the snob value they bring.

Let just hope someone takes the bold step putting the customer first !