What are your favourite/least favourite Mercedes?

[andy43]

Likes... 3 of mine
Hammertime - proof ze germans can make you smile.

Ponton, and W108 3.5 soft top too come to that. Class and elegance personified.

CLS 55 AMG, or anything with '55' and 'AMG' on the badges. Noise to die for.

Dislikes... just the one really. Hateful car. Ours broke down more than every other car we've owned put together.

[DB7 pilot]

500SEC A marvellous grand tourer.

[angusc43]

Well there are a lot to like; ones that particularly float my boat are;

- 560 SEC on the right wheels for the brutish looks
- CLS for being Merc's cut on the Jaguar saloon. 500/55/63 please
- S211 for being a great looking and great all round estate car. E500/E55 pls

In terms of Merc's that don't do it for me

- original A Class. Hired one in Spain once. Felt very topsy turvy. Not my cup of tea
- original M Class. Was given one as a loaner. Polar opposite of what I like (I'm not a fan of 4X4's in London)
- C Class coupe - the styling doesn't work for me

[AKA8]

r129sl said:

amg master said:

WHATS VULGAR ABOUT THE C55 AMG OR THE C63 AMG,THE C55 WAS A VERY DISCREET CAR IN EVERY WAY.

THE C63 AMG MIGHT NOT BE DISCREET BUT ITS FAR FROM BEING VULGAR. 8100 UNITS WERE SOLD IN 2008 ALONE.

How about:

(1) the silly and utterly unnecessary "quad" exhausts with their nasty fake tips;
(2) the utterly unnecessary styling addenda with fake slots and vents;
(3) the badges everywhere;
(4) the enormous bling-a-ling wheels;

Add to the C63:
(5) the aggressive snout with the dinner plate badge;
(6) the anti-social exhaust.

All of this crap is hideous. It is totally unnecessary from an engineering and driving point of view and is fitted to the car only to meet the needs of the marketing men. Presumably they want to steal customers from Audi? These cars are the automotive equivalent of ageing men wearing football shirts in public. Why not just get a sign which says, "I can afford a monthly payment of £750 and live in a new build 4-bed 'executive' detached"? All of this is a shame because these cars do drive wonderfully (although the suspension of the C63 AMG is too stiff for fast back-road use or comfortable cruising and renders the car useless). If the options list included an "outward appearance delete" box, I might tick it for an E63 estate.

AMG cars should be invisible, not adorned with more cheap and nasty jewellery (the fake exhaust tips really say it all) than a street hooker.

That 8,100 w204 AMGs have been sold (in the UK alone? surely not?) says it all. Anything popular by definition is rubbish: more always means worse and nowhere is that more true than with Mercedes.

Great AMG cars include the w201 190 E 3.2, the w124 E60 LTD AMG, the r129 SL73 AMG (although the body kit is iffy) and, going back a bit further, the V8 conversions for the w123 and the original Hammer w124 (which had the m117 V8 with bespoke 4-valve heads and a capacity of up to 6.0litres).

Edited by r129sl on Wednesday 11th November 10:08

An R129 owner/fan complaining about vulgarity???? That's one of the most 'Essex-medallion-wearing-man-golf-club' cars ever made, and I make that comment after having had one. If popularity is the definition of rubbish, then you're sitting in a skip, Sir. The SL73 bodykit is horrendous, and the Hammer cars aren't far off Koenig in terms of vulgarity. Surely, if you like subtlety, the C55 and 500E should be your favourites??

Some of your comments about the C63 I agree with, it's far more obvious than previous models, the C55 being a (subtle) example, and I don't need to make mention the 500E, surely one of the godfathers of Q cars made in the last 25 years.

I really don't know how you can say AMG cars should be subtle using your examples. The Hammer etc is far more ostentatious than a C63.

[89speedster]

I Love the CLS. Easily one of the best looking cars on the road today and a future classic. Photos just don't do it justice!
I dislike the SLC. I just think the styling at the back is all wrong

Edited by 89speedster on Wednesday 18th November 15:44

[RacingTeatray]

Soem excellent suggestions.

My favourites are:

1. 500K Autobahnkurier - so elegant and glorious;
2. 300SL Gullwing - my favourite car of all time;
2. 300SEL 6.3 - ultimate "banker's express";
3. 600 Grosser - the only way to be chauffeured (bar possibly a Phantom II or III);
4. 450SEL 6.9 - only marginally less desirable than the 6.3;
5. W124 500E - so splendid I bought one;
6. CLK Black - deeply wantable; and
7. SLS Gullwing - perfection: next to this, the CLK Black looks as wantable as a beige Micra.

Least favourites:

1. GLK - wilfully ugly and crappy;
2. M-Class (any) - makes an X5 look classy;
3. Mk2 SLK - leave F1 styling for F1 cars;
4. R-Class - like a roadgoing Hindenburg;
5. Current CL - bloated munter;
6. CLC - candidate for "worst facelift ever"; and
7. A-Class - terrible.

[DB7 pilot]

Perfect warm summer Sunday runabout.

[Dick_Phallus]

Favourites:

W215 CL (I'm biased...)
C107 SLC - one of the best looking cars ever

Hate:

Pretty much all the current range, except the SLK

[Jem0911]

Favorite.
G, preferabley a Stock G500
Least favorite.
A.
Hateful.

[BigBen]

Favourites:

R107 SL, fantastic cars and I doubt I will ever part with mine
W140 S-Class, amazingly over engineered cars although not exactly lookers
W126 S-Class

Least Favourite:

Wasn't their a pope-mobile looking B class or something like that which looked like dogst?
C-Class compact