Best smoker barges 1-5 large [Vol 9]

[hornetrider]

Krikkit said:

I agree, but they do represent a better package for most buyers. Comparing the F01 to the E38 (bear with me) the mid-range 740d of the F01 has 10hp less than the V12 E38 (with a bit more torque), yet sips less fuel than the 728 E38.

The refinement is very good, the only hint of the wrong fuel is the engine noise at idle and a less smooth noise (but not progress) at speed.

I'd hold out for a petrol, but I can't blame the original purchaser for their choice of engine.

Maybe we are in the minority but it is that refinement, that class, that appeals to me in a barge. That's why I love them. It's that refinement that elevates luxurious barges over and above TDI stboxes.

People get into my car all the time (without even looking at the badge) and the invariably their first comments are how quiet and smooth it is. Then I open up the taps and unleash bielsebub

Derin is right, above though. 99% of people consider a 2 litre to be a large engine. Eyes pop and gasps are audible when I inform them mine is a 5 litre V8.

Everyone has a diesel these days and they just don't know any better.

[BrabusMog]

Krikkit said:

hornetrider said:

Krikkit said:

hornetrider said:

I fancy an F01 at some point, they just look so fracking awesome. They have so much presence.

An acquaintance of mine bought one of the facelifted from new, complete with laser headlights etc, and it's a very impressive machine. Diesel, but very impressive machine.

The main problem these days. The ratio of devils/petrol is pretty poor for large BMWs (and most large barges these days!) Good luck finding one with a proper engine when the time comes

I agree, but they do represent a better package for most buyers. Comparing the F01 to the E38 (bear with me) the mid-range 740d of the F01 has 10hp less than the V12 E38 (with a bit more torque), yet sips less fuel than the 728 E38.

The refinement is very good, the only hint of the wrong fuel is the engine noise at idle and a less smooth noise (but not progress) at speed.

I'd hold out for a petrol, but I can't blame the original purchaser for their choice of engine.

I'd love a petrol but I can't actually afford to buy my 6 Series, so I lease it and the deal was on a 640d, so that's what I got. My dad has just made a terrible move in my opinion, however, and just leased an E220 diesel, it sounds like a bag of spanners compared to the engine in my BM. Still, he's paying under £190 a month all in, I believe.

[SpeckledJim]

Pennyroyal Tea said:

SpeckledJim said:

A barge is just a big car. Almost any big car.

A smoker is an old, low value car - probably a fairly big car. Possibly something outre, disreputable, shady, naff or otherwise a bit off-key or unusual. To be used and abused.

Some of the stuff in here isn't a barge, and lots of the nicer stuff certainly isn't a smoker. But we'd be the worse off if we excluded them.

But yet, a couple of pages back, we dismissed a V6 Vectra as 'not a barge' (or words to that effect).

For me a 'Smoker Barge' is a car at the bottom of its curve, with a good bit of life left that you might not be too precious about (i.e. something you use daily). Absolute essentials are:

-Luxury
-Comfort
-Performance (relative)
-Presence

So for me, the Vectra fails my test (as does that Hyundai abortion), but seems to pass yours(?)

Just curious.

I think this thread is in practice a bit wider than simply 'smoker barges'. Like porn it's hard to define, but you know it when you see it.

I'd agree a Vectra isn't a barge, based quantitively on its size. Yet I'd welcome a 190e to the thread in spite of its sub-Vectra size, based on a qualitative 'smoker' qualification.

I would certainly opine that there are no valuable smokers, and there are no small barges. But I bet there are all sorts of nooks and crannies hiding in there sheltering exceptions that will make me eat my words..

Edited by SpeckledJim on Monday 8th February 12:28

[Pennyroyal Tea]

Hmmm,

At the risk of being banished from the thread, I've never considered the 190 to be a Barge

[Parisien]

Pennyroyal Tea said:

Hmmm,

At the risk of being banished from the thread, I've never considered the 190 to be a Barge

+1


P

[SpeckledJim]

Pennyroyal Tea said:

Hmmm,

At the risk of being banished from the thread, I've never considered the 190 to be a Barge

I've cleared-up my imprecise phrasing above.

190e is a weird thing. Measurably quite small, yet delivering a lot of the W126 experience. A great narrow city car, extremely easy to park, yet riding like a much bigger car.

It drives like a barge. It looks like a barge. It's like an actual barge that's a long way away.

I don't know.

[0a]

The 190 qualifies under the special thread Mercedes dispensation.

[lostkiwi]

I view barges as a car that was at some time aspirational and larger than a family hatch.
This allows Volvo S60s, 3 series and 190Es but excludes more mundane offerings like Vectras and Mondeos.
It should also deliver a big car like experience - refinement, ride and ideally a modicum of performance (though that would exclude old NA MB Diesels - which may not be a bad thing as someone who eschews the devils fuel....).
As long as it has 3 of the following 4 things it fits in my mind:
Aspirational
Ride quality
Refinement
Size

[The Don of Croy]

Aspirational?

When I was gadding about in a Belmont 1.6GL I aspired to drive a Chavalier CD (or Sierra Ghia / Montego VDP).

It's all relative.

A barge was an un-powered floating vessel, size undetermined. But I'd not consider the Lady Don's Honda Jazz a barge (although one is able to fit 2 x large Samsonites in the boot, something my friend's E class couldn't achieve, nor the A6 airport taxi that collected us).

Beauty:Beholder etc etc

[W00DY]

A 190E Cosworth is not a barge. All other 190Es absolutely are. That's just how it is.


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-Benz-190E-1993-...

[E65Ross]

hornetrider said:

Krikkit said:

I agree, but they do represent a better package for most buyers. Comparing the F01 to the E38 (bear with me) the mid-range 740d of the F01 has 10hp less than the V12 E38 (with a bit more torque), yet sips less fuel than the 728 E38.

The refinement is very good, the only hint of the wrong fuel is the engine noise at idle and a less smooth noise (but not progress) at speed.

I'd hold out for a petrol, but I can't blame the original purchaser for their choice of engine.

Maybe we are in the minority but it is that refinement, that class, that appeals to me in a barge. That's why I love them. It's that refinement that elevates luxurious barges over and above TDI stboxes.

People get into my car all the time (without even looking at the badge) and the invariably their first comments are how quiet and smooth it is. Then I open up the taps and unleash bielsebub

Derin is right, above though. 99% of people consider a 2 litre to be a large engine. Eyes pop and gasps are audible when I inform them mine is a 5 litre V8.

Everyone has a diesel these days and they just don't know any better.

Definitely this. I was quite surprised at how unrefined the engine was in the 3.0 V6 was in the A6 I drove (2010 model)

[BeirutTaxi]

Pennyroyal Tea said:

Hmmm,

At the risk of being banished from the thread, I've never considered the 190 to be a Barge

Even as a 190 owner I sort of agree. It is yet it isn't.

However it's like owning a small Faberge egg - Something special and luxury about it. My friends and extended family are normally into their newer cars but when I turned up in the 190 for the first time they were all over it with amazement. Even now they love to have lifts in it. Would a Mondeo or Vectra have received a similar response?

Part of the appeal for me is that it comes with proper Mercedes heritage and values - ie it was designed and built like a Mercedes should be - and it's wrapped in good taste inside and out.

I'm sure there are those who will give us a full on, dreary technical analysis of why it doesn't qualify for the thread but they've missed the point.

[r129sl]

All of this introspection, it's a bad thing. Like most things in life, the thread is the way it is and that's all there is to it. To ask why is to express the vanity and arrogance of the age: as if any of us could ever understand why anything is the way it is.

[Krikkit]

hornetrider said:

Krikkit said:

I agree, but they do represent a better package for most buyers. Comparing the F01 to the E38 (bear with me) the mid-range 740d of the F01 has 10hp less than the V12 E38 (with a bit more torque), yet sips less fuel than the 728 E38.

The refinement is very good, the only hint of the wrong fuel is the engine noise at idle and a less smooth noise (but not progress) at speed.

I'd hold out for a petrol, but I can't blame the original purchaser for their choice of engine.

Maybe we are in the minority but it is that refinement, that class, that appeals to me in a barge. That's why I love them. It's that refinement that elevates luxurious barges over and above TDI stboxes.

People get into my car all the time (without even looking at the badge) and the invariably their first comments are how quiet and smooth it is. Then I open up the taps and unleash bielsebub

Derin is right, above though. 99% of people consider a 2 litre to be a large engine. Eyes pop and gasps are audible when I inform them mine is a 5 litre V8.

Everyone has a diesel these days and they just don't know any better.

I agree completely, but I think the new generation of turbo petrols are starting to make inroads after dieselgate; a colleague at work has swapped her BINI with a diesel for a brand new Jeep Renegade with the excellent little 1.4 turbo engine and commented this morning how shocked she was at its excellence.

[0a]

I didn't know there was a 320 version of these little C-Class Coupes. Seems good for under £2k and 72k miles. http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

[Eski1991]

https://www.gumtree.com/p/lexus/1998-lexus-ls400-m...

Thoughts?

I really like the car but the price seems a little high for the mileage, even being a clean mk4. Should I go for it as it's basically what I've been looking for for a year.

[hornetrider]

Eski1991 said:

https://www.gumtree.com/p/lexus/1998-lexus-ls400-m...

Thoughts?

I really like the car but the price seems a little high for the mileage, even being a clean mk4. Should I go for it as it's basically what I've been looking for for a year.

Wasn't there a nice green one a few pages back for 2k? Looked very good to me.

Edit: sorry, 3.5k.

www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/20151210936...

Edited by hornetrider on Monday 8th February 14:10

[anonymous-user]

0a said:

I didn't know there was a 320 version of these little C-Class Coupes. Seems good for under £2k and 72k miles. http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

Another car to highlight why the definition of a "barge" is so muddy.

Relatively Large Engine? Check
Auto? Check
Decent Spec? Check
Premium Brand? Check
Barge? Not even close (IMO)

.

[Pothole]

not very quick for a 3.2 is it?

[0a]

279 said:

Another car to highlight why the definition of a "barge" is so muddy.

Relatively Large Engine? Check
Auto? Check
Decent Spec? Check
Premium Brand? Check
Barge? Not even close (IMO)

.

Why do you think I posted it