RE: Official: Mercedes A45 AMG
Discussion
The A45 and 135 are cracking cars. They are finally the hatchbacks which have overcome all the weight and gadget crap to deliver a serious step forward from the original greats of the 80s.
But when you find yourself looking at what is essentially going to be £50k for an urban runabout you start to wonder if you have lost leave of your senses.
There is no doubting its a phenomenal car when you get the chance to open it up but the harsh reality is that most of the time it'll just be dawdling in traffic or car parks like a basic, soulless diesel. And for that money you find yourself expecting a much more pleasant environment to be in. Whereas the notably cheaper 135 seems to stay within the acceptable range for a small(ish) car.
But when you find yourself looking at what is essentially going to be £50k for an urban runabout you start to wonder if you have lost leave of your senses.
There is no doubting its a phenomenal car when you get the chance to open it up but the harsh reality is that most of the time it'll just be dawdling in traffic or car parks like a basic, soulless diesel. And for that money you find yourself expecting a much more pleasant environment to be in. Whereas the notably cheaper 135 seems to stay within the acceptable range for a small(ish) car.
DonkeyApple is spot on. No matter how much you love cars you need a very serious income and modest outgoings to justify these cars. Every day I trawl the classifieds and in the end I always come to the conclusion that they are lovely things, but I'm just not interested at these prices.
Financing £40k's worth of car is like taking on a second mortgage and I am in total agreement with a clever chap called Josh Kaufman who once said the best way to screw up your life is to take on too much debt. I don't want to pull up at the petrol station and think about my current account as I fill up. I want to be able to go out for a meal without needing an overdraft or loading up the credit card. Committing the majority of your disposable income to these cars will often mean you find yourself in these situations and that takes all the fun out of them.
What we need is simpler cars. I don't know about other people but 99% of the time the only gadgets I use are the aircon button and 4 presets on my radio. I don't need anything else. Junk all the gadgets and just give me a nice set of Recaros in a great looking smallish hot hatch. It ain't rocket science.
Financing £40k's worth of car is like taking on a second mortgage and I am in total agreement with a clever chap called Josh Kaufman who once said the best way to screw up your life is to take on too much debt. I don't want to pull up at the petrol station and think about my current account as I fill up. I want to be able to go out for a meal without needing an overdraft or loading up the credit card. Committing the majority of your disposable income to these cars will often mean you find yourself in these situations and that takes all the fun out of them.
What we need is simpler cars. I don't know about other people but 99% of the time the only gadgets I use are the aircon button and 4 presets on my radio. I don't need anything else. Junk all the gadgets and just give me a nice set of Recaros in a great looking smallish hot hatch. It ain't rocket science.
Manufacturers make a lot of profit on the bells and whistles they sell to you so I can't see that ever happening.
Shame, I like cars to be simplistic too.
Surely the A45 would be a car to lease though? most of the people I know who have C63's only have them because of the great lease deals that they can get. Has anyone got a lease quote on a A45 yet?
Shame, I like cars to be simplistic too.
Surely the A45 would be a car to lease though? most of the people I know who have C63's only have them because of the great lease deals that they can get. Has anyone got a lease quote on a A45 yet?
The C63 works out at £15,000 over 2 years. The A45 is £25,000 over 4 years. If you can get them on a business lease and do something clever with VAT and income tax then I guess you can make a case for them, but those kind of costs to borrow a car just leave me feeling totally disinterested. I have driven a C63 on the track and it is very good, but so was the C220 diesel. 95% of the time you wouldn't be able to tell the difference in normal day to day driving.
For me a major part of the fun with cars has always been being able to afford them. Yes, you can stretch yourself, but £5/600 per month, every month plus petrol, tax, insurance and servicing ends up being a lot of money. I would argue that a second hand £3000 205 GTI with another £7000 thrown at it would deliver a lot more fun, although you will spend a lot of time defending your decision on this website. "You could have got a Boxster or M3 for that money...."
For me a major part of the fun with cars has always been being able to afford them. Yes, you can stretch yourself, but £5/600 per month, every month plus petrol, tax, insurance and servicing ends up being a lot of money. I would argue that a second hand £3000 205 GTI with another £7000 thrown at it would deliver a lot more fun, although you will spend a lot of time defending your decision on this website. "You could have got a Boxster or M3 for that money...."
272BHP said:
C63 and C220 diesel?
I think you would notice the difference when you start it up!
Not from inside. Not unless you blipped the throttle and i don't think my neighbours would take too kindly to that at 5am every morning. Even the twin turbo V12 just ticks over quietly. There is obviously a difference but it isn't as clear cut as you would think. In fact, I thought the SLK diesel was a better every day package than the AMG. I think you would notice the difference when you start it up!
DonkeyApple said:
But when you find yourself looking at what is essentially going to be £50k for an urban runabout you start to wonder if you have lost leave of your senses.
May well be a phenomenal car, but yes, for £50k there are some far more phenomenal cars available I think, 6-12 month old M3 or C63 etc.thehawk said:
DonkeyApple said:
But when you find yourself looking at what is essentially going to be £50k for an urban runabout you start to wonder if you have lost leave of your senses.
May well be a phenomenal car, but yes, for £50k there are some far more phenomenal cars available I think, 6-12 month old M3 or C63 etc.£50k is serious money.
£31k Audi S3 (300bhp 0-60 in 4.9 and quattro) for a practical,reliable brand new ,warrantied everyday runner
+ £18k for a performance toy e.g. Caterham/Boxster/Elise etc.
...puts on flack jacket, tin hat and flamesuit...
SonicHedgeHog said:
I have driven a C63 on the track and it is very good, but so was the C220 diesel. 95% of the time you wouldn't be able to tell the difference in normal day to day driving.
What a load of b
ks. You can tell the difference all the time, the V8 rumble and feel good factor is always there. Also the finer nappa leather and all round better seats. Try that in a C220 Diesel.urquattroGus said:
SonicHedgeHog said:
I have driven a C63 on the track and it is very good, but so was the C220 diesel. 95% of the time you wouldn't be able to tell the difference in normal day to day driving.
What a load of bks. You can tell the difference all the time, the V8 rumble and feel good factor is always there. Also the finer nappa leather and all round better seats. Try that in a C220 Diesel.
urquattroGus said:
What a load of bks. You can tell the difference all the time, the V8 rumble and feel good factor is always there. Also the finer nappa leather and all round better seats. Try that in a C220 Diesel.
I'm sorry, but I've driven them both and you're wrong. 95% of the time at diesel will do everything the C63 will. Acquaint the loud pedal with the shag pile and the AMG goes like a rocket - it's feels like a much smaller engine than it really is because it is so keen to rev. However, except for some sports seats the interior is the same and you don't hear the engine in normal driving. The same was true of my old Impreza STI. Everyone said it sounded fantastic. Well, yes it does, but only from the outside. From the inside you can't hear a thing.ks. You can tell the difference all the time, the V8 rumble and feel good factor is always there. Also the finer nappa leather and all round better seats. Try that in a C220 Diesel.Don't get me wrong, the C63 is a good car made great by that engine. I just think that I wouldn't use the enormous performance 95% of the time. Whether that 5% is worth the extra cost is a different matter entirely.
SonicHedgeHog said:
urquattroGus said:
What a load of bks. You can tell the difference all the time, the V8 rumble and feel good factor is always there. Also the finer nappa leather and all round better seats. Try that in a C220 Diesel.
I'm sorry, but I've driven them both and you're wrong. 95% of the time at diesel will do everything the C63 will. Acquaint the loud pedal with the shag pile and the AMG goes like a rocket - it's feels like a much smaller engine than it really is because it is so keen to rev. However, except for some sports seats the interior is the same and you don't hear the engine in normal driving. The same was true of my old Impreza STI. Everyone said it sounded fantastic. Well, yes it does, but only from the outside. From the inside you can't hear a thing.ks. You can tell the difference all the time, the V8 rumble and feel good factor is always there. Also the finer nappa leather and all round better seats. Try that in a C220 Diesel.Don't get me wrong, the C63 is a good car made great by that engine. I just think that I wouldn't use the enormous performance 95% of the time. Whether that 5% is worth the extra cost is a different matter entirely.
C
CraigyMc said:
I've also driven both of them and have no idea why Sonic has that opinion.
C
Fine. Perhaps you could reeducate me? How is the C63 significantly better when:C
1. Sitting on a busy motorway on the way to work.
2. Driving to the supermarket and returning laden with bags of food.
3. Driving anywhere around town.
4. Driving with anyone else who doesn't want you to drive like you stole it.
5. Driving on any road with lots of traffic and no overtaking opportunities.
6. Driving when you're tired and just not in the mood.
I am not saying that the diesel is a 95% C63. What I am saying is that 95% of the time you cannot use the extra performance the C63 has over the diesel. I accept there is a feel good factor in owning a great car and the interior is spruced up, but you do pay handsomely for it.
For the record, if I could afford a C63 (and by "afford" mean live where i want to live, still take 4 good holidays a year, maintain a good level of savings, keep paying into the pension and not have to constantly monitor the current account overdraft) then I would seriously consider getting one. But I can't and so spending all that extra money on a car isn't worth it. But we're all different.
Ironically, I a trying to get my dad to buy an A45. We wants an automatic and 4wd in a non-offroader package and there is very little to choose from. Yes, he could get an S3, but it would be far cheaper to get a lifetime supply of tranquillisers and the effect would be much the same. He has no mortgage, no kids to look after, the house is done and he is happily retired so for him it makes a lot of sense. So I am not being deliberately awkward wrt the C63.
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