RE: New Mercedes-AMG '53' models launched

[C70R]

kambites said:

Yeah that generation of BMW interior looks a complete mess to me. The Merc layout is much cleaner and more cohesive, just an awful colour/material choice.

I bet you have a 'feature wall' in your living room and/or bedroom, don't you...

[kambites]

C70R said:

kambites said:

Yeah that generation of BMW interior looks a complete mess to me. The Merc layout is much cleaner and more cohesive, just an awful colour/material choice.

I bet you have a 'feature wall' in your living room and/or bedroom, don't you...

God no! The only oddly coloured surface in our house is the nursery, which has a pink ceiling.

ETA: Actually the garage has one painted interior wall, if that counts.

Edited by kambites on Monday 15th January 15:05

[AmosMoses]

Nope, after a good 5 minutes of looking at that interior i don't like it. On first glance it looks ok, then the deeper you look the cheaper it gets.

Its that silver plastic steering wheel that does it, looks like a child could pull those buttons off.

Edited by AmosMoses on Monday 15th January 14:02

[Nick Young]

So all that technology and effort to produce what looks like a very handsome car, but....

The new hybridised CLS53 has worse Co2 than the seemingly old fashioned big V8 C63, has worse claimed economy, has a slower claimed 0-60.... That's progress for you, or am I missing something?

[kambites]

Nick Young said:

The new hybridised CLS53 has worse Co2 than the seemingly old fashioned big V8 C63, has worse claimed economy, has a slower claimed 0-60.... That's progress for you, or am I missing something?

Isn't the CLS two entire classes bigger and half a tonne heavier than the C-class?

[Ninja59]

C70R said:

Really? Acres of hi-gloss and LCD screens, with randomly placed vents which look like a cat's ringpiece?
Also, I've seen more grown-up looking steering-wheels attached to Playstation controllers!

The current BMW 6, for comparison...

Edited by C70R on Monday 15th January 13:52

I must admit that particular specification of 6GT (as that is a G series platform car as opposed to the older 6 series which are F series) is particular bad specification. With different trim pieces it does look much better. But, I still prefer the F06/F12/F13 6 series coupe/cab and GC in comparison with the 6GT (they also got rid of the waterfall down from the passenger side which is one item I love, the 6GT just dulls it down to be a bit of 5 and 7 dash styles, it also feels it inside).

I do not know much about the latest generation of merc interiors they just do not appeal. My boss has a C63S, an avid Merc fan but even he admits that the controls are fiddly and difficult to use. He recently bought an X5 for his wife and admitted that the BMW setup with idrive and general ease of use was on a different level.

[kambites]

AmosMoses said:

Its that silver plastic steering wheel that does it, looks like a child could pull those buttons off.

True, the steering wheel is vile but that seems to be par for the course for "sporty" cars these days. The standard E-class wheel looks OK.

[culpz]

C70R said:

culpz said:

andrewparker said:

Pie-n-Peys said:

p1stonhead said:

WTF has happened to Mercedes interiors?!

Is it just me who thinks the interior looks great?

I'm inclined to agree. I do think they lack some of the elegance you'd normally associate with Mercedes, and the steering wheel in this particular car is very masculine, but on the whole I think they're different in a good way.

It's all subjective but at least they have actually made the effort to mix it up a bit over the years, unlike BMW. It does appear very full-on but i can bet that the materials will feel very premium and i generally like the look of it. I personally like the overall layout but i can understand why others might not.

That massive slab of plastic where the gearknob should be is very cheap plastic. It flexes to the touch, and rattles over potholes.

Fair enough but I can also guarantee that there are similar undesirable bits in the equivalent BMW model.

[GTEYE]

culpz said:

C70R said:

culpz said:

andrewparker said:

Pie-n-Peys said:

p1stonhead said:

WTF has happened to Mercedes interiors?!

Is it just me who thinks the interior looks great?

I'm inclined to agree. I do think they lack some of the elegance you'd normally associate with Mercedes, and the steering wheel in this particular car is very masculine, but on the whole I think they're different in a good way.

It's all subjective but at least they have actually made the effort to mix it up a bit over the years, unlike BMW. It does appear very full-on but i can bet that the materials will feel very premium and i generally like the look of it. I personally like the overall layout but i can understand why others might not.

That massive slab of plastic where the gearknob should be is very cheap plastic. It flexes to the touch, and rattles over potholes.

Fair enough but I can also guarantee that there are similar undesirable bits in the equivalent BMW model.

C70R is bang on the money. Whilst you might not see it in the pictures, there's a big difference in material quality - and Mercedes especially in this and the C-Class offerings have some really nasty scratchy materials that would not be acceptable in a Ford Focus

[anonymous-user]

Interiors are crap, I get a new one every year for some German tax reasons and there is a big step up when you get into the S class but even the GLE we were looking at was scratchy nasty chintzy plether.

Looks a great Car and then once it hits 5-10 years old with all the electrical gremlins ... the potential for future waste of these cars is huge, surely manufacturing a new car is more damaging to the environment than a big ol’ V8 @ 12k p.a.

[Yipper]

p1stonhead said:

WTF has happened to Mercedes interiors?!

Looks like MB's head of interior design has been hanging out in too many Stuttgart brothels.

[Ares]

Yipper said:

p1stonhead said:

WTF has happened to Mercedes interiors?!

Looks like MB's head of interior design has been hanging out in too many Stuttgart brothels.

It's not that bad..... Use a tiny but of imagination and remove the red, it's a sporty interior.

[Krikkit]

C70R said:

kambites said:

The interior design looks far more cohesive than BMW's recent attempts to me. I'm not keen on the materials/colours but I dare say that's configurable?

Really? Acres of hi-gloss and LCD screens, with randomly placed vents which look like a cat's ringpiece?
Also, I've seen more grown-up looking steering-wheels attached to Playstation controllers!

The current BMW 6, for comparison...

Edited by C70R on Monday 15th January 13:52

Nope, sorry, that dog's breakfast of a screen tacked onto what could be a decent dash is a waste. Much prefer the Merc single large screen.

The Merc's dash looks rather chintzy, but with the red removed, wood on the dash and a more sensible steering wheel it'd be a nice thing imo.

[unpc]

Agreed, that interior is nasty.

That aside, the sheer complexity of the whole vehicle is staggering. I'd hate to be owning this thing in 10 years.

[ZX10R NIN]

I like the interiors of the new Mercs as a whole especially the S Class. I think the 43 is disappearing as it uses the old V6 which has now been superseded by this new I6, I think the next model down will be an E400 (basically the I6 engine without the hybrid bits.

[kambites]

Krikkit said:

The Merc's dash looks rather chintzy, but with the red removed, wood on the dash and a more sensible steering wheel it'd be a nice thing imo.

Not keen on the shiny black plastic centre console, but otherwise I think that's OK. You can have a part-wooden wheel as well, I think, but that might be a bit much.

[Ares]

unpc said:

Agreed, that interior is nasty.

That aside, the sheer complexity of the whole vehicle is staggering. I'd hate to be owning this thing in 10 years.

People have been saying that for 30yrs....and there are still no major problems.

[sh33n]

Ares said:

Interesting move. Lot of effort just to get an extra 21bhp, and still well within the arena others get from a 'normal' 3l Twin Turbo.

Is this replacing the C43? If not, it'll make for a semi-congested AMG line up, especially in the C-Class

C43 - just under 396bhp
C53 - just over 430bhp
C63 - just under 500bhp
C63s - just over 500bhp

Would also put the warm C53 very close to the M3....

I was thinking the same...but then look at the weight of these things. You may as well save a few K and possible complications and stick with the 43, surely be just as quick with less weight.

M3 competes with the C63 (maybe even the s), at least on a circuit, because of the weight differences.

[TooMany2cvs]

Ares said:

unpc said:

That aside, the sheer complexity of the whole vehicle is staggering. I'd hate to be owning this thing in 10 years.

People have been saying that for 30yrs....and there are still no major problems.

Oh, there are...

There are a LOT of problems with stuff that's an order of magnitude simpler than this.

[Ares]

sh33n said:

Ares said:

Interesting move. Lot of effort just to get an extra 21bhp, and still well within the arena others get from a 'normal' 3l Twin Turbo.

Is this replacing the C43? If not, it'll make for a semi-congested AMG line up, especially in the C-Class

C43 - just under 396bhp
C53 - just over 430bhp
C63 - just under 500bhp
C63s - just over 500bhp

Would also put the warm C53 very close to the M3....

I was thinking the same...but then look at the weight of these things. You may as well save a few K and possible complications and stick with the 43, surely be just as quick with less weight.

M3 competes with the C63 (maybe even the s), at least on a circuit, because of the weight differences.

I looked at both, and had both for the weekend when choosing a new car. The M3 CP is a match for the C63, but the C63S betters it IMO (and I'd even say the std C63 is a better all round proposition).

Take the std M3 and it'll need to watch out for the C53 if Merc/AMG give it strong dynamics