Green Maned Lion
Der Unverbesserliche.
I would like to apologise in advance because this View is being voice dictated.
as as often been said, insanity is the act of doing the same thing repeatedly expecting different results. When I brought my Van in for service yesterday, I was actually offered a sprinter as a loaner or the option of a car. I don’t need to state that my preference is a sprinter over a sedan since obviously that is what I drive. However, there is a substantial difference between my sprinter with all of its modifications and an empty cargo Van. Keeping in mind the trouble of securing my wife supplies and my office equipment such as my briefcase, it made sense sort of to take the C-class.
It is at this moment that I remember that last time I took a car I said I probably should take a van in the future. First of all it is impossible to see out of. As I’m sure some of you are aware of people who don’t drive Sprinters think that a sprinter is a difficult vehicle to drive. And as you are probably aware, sprinter is one of the easiest vehicles to drive currently on the road, especially when equipped with all of the Assistance packages. Visibility is excellent. The vehicle is quite manoeuverable, and the seating position is so relaxed that driving becomes a relatively comfortable task.
This is everything the C class is not. Visibility is not existent. The seating position is outright uncomfortable, and in my case I don’t fit *Now some of you would say, Green maned Lion is a large man (I.e. fat). I am not going to dispute that I am portly. Nevertheless, one of the main problems is actually vertical height. I have to sit with my ass an inch from the road my leg straight out in front of me, and far more reclined than would be my preference… Just to keep my head out of the headliner; I’m 5’9” tall, I.e. Short. Additionally, whilst I found the seat to narrow, So did my wife; my wife is just under 5 feet tall and about 100 lbs. These seats are clearly designed for a jockey attempting to be a racecar driver. They are also hard and generally uncomfortable. Incidentally, as far as I can tell this card does not have the AMG package.
The suspension rides quite hard. That being said one of the cars redeeming features is that it is nimble, and also fairly quick. I might as well get the pleasant trees out of the way.
The infotainment system is a meisterklasse in how not to design an entertainment system. whilst most of it is unresponsive, it also feels like the area you press on the screen does not correspond to the area the screen thinks you pressed. The volume adjustment system for the vehicle however, is ein Meisterstück des absoluten Schwachsin! Adjusting the main infotainment system is difficult bare handed, and a Herculean ordeal wearing gloves. But adjusting the volume of the navigation system? Thats the very distilled essence of a fustercluck! One takes their glove off, and hold near the volume slider waiting for it to announce a navigation direction. Then one tries to raise or lower the volume. Sometimes you succeed in doing that, sometimes you fail. Invariably, however, you will overshoot the target you’re aiming for if you attempt to moderate this, every fucking time, you will then proceed to change the main volume because it has stopped speaking. So you have to sit there and wait for another navigation direction to occur to attempt to adjust it again. Except for the lack of a knob of course this is the same as in the 2024 and earlier sprinters, however with this stupid touch sensitive slider volume knob it becomes an impossible task to do.
naturally, of course one would assume that the build quality and plushness of the C class would be superior to that of a sprinter. Besides the presence of some ludicrously unconvincing fake wood trim, and some pointlessly cold or hot metal trim, this is not true. All of the plastics feel cheap, and the lower plastics on the bottom of the dashboard and the doors seem to be identical to that of a sprinter in fact. The glove box and armrest (which is too low) have a vaguely premium feel to tthem however the cupholder cover feels like it was in fact farmed out to Temu! Another thing I noticed, while the front doors are reasonably well damped as to door closing vibration, the rear doors have a cheap ring to them when slammed. At me paying Hein for two sheets of 3MEDM, it cost me $50 to transform the sprinters ringing doors into bank vaults. I am quite sure that Mercedes saved $5 or less making this feel chintzy.
I have not been to the auto show in some years, but my last experience with Mercedes newest threat (Genesis) is that they spare no expense at all in any of these details, to say nothing of what I suspect are impressive Chinese efforts in this space. What defined Mercedes first entry in this space, the W201 190E, was obsessive attention to all the little details of fine engineering. It wasn’t the feature content: a rudimentary semi automatic-climate control system was the only standard feature that would have qualified as a significant luxury in a car less than half its price at the time.
Buying a brand doesn’t have to be stupid. A brand can stand for quality, engineering integrity, safety, innovation, attention to detail. It does not purely have to be about Status. Buying a small Mercedes-Benz in 1984 was a choice about buying the best that was available. It cost $24k then, $80k in today’s money, compared to the $57k this poster child for my “Older Is Better (tm)” mantra retails at. But that car embodied everything that the three pointed star stood for at the time and allowed it to command such a price. This car, on the other hand, simply represents the idea that the label that once stood for those things means that you could afford to pay more money for a car, then it’s really worth.
TLDR: If you have $57k to spend and want a Mercedes that seats 5, get a low roof, standard output, Sprinter 2500 Crew with the Winter and MBUX package. It’s nicer, more economical, more spacious, easier to drive, and a far better value!
as as often been said, insanity is the act of doing the same thing repeatedly expecting different results. When I brought my Van in for service yesterday, I was actually offered a sprinter as a loaner or the option of a car. I don’t need to state that my preference is a sprinter over a sedan since obviously that is what I drive. However, there is a substantial difference between my sprinter with all of its modifications and an empty cargo Van. Keeping in mind the trouble of securing my wife supplies and my office equipment such as my briefcase, it made sense sort of to take the C-class.
It is at this moment that I remember that last time I took a car I said I probably should take a van in the future. First of all it is impossible to see out of. As I’m sure some of you are aware of people who don’t drive Sprinters think that a sprinter is a difficult vehicle to drive. And as you are probably aware, sprinter is one of the easiest vehicles to drive currently on the road, especially when equipped with all of the Assistance packages. Visibility is excellent. The vehicle is quite manoeuverable, and the seating position is so relaxed that driving becomes a relatively comfortable task.
This is everything the C class is not. Visibility is not existent. The seating position is outright uncomfortable, and in my case I don’t fit *Now some of you would say, Green maned Lion is a large man (I.e. fat). I am not going to dispute that I am portly. Nevertheless, one of the main problems is actually vertical height. I have to sit with my ass an inch from the road my leg straight out in front of me, and far more reclined than would be my preference… Just to keep my head out of the headliner; I’m 5’9” tall, I.e. Short. Additionally, whilst I found the seat to narrow, So did my wife; my wife is just under 5 feet tall and about 100 lbs. These seats are clearly designed for a jockey attempting to be a racecar driver. They are also hard and generally uncomfortable. Incidentally, as far as I can tell this card does not have the AMG package.
The suspension rides quite hard. That being said one of the cars redeeming features is that it is nimble, and also fairly quick. I might as well get the pleasant trees out of the way.
The infotainment system is a meisterklasse in how not to design an entertainment system. whilst most of it is unresponsive, it also feels like the area you press on the screen does not correspond to the area the screen thinks you pressed. The volume adjustment system for the vehicle however, is ein Meisterstück des absoluten Schwachsin! Adjusting the main infotainment system is difficult bare handed, and a Herculean ordeal wearing gloves. But adjusting the volume of the navigation system? Thats the very distilled essence of a fustercluck! One takes their glove off, and hold near the volume slider waiting for it to announce a navigation direction. Then one tries to raise or lower the volume. Sometimes you succeed in doing that, sometimes you fail. Invariably, however, you will overshoot the target you’re aiming for if you attempt to moderate this, every fucking time, you will then proceed to change the main volume because it has stopped speaking. So you have to sit there and wait for another navigation direction to occur to attempt to adjust it again. Except for the lack of a knob of course this is the same as in the 2024 and earlier sprinters, however with this stupid touch sensitive slider volume knob it becomes an impossible task to do.
naturally, of course one would assume that the build quality and plushness of the C class would be superior to that of a sprinter. Besides the presence of some ludicrously unconvincing fake wood trim, and some pointlessly cold or hot metal trim, this is not true. All of the plastics feel cheap, and the lower plastics on the bottom of the dashboard and the doors seem to be identical to that of a sprinter in fact. The glove box and armrest (which is too low) have a vaguely premium feel to tthem however the cupholder cover feels like it was in fact farmed out to Temu! Another thing I noticed, while the front doors are reasonably well damped as to door closing vibration, the rear doors have a cheap ring to them when slammed. At me paying Hein for two sheets of 3MEDM, it cost me $50 to transform the sprinters ringing doors into bank vaults. I am quite sure that Mercedes saved $5 or less making this feel chintzy.
I have not been to the auto show in some years, but my last experience with Mercedes newest threat (Genesis) is that they spare no expense at all in any of these details, to say nothing of what I suspect are impressive Chinese efforts in this space. What defined Mercedes first entry in this space, the W201 190E, was obsessive attention to all the little details of fine engineering. It wasn’t the feature content: a rudimentary semi automatic-climate control system was the only standard feature that would have qualified as a significant luxury in a car less than half its price at the time.
Buying a brand doesn’t have to be stupid. A brand can stand for quality, engineering integrity, safety, innovation, attention to detail. It does not purely have to be about Status. Buying a small Mercedes-Benz in 1984 was a choice about buying the best that was available. It cost $24k then, $80k in today’s money, compared to the $57k this poster child for my “Older Is Better (tm)” mantra retails at. But that car embodied everything that the three pointed star stood for at the time and allowed it to command such a price. This car, on the other hand, simply represents the idea that the label that once stood for those things means that you could afford to pay more money for a car, then it’s really worth.
TLDR: If you have $57k to spend and want a Mercedes that seats 5, get a low roof, standard output, Sprinter 2500 Crew with the Winter and MBUX package. It’s nicer, more economical, more spacious, easier to drive, and a far better value!
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