My M5 is safely tucked away snoozing in the garage at home recharging (literally as it’s hooked up to a Ctek charger as I’ve had some battery discharge warnings literally days before my departure). I’m out visiting family in South Africa and got a new Mercedes C200 as a car rental. I’m not a Mercedes man but kept an open mind so thought I’d share my impressions. First impressions are the tech; it seems pretty loaded with a large Tesla like centre touch screen console, digital dashboard and purple lighting strips everywhere. The air vents have illumination within them, and lit Mercedes Benz door sill strips. Seats seem comfortable and supportive and are a nice design. Engine is responsive, plenty of pole (from a 1.5 turbo) and OMG so quiet (especially after getting used to the noisy cold starts in my beast). Some typical Mercedes touches like the automatic gearshift stalk, the parking brake switch mimicking the old parking brake lever next to your right knee etc. Some things I didn’t like are the overbearing nanny driving assist which take over when you least want it, such as the two occasions when someone was stood near the rear bumper and the car slammed on brakes (even though I was fully in control). I promptly turned off that feature. It tries to be helpful like reminding me to not forget my mobile when I switch off the car, but likely would get irritating after a while. I see the appeal, looks wise I like it but prefer the 3 series / 4 series direct competition. I don’t find the electronic interface that intuitive but perhaps because I am accustomed to Idrive. Also seems overly low as I have heard the exhaust scrape on what looks like harmless speed humps. I have never scraped my M5. So yes nice enough car, but not for me. Some pics attached.
It does look like a simper dash, less cluttered with buttons etc. However, I couldn’t cope with all the finger prints on the screens……
