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Had the pleasure of driving a Merc C-Class over the weekend. I say drive but it was little more than turn the wheel every once in a while for 500 miles. So many buttons, so much automation, so much to distract you.
The only redeeming feature was that the ride was fantastic and the seats extremely comfortable.
Visibility was atrocious – privacy glass for the rear windows and windscreen, and huge A & B pillars. B pillar and roof line in particular was so badly-placed relative to the driver that it was almost impossible to see clearly when turning right from a side road. It was also possible to set the driving position so low that I could barely see above the belt-line, and I’m almost 6 foot. Made it tricky to judge gaps and passing distances relative to parked cars. I’ve also worked out why you see cars with gouges in rear doors – reversing cameras only deal with the back of the car, not the sides.
From a safety perspective I liked using the speed limiter (important, because it was so quiet you had very little idea of how fast you were wafting along) but I’d imagine it just encourages drivers to drive at the posted limit all the time, rather than considering road conditions. No other active/passive safety features on this particular car because it was a hire car.
It seems that manufacturers are effectively selling an interior/lifestyle choice rather than a driving tool these days, the car was completely uninvolving to drive, even on Sport+ mode (firmer suspension plus comedy throttle blips as you roll up to stop lines FFS)
On the plus side I now have absolutely no desire to own such a technological marvel.
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No contest.Sorry, but if we’re gonna go retro then NOTHING will top a Mini Cooper.I see your Mini Cooper and raise you a VW 1302S.
Crap heater, worse handling, noisy and barely altered since the 1940s. Our 1972 Beetle had the most uncomfortable vinyl rear bench I’ve ever had to sit on. Not great when you’re trying to sleep in a lay-by at night on a trip to Scotland at the age of 9.
Driving home in falling snow, my Dad had a head-on with another car at a claimed 15mph* and headbutted the windscreen, which popped out in one piece.
It never ceases to amaze me why, ‘characterful’ appearance apart, people actually like them.
* I’ve always found it difficult to believe he was driving that slowly, even in those conditions and piloting a car known for losing front grip thanks to the engine being over the rear axle.
The noise? I like the noise. It reminds me that I’m driving a machine powered by an internal combustion engine which works by burning and exploding petrol
My wife had someone slip on ice and glide into the back of the Beetle. No damage to the Beetle, but you would have thought that the other car had sped into a wall. Modern newfangled plastic bumpers, eh…?
And, you can’t tell me that a Mini Cooper is some kind of yacht, surely? My wife’s sister and her husband owned one – I remember (nightmares, frankly) trying to eat fish and chips sitting in the back of their Cooper…
No contest.Sorry, but if we’re gonna go retro then NOTHING will top a Mini Cooper.I see your Mini Cooper and raise you a VW 1302S.
Crap heater, worse handling, noisy and barely altered since the 1940s. Our 1972 Beetle had the most uncomfortable vinyl rear bench I’ve ever had to sit on. Not great when you’re trying to sleep in a lay-by at night on a trip to Scotland at the age of 9.
Driving home in falling snow, my Dad had a head-on with another car at a claimed 15mph* and headbutted the windscreen, which popped out in one piece.
It never ceases to amaze me why, ‘characterful’ appearance apart, people actually like them.
* I’ve always found it difficult to believe he was driving that slowly, even in those conditions and piloting a car known for losing front grip thanks to the engine being over the rear axle.
Sorry, but if we’re gonna go retro then NOTHING will top a Mini Cooper.I see your Mini Cooper and raise you a VW 1302S.
Our family Beetle – yes, she does have a name too, but I’m not telling you – is a 1970 1302S. No cassette player or 8 track. No cigarette lighter. No clock. Always starts first time, reliable, steady. Parts are cheap, everything is easy to access – you can do pretty much everything with a screwdriver and a socket set. 1600cc engine and four gears, can hit 80mph on a downhill on the motorway (once, by accident, with a tailwind
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Sadly true.[quote
…. And too heavy.[quote=Kapelmuur]It’s not been mentioned that cars have grown too big.
When I replaced my MK 2 Polo (800kg) with 1.2L Fabia I found the newer car is both bigger all round and weighs half as much again yet the amount of interior space is almost identical. The performance of the 54bhp 1.2L 3-cylinder engine is certainly less responsive.
It has much fatter A-pillars and 3/4 panels so visibility is worse so I’m less confident reversing into small spaces. And this a 15 y/o bottom of the range model. I won’t want to replace with a newer car because with the ever growing degree of unnecessary complexity and proprietary parts etc in each one I probably won’t be able to afford to have anything fixed.
Sorry, but if we’re gonna go retro then NOTHING will top a Mini Cooper.Put some extra lamps on and this is about as far as cars needed to evolve.
It’s not been mentioned that cars have grown too big. Every new model is longer and wider than the one it supersedes. For example, the current VW Polo is bigger than an original Golf.I ride mainly on rural roads and lanes and am constantly menaced by the enormous 4 x 4s that appear to be compulsory in Cheshire. They fill the width of the road and very few attempt to pull in for cyclists.
And part of the reason they’re getting bigger is not for any driving or even ergonomic advantages, it’s simply “so I can see over the other cars”.
Put some extra lamps on and this is about as far as cars needed to evolve.
I had one of those!!
Gutted when I had to sell it
Likewise, especially as I had paid to have a cassette player fitted.
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