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if they didn't exist, you'd probably be paying 20-30% more for your s-class which would lower their sales and appeal of those, possibly forcing mercedes further up market leading to fewer sales, repeat. that's the problem all luxury brands have and do face.
and that's the problem with not having split brands like toyota/lexus, vw/audi, nissan/infiniti, hyundai/genesis, etc.
newsflash, many customers of high end mercedes also want them for the badge.
in low income areas here, we're more likely to see something like this
well all the luxury brands disagree so there's that.
so is this a 'real' m car or not to you? certainly not luxurious, or hand built, lol.
i test drove one of those back when they were new, and loved it, but i kept my legend gs instead and then yeah, went to a lexus gs400!
Oh it's a real M car, I just am not particularly impressed. It feels fast to drive but doesn't feel nearly as capable as modern cars, inputs and balance is nice but limits are lower than the reputation suggests.
The A class and other FWD entry level cars aren't my taste but if they sell, they sell.
From what I can tell, the CLA and GLA sell for one principal reason (and one of my neighbors got a new CLA last year....I did a thread on it).....people want the Tri-Star for its prestige and safety-features, but don't want to (or can't afford to) pay a Tri-Star price.
From what I can tell, the CLA and GLA sell for one principal reason (and one of my neighbors got a new CLA last year....I did a thread on it).....people want the Tri-Star for its prestige and safety-features, but don't want to (or can't afford to) pay a Tri-Star price.
Right, it’s a pretend Mercedes lol. Kinda looks like a Mercedes and has the badge but none of the other attributes.
I think as long as the actual AMG or M cars deliver a top experience, it doesn't matter what they do down the line.
The A class and other FWD entry level cars aren't my taste but if they sell, they sell.
100% agreed.
there's a scene at the beginning of one of my favorite movies 'defending your life' where the main character goes to pick up his new bmw 3 series. at first the sales guy plays a trick and points him to a 750 which he of course loves, then points him to his actual 3 series and he says "My car looks like a turd now."
Oh it's a real M car, I just am not particularly impressed. It feels fast to drive but doesn't feel nearly as capable as modern cars, inputs and balance is nice but limits are lower than the reputation suggests.
I test drove a 2008 M3. Lousy build quality (if you remember my review), but plenty of power (414 HP), and handling like it was on railroad tracks......at the cost of a MUCH stiffer ride and suspension than the sister 335i.
Just spent a week in a 2023 Infiniti QX80 rental and wanted to share some quick thoughts. Avis must've gotten a great deal on them as they were introducing the next gen because they had a ton of them available. I had originally booked a minivan (along with 4-5 other people in line) but they barely had anything available since it was a holiday week. It was the first time I had to go to the counter instead of straight to the car an it was horrible. Anyway back to the Infiniti. When I picked it up it was at 10K miles and I dropped it back off at 11,950.
Good
Smooth V8. Drove between SoCal and Vegas and it did a great job. Effortless between 80-90 mph although the transmission was a bit rough shifting from 1st to 2nd.
Interior
Seats. I like the seats in my R1S, but I loved how comfortable the seats were in the QX80. Had multiple hour+ drives and didn't have an issue finding a comfortable seating position
Screens / center infotainment stack: a little dated, but the screen was responsive and Android Auto and CarPlay both worked without issues. It would've been nice to have wireless AA as wireless CarPlay was available, but I used it wired in either case.
Digital rear view mirror: I love this option and wished my Rivian had it. When people are in the 3rd row, it makes things so much easier.
Entry / Exit: On of my biggest complaints about the Rivian are the lack of handles and running boards to help with entry/exit and the QX80 had both. Both kids had no issues getting in and out and it has led to me ordering rock sliders for the Rivian.
A/C: The QX80 regularly made me uncomfortably cold and I loved it while in Vegas with an average high in the 110s. The only time it had issue cooling the car was when it heat soaked in the sun for 3 hours. As long as it was parked in the shade, it could cool the interior within 3-4 minutes.
Bad
Steering: the steering in this thing was unreasonably heavy. I checked the settings to see if I was missing something, but couldn't find a setting to adjust. I could still single hand it, but at low speeds in parking lots, it was definitely more comfortable to two hand it. When I got back in the Ody to drive home, it was uncomfortably light lol
Turning radius: it's a big SUV with a big turning radius. Easy to adapt to, but kind of annoying to deal with
Loading height: One of the reason I prefer a minivan when traveling is because of how easy it is to load things into the back. As expected, both set of grandparents gave the kids a bunch of toys and clothes and loading the overweight bags in at the end of the trip was not fun. Wasn't a killer, but annoying
Efficiency: my average efficiency over the week was 14.9 mpg. Even when with cruise control set at 80 on the way to Vegas, I couldn't get past 18mpg. Combined with the CA gas prices, I spent more on gas on this trip than I have for the Ody YTD.
Overall, it was a decent rental. I still would've preferred the minivan I reserved, but it could've been worse.
Interesting review. These types of vehicles are hard for road trips. Especially driving at 80-90. The weight will eventually wear one down.
Interesting review. These types of vehicles are hard for road trips. Especially driving at 80-90. The weight will eventually wear one down.
At speed with cruise control on, it drove really well. Would've been even easier if it had lane centering but overall very manageable. It was the day to day low speed stuff that got tiring
An M3 isn’t something you buy if you’re worried about ride.
True. That's why I said, when I reviewed it 16 years ago, that while the M3 was an excellent car for the track, I thought that the sister 335i was a far better alternate for everyday driving in this area.
In fact, I considered taking home a 335i wth AWD....but it was a little more than I cared to spend on a new vehicle, I didn't like the snooty BMW dealerships, and the 335s turned out to have fuel-pump issues that left a number of owners stranded. But I was amazed at the suspension-engineering on the 335....I usually gripe about the ride quality on vehicles with 45-series tires, but the 335i was astounding. It soaked up bumps (with great handling) even with the rubber-band 35-series Sport-Package tires on my test car.
And, of course, keep in mind that that was the older BMWs with hydraulic steering and the well-engineered suspensions. BMW dumped its superb hydraulic steering, where you could almost steer the car blindfolded just by the tactile road-feel alone) for the newer electric steering that is simpler and more reliable, but less-telepathic.
07-07-24, 02:40 PM
in low income areas here, we're more likely to see something like this 
