Drove a nice car tonight.

Speedlaw · Post by **Speedlaw** » Fri Oct 03, 2003 11:21 pm

Just had a spin in the neighbour's new Merc - he picked up his E320 CDI today. Now, normally I'm not a big fan of Mercedes-Benz cars, since they're used as taxi's here. But, I must say that I am impressed. Big time.

The 320 CDI is a straight six turbo diesel, weighing in @ 204 DIN Hp, with a massive 500 Nm of torque. It has an automatic gearbox as standard, and his car had the works... The COMAND sat/nav with in-dash 6 cd changer, DVD playback and widescreen TV made me drool, as did the Bluetooth phone installation. Other nice bits were the leather seats, the nicest dials I've ever seen IRL, and some very decent (leather clad) seats. 4 zone climatronic was nice too...

But. All that stuff is nice, but what sets this car apart from every other car I've driven, is the engine/drivetrain + roadhandling combo. It's unbelievable. Mega-fast (even with only 150 km on the clock) and a super firm yet unbelievably comfortable ride make for some cool driving. I want one. Bad. His BMW 530d was nice, as is his X5 3.0d. But this beats them both.

Interior:

Exterior:

I wouldn't buy it though... Taxi!

Scorpio1 · Post by **Scorpio1** » Sat Oct 04, 2003 1:05 am

Yeah I drove one of the 320 CDI's once and it is mega quick. 400 miles a tank too.

I would love to have a go in the new SL600

'The new SL 600 - arriving Summer 2003. Balancing luxury and safety perfectly with performance, the SL 600 is equipped with innovations such as two twin turbochargers and the V12 engine has an output of 500 hp, accelerating from 0 - 62.5 mph in an impressive 4.7 seconds.
The SL 600 exudes elegance with refined radiator grille, beautifully crafted alloy wheels, and ruffled leather interior with wood/leather steering wheel. And, with a range of innovative technology as standard such as Parktronic and COMAND, the SL 600 is a pleasure to drive.'

Read this too, sounds unreal: http://www.mercedes.co.uk/pc/pc_range/d ... /7g/7g.pdf

Speedlaw · Post by **Speedlaw** » Sat Oct 04, 2003 1:43 pm

That 600 is sick. Especially if it's mated to that 7G gearbox!

Even though I'd prefer BMW's - Mercs do feel like they're built from solid rock, while at the same time they're dead fast and handle like on rails.

And I respect that.

Scorpio1 · Post by **Scorpio1** » Sun Oct 05, 2003 11:40 pm

Yeah I agree. There is something about them which is so nice, if a little over priced sometimes though.

Wonder what the insurance would be on that 600!

Speedlaw · Post by **Speedlaw** » Mon Oct 06, 2003 10:54 am

I'm betting it's off the chart.

Perhaps in a few years, as a daily driver to spare the other 'weekend car'.

Well, maybe a use A-class would be more within reach.