Mercedes Benz and AMG Owners

GravyMonster · 9 Apr 2020 at 11:19

TNGL said:
Is the standard sound system on Mercs any good? I've not read fantastic things about it and it's now making me think I should have gone with something with a Burmester sound system. I'm coming from an A5 which had Bang & Olufsen and so whilst I'm not expecting something on the level of the B&O system, I would expect something that is still good. Hopefully I won't be disappointed.

The standard C Class system is decent enough. The only thing I can compare it to is my wife's mk6.5 Golf which it beats hands down. There is a noticeable jump in quality to the Burmester though. Similarly there's a good difference between the Burmester in the C and E, with the latter being better still.

By itself it's not worth £2k of anyones money, though, if that's why you want the Prem Plus pack.

TNGL · 9 Apr 2020 at 11:29

Spunkey said:
The standard C Class system is decent enough. The only thing I can compare it to is my wife's mk6.5 Golf which it beats hands down. There is a noticeable jump in quality to the Burmester though. Similarly there's a good difference between the Burmester in the C and E, with the latter being better still.

By itself it's not worth £2k of anyones money, though, if that's why you want the Prem Plus pack.

It would be the only reason for me wanting premium plus really. If it's decent enough I'll be happy, my worry was it being bad.

Journey · 9 Apr 2020 at 14:52

TNGL said:
It would be the only reason for me wanting premium plus really. If it's decent enough I'll be happy, my worry was it being bad.

How about going to a showroom before accepting delivery once they are open again?

blueboy2001 · 10 Apr 2020 at 00:39

I had the standard Audio 20 system in my C Class and have the Burmester system in my E Class - both 2017 cars.

I had no complaints with the audio in the C Class once I'd added a little bass and brought the fader forward a couple of notches.

The Burmester system does sound a bit better, particularly at higher volume and with a decent source. I certainly wouldn't pay thousands for it though.

[TW]Fox · 10 Apr 2020 at 08:44

I think at this point I would be avoiding the C Class altogether. It's a nice car but the infotainment system is absolutely diabolical and very out of place on a car of this type

By contrast the new MBUX system on the newer Mercedes is absolutely excellent and a giant leap forward, it's gone from being about the biggest joke in its class to arguably the best system on the market.

It's present in the A Class, CLA Class and the facelift E Class. At this point the C Class is now really quite old and I think the A Class saloon is a better buy.

A shame really as styling wise the C Class is one of the nicest cars Mercedes do. I recently rented a C Class AMG Line for a week and it looked fantastic outside but drove me mad inside. It was then swapped for a new A Class AMG Line which I wanted to hate but came away deeply impressed with.

Cavallino · 10 Apr 2020 at 09:46

[TW]Fox said:
I think at this point I would be avoiding the C Class altogether. It's a nice car but the infotainment system is absolutely diabolical and very out of place on a car of this type

By contrast the new MBUX system on the newer Mercedes is absolutely excellent and a giant leap forward, it's gone from being about the biggest joke in its class to arguably the best system on the market.

It's present in the A Class, CLA Class and the facelift E Class. At this point the C Class is now really quite old and I think the A Class saloon is a better buy.

A shame really as styling wise the C Class is one of the nicest cars Mercedes do. I recently rented a C Class AMG Line for a week and it looked fantastic outside but drove me mad inside. It was then swapped for a new A Class AMG Line which I wanted to hate but came away deeply impressed with.

What was it about the system you didnt like Fox?
I own a C Class C300 AMG Line. In some respects at the beginning I could relate to what you say, but then after a little while I have gotten used to the system and its not that bad honestly if you are patient with it.

I was given a CLA courtesy car while my C class was being serviced and yes the new MBUX system (touch screen driven and all) was a lot fluid.

That being said, if the MBUX system was on the C Class (and now E Class), I would probably go with the E Class.... but I would miss the engine from the C300.

[TW]Fox · 10 Apr 2020 at 09:55

Cavallino said:
What was it about the system you didnt like Fox?
I own a C Class C300 AMG Line. In some respects at the beginning I could relate to what you say, but then after a little while I have gotten used to the system and its not that bad honestly if you are patient with it.

The navigation was frustratingly bad at routing to the point where I almost just used my phone. The graphics/interface felt dated, it didn't feel like it had been very well thought out at all. The speed limit display sometimes appeared and sometimes didn't. The digital dash offered absolutely nothing that the regular dash didn't and you couldn't use it for proper nav view etc. But worse than that was the little frustrating stuff that gets to you after a while - if you were listening to Spotify over Bluetooth and parked for a bit and then got back in it would never start off again - on a trip where we were constantly in and out of the car for pictures etc it was a real nuisance. By contrast, with MBUX (and my own car!) it would always resume playing.

This is part of the reason I was so blown away by MBUX - it was genuinely brilliant! BMW iDrive is a great system which has slowly got better and better - each new version is a bit better than the version before, so I was not expecting much from the A Class but wow, it was a giant leap forward. I was very impressed with that car.

How cool is Augmented Reality Navigation!?

Cavallino · 22 Apr 2020 at 17:00

I got a message from my C300 today notifying me that I need to drive the car around a bit to make sure the battery keeps its charge and I suddenly remembered I forgot to respond to your question Fox, apologies.

I actually didn't realise that AR navigation existed in the MBUX system! I had to google it, but screw me, it really is the dogs danglers.

Coming back to the navigation for the older system, honetly speaking, I dont bother with it and just use my phone.

Unfortunately the C300 I have doesnt have Apple Car play/Android Auto so I have to mount my phone whenever I use navigation (which I hate).

Will have to wait a couple years for now to experience the MBUX system in the next purchase....

Bear · 22 Apr 2020 at 20:55

Cavallino said:
That being said, if the MBUX system was on the C Class (and now E Class), I would probably go with the E Class.... but I would miss the engine from the C300.

You can get an E300, it’s a 250bhp 2litre 4 pot in the C300 isn’t it?

Cavallino · 23 Apr 2020 at 11:55

Sorry should have clarified that an E300 will probably be more out of my price range.... (hence why I said I would miss the engine from the C300!)

TNGL · 21 Jun 2020 at 19:29

Has anybody ever had any issues with their auto fold in mirrors not folding in when locking the car? I have a c-class coupe and last night the mirrors decided to not fold in, until I got back into the car, deselected auto-fold in mirrors from the settings menu, re-selected it and locked the car.

The car is new and so I was surprised to encounter this so early on, unless I am missing something and this is intended...?

Tinders · 21 Jun 2020 at 19:57

The W205 does feel an old car inside, the daft stuck on screen looks naff,and it looked naff when it was launched, same for the A4 aswell. BMW have it spot on, so do Merc with E/A class.

Its a shame as otherwise its a cracking looking car, certainly a step up from the W204.

MouthBoy · 21 Jun 2020 at 23:04

I honestly have no issue with the c class interior. I wish the screen was a little larger but the way it is mounted has never bothered me.

Should also say that I have not had the issue with the mirrors either.

floatindolphin · 22 Jun 2020 at 21:26

Anyone know how much “better” the 5.5l AMG engine is than the old 6.2l?

I had a c63 previously and am considering going back into another AMG

I know it won’t be amazing, but read on one site 460 miles could be achieved from a tank. Sound about right?

CaptainRAVE · 22 Jun 2020 at 22:49

floatindolphin said:
Anyone know how much “better” the 5.5l AMG engine is than the old 6.2l?

I had a c63 previously and am considering going back into another AMG

I know it won’t be amazing, but read on one site 460 miles could be achieved from a tank. Sound about right?

Which 5.5L AMG engine? I can certainly get a good 450 miles if cruising on the motorway.

bazzabear · 22 Jun 2020 at 23:15

In case anyone is interested, I found our GoPro the other day so decided to have a go at some exhaust note vids of my W204 C63.

They're not terribly good for a couplke of reasons. I can only find the full waterproof case for the GoPro, so it muffles everything. It was just a trip to the shop, and I didn't give it too much because it wasn't fully warmed up. But as a test of the principle it worked OK.

Incidentally, anyone know where you can buy the replacement doors for the GoPro case? It's a Hero 3+

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CXb_BD_TrA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saz7GruZ7UE

floatindolphin · 22 Jun 2020 at 23:34

CaptainRAVE said:
Which 5.5L AMG engine? I can certainly get a good 450 miles if cruising on the motorway.

2014 E63 wagon

Martynt74 · 23 Jun 2020 at 08:46

Just dropped mine off for a service and been given a Hybrid GLC, it's lovely to drive and isn't making the decision to not change cars easy!

It's a tricky decision, there's nothing wrong with either car, other than now being a bit old. But my wife very rarely drives hers and i use mine for buying wood/tip runs/throwing wet paddleboards in, so as much as we'd like something new, it feels a little wasted and i'm not sure which one we'd change.

floatindolphin · 23 Jun 2020 at 16:41

I just had the 2014 E63 wagon for an almost all day test drive. 120 miles later, including a drive up to Ashbourne (twice!), then down to Matlock. Lovely drive. Absolutely insane car! So much better than the C63. I didn't think it'd be such a huge difference in performance, but wow!

Just talking warranty etc with the sales man.

Bear · 24 Jun 2020 at 06:41

floatindolphin said:
I just had the 2014 E63 wagon for an almost all day test drive. 120 miles later, including a drive up to Ashbourne (twice!), then down to Matlock. Lovely drive. Absolutely insane car! So much better than the C63. I didn't think it'd be such a huge difference in performance, but wow!

I dont know about that gen of car but the current generation the E63 has about 100bhp more than the C63, so if that gen is the same it isnt surprising there is a noticable difference in performance. Ive been looking at E63S but not sure I can justify one to myself now that I work from home so barely do any driving at all now, it was going to be my last ICE car and wanted to go out in a v8