Mercedes G class goes back to the roots for it's 30th birthday

[NomisR]

This is really the only Mercedes that I yearn to own.

SLR McLaren?  UNIMOG? 

[S204STi]

SLR McLaren?  UNIMOG? 

UNIMOG yes, I forgot that one.  SLR McLaren?  Nah, I'd rather own a Porsche.  Not interested in a supercar that comes only with an automatic.

[Submariner]

Didn't you just bitch about recent Mercedes quality, and now you want an old C class?

C-43 and E-500 were both awesome cars

[Tave]

C-43 and E-500 were both awesome cars

Oh gag me. The 43 was a good performer, but the interior quality of the W202 was wretched.

[Submariner]

Oh gag me. The 43 was a good performer, but the interior quality of the W202 was wretched.

No...certainly no worse than the 3 series of the same vintage, and while it was no A4, it had cars like the ES and I30 beat hands down on build quality and materials.

And, before you say "You're a troll" I have been in every car I mentioned for at lease a half an hour, plenty of time to dash stroke and assess the quality. 

[Tave]

No...certainly no worse than the 3 series of the same vintage,

The point is, if he doesn't like the interior quality/durability/reliability of the 2002 E-Class, he's going to fucking despise that of the 2000 C-Class.

I don't have a clue how BMW, Audi, Lexus, or Infiniti entered the discussion.

[Submariner]

The point is, if he doesn't like the interior quality/durability/reliability of the 2002 E-Class, he's going to fucking despise that of the 2000 C-Class.

I don't have a clue how BMW, Audi, Lexus, or Infiniti entered the discussion.

No...The C was designed before Mercedes took a nosedive.  It's not going to be poorly built.

Say that about the W203, then you have a case, a strong, strong case.

[heelntoe]

The point is, if he doesn't like the interior quality/durability/reliability of the 2002 E-Class, he's going to fucking despise that of the 2000 C-Class.

actually, the 2000 c classes were among the best of the W202s because of them being the final year of production with all the kinks worked out. my dad's car has been pretty much trouble free for most of it's life.

[Tave]

The interior didn't impress me in the slightest.

[cawimmer430]

There are no decent W202 C-Class interior photos on the net. 

This is the best and biggest I could find.



Anyway I don't see a problem with the cabin. It was typical solid MB and the materials are the exact same found in the R129 SL, W140 S-Class and even the W124 E-Class. Competitor interiors at the time weren't much different, some even looking worse.


Here's a 1994 Lexus ES. It looks even worse (and has a Camry feel to it).

[Galaxy]

There are no decent W202 C-Class interior photos on the net. 

This is the best and biggest I could find.



Anyway I don't see a problem with the cabin. It was typical solid MB and the materials are the exact same found in the R129 SL, W140 S-Class and even the W124 E-Class. Competitor interiors at the time weren't much different, some even looking worse.

The Audi A4 B5 simply blew away the competion when it came to the interior. It was that B5 A4 which almost single handidly put Audi  back in the game.

[2o6]

I disagree. The ES has a quality feel to it, and still looks OK. Nowhere near as staid and boring as the W202.

[CALL_911]

There are no decent W202 C-Class interior photos on the net. 

This is the best and biggest I could find.



Anyway I don't see a problem with the cabin. It was typical solid MB and the materials are the exact same found in the R129 SL, W140 S-Class and even the W124 E-Class. Competitor interiors at the time weren't much different, some even looking worse.


Here's a 1994 Lexus ES. It looks even worse (and has a Camry feel to it).

The W202 wasn't horrible, but it wasn't good. That said, the Lexus did have a nicer interior. It felt richer, and less bargain-basement.

[the Teuton]

That Lexus looks very Camry-esque.  I can't say it'd be my cup of tea.  B5, please.

But given the time and the options, even the E36's interior sucked unless you had an M3 Lux or a 328i with all of the bells and whistles.  No one really had amazing interiors back then except Audi with the B5 in 1996.

[CALL_911]

That Lexus looks very Camry-esque.  I can't say it'd be my cup of tea.  B5, please.

But given the time and the options, even the E36's interior sucked unless you had an M3 Lux or a 328i with all of the bells and whistles.  No one really had amazing interiors back then except Audi with the B5 in 1996.

The B5 was a given. It was leaps and bounds ahead of the class.

[the Teuton]

The B5 was a given. It was leaps and bounds ahead of the class.

Dare I say it, but Saab had decent interiors back then, too.  They haven't really changed much in the last 15 years, so while people say they suck now, by the standards of the 1990s, they were pretty good.

[cawimmer430]

That Lexus ES interior looks terrible. Where does it look rich or premium? It's clearly a gussied up Camry interior that screams Toyota all over it. Oh, and it is mega boring too.

The W202 interior was conservative (boring) but with the right trim (Elegance / Avantgarde) had a premium feel to it.


People in 1989 were going nuts over the LS400 cabin while slamming the W126 S-Class interior. Why? 

[the Teuton]

Pardon me for thinking that the MB interior does look better than that Lexus's.

[cawimmer430]

Pardon me for thinking that the MB interior does look better than that Lexus's.

That's not a sin. 

[the Teuton]

That's not a sin. 

But the ES's interior now is absolute r0xx0r. 

I guess to compensate for spending so much on the interior and gizmos, they can't afford to make the suspension anything more than jello.

I've driven a few Camrys, though, and they really aren't terrible cars.  They just feel like dependable appliances.

[cawimmer430]

I'm not saying that the Camry or ES are bad cars but when it comes to interiors Lexus leaves me baffled. People rave about them as if they're "all that".

Personally I am not impressed with many Lexus interiors, including the IS, RX and LS, models I have sat in and examined. They're overrated from a material POV IMO and the design lacks simplistic elegance that is found in many European cars. The GS interior is great and I have a feeling from looking at photos that the current ES also has a great interior. Those two really good but I have only been in the GS, but something tells me the ES cabin is similar from a material POV.

I hope I don't sound biased but I honestly prefer the conservative, yet elegant cabins of European premium cars. Lexus designs their interiors "too Japanese", which might appeal to a certain group but to me such interiors completely lack any form of elegance and class. If Lexus wants to design interiors that appeal to me (and probably other Europeans), then they need to maybe start COPYING European premium car interiors. Seriously. 

[the Teuton]

Lexus interiors don't have the same quality of materials as MBs or Audis, but then again, an LS starts at $60k and not $90k here.

That, and the Lexus up at the $80-90k mark is most definitely more feature-laden than a similarly priced Benz, and it does have a definite feel of quality.

[cawimmer430]

That, and the Lexus up at the $80-90k mark is most definitely more feature-laden than a similarly priced Benz, and it does have a definite feel of quality.

They definitely do have quality interiors, but they just don't feel on the same level as that of the Germans, especially in the S-Class, A8 and 7er class. I find the LS interior to lack elegance and class. It looks busy and all that silver plastic ends up looking real gimmicky (and almost cheap). The cabin is not helped by that dreadful "fake-looking" wood the LS uses. Overall I feel it is a notch below the interiors of the Germans.

The previous LS430, W220, A8 and 7er had interiors which were pretty much all similar and evenly matched. Now, I feel that the Germans raised the bar in this specific department and Lexus didn't react.

[TBR]

Oddly enough, I agree with Wimmer on this. The only Lexus interior I like is that of the IS, the rest just don't do anything for me.

In the '90s it was a bit more of a mixed bag, the GS and SC had nice interiors in my eyes, but I still preferred the very conservative, but high quality look of the Mercedes interiors, particularly in black.

[NomisR]

Real Mercedes Benz

[cawimmer430]

One of the things I personally think a luxury interior should have is a "simple design layout that radiates elegance and class". Lexus interiors fall short here, big time. They're well-made, obviously, but they lack this simplistic elegance which I think a number of people want in a luxury car. These type of simplistic interiors tend to relax people and reinforce the comfort feeling of the cabin. Every Lexus interior to me, with the exception of the GS and ES is bulky, BUSY, appears to have terrible ergonomics and looks different from the "norm". That's a not a bad thing, but it is something that just doesn't appeal to me. The GS and ES are the only Lexus interiors that are simple in design, elegant and I feel have more fitting materials than other Lexus products. The rest of the lineup lacks elegant interiors.

[Raza]

But the ES's interior now is absolute r0xx0r. 

I guess to compensate for spending so much on the interior and gizmos, they can't afford to make the suspension anything more than jello.

I've driven a few Camrys, though, and they really aren't terrible cars.  They just feel like dependable appliances.

The current ES's interior appears very cheap when you're in it.  And, I couldn't stop opening that damn center console storage whenever I wanted to use the shifter.  And the accelerator surged when you let off the brake. 

[Raza]

One of the things I personally think a luxury interior should have is a "simple design layout that radiates elegance and class". Lexus interiors fall short here, big time. They're well-made, obviously, but they lack this simplistic elegance which I think a number of people want in a luxury car. These type of simplistic interiors tend to relax people and reinforce the comfort feeling of the cabin. Every Lexus interior to me, with the exception of the GS and ES is bulky, BUSY, appears to have terrible ergonomics and looks different from the "norm". That's a not a bad thing, but it is something that just doesn't appeal to me. The GS and ES are the only Lexus interiors that are simple in design, elegant and I feel have more fitting materials than other Lexus products. The rest of the lineup lacks elegant interiors.

I need a good laugh.  Demonstrate simplicity in any current top level luxury car, with the possible exception of the Jaguar XJ.

And don't tell me that iDrive and iDrive ripoffs (I'm looking at you, Mercedes) makes it simple because it takes away the buttons. 

[CALL_911]

One of the things I personally think a luxury interior should have is a "simple design layout that radiates elegance and class". Lexus interiors fall short here, big time. They're well-made, obviously, but they lack this simplistic elegance which I think a number of people want in a luxury car. These type of simplistic interiors tend to relax people and reinforce the comfort feeling of the cabin. Every Lexus interior to me, with the exception of the GS and ES is bulky, BUSY, appears to have terrible ergonomics and looks different from the "norm". That's a not a bad thing, but it is something that just doesn't appeal to me. The GS and ES are the only Lexus interiors that are simple in design, elegant and I feel have more fitting materials than other Lexus products. The rest of the lineup lacks elegant interiors.

If there's one thing Lexus walks all over MB on, it's electronics. The Lexus touch screen is much easier to use than COMAND is.

[the Teuton]

The current ES's interior appears very cheap when you're in it.  And, I couldn't stop opening that damn center console storage whenever I wanted to use the shifter.  And the accelerator surged when you let off the brake. 

My assumption was based on the last generation ES which really did feel like a much more expensive car from the inside.  I have not gotten to play with the new ES yet (Two weeks from now is the Cleveland Auto show, so...), but it wouldn't surprise me about the interior materials.