I missed my car...

[CraigA_UK]

Long story short, someone pranged the front of my IS300h so it went in this week to Jemca in Bracknell for repair work.

The third party insurance paid Enterprise to provide me with a courtesy car, which was a brand new c200 Mercedes (petrol). I've never driven a Merc before, so it was interesting to compare the experience with the Lexus.

A few things I noticed:

1) The 7 speed auto box in the Merc felt so clunky compared to the smoothness of the Lexus. The gear changes jolted me a little in the seat, and seemed to be disconcertingly timed.

2) The engine was noisier than the Lexus, which you barely hear unless booting it hard

3) Economy was worse. I was driving sympathetically, and hit around 35Mpg average over the 150 miles I put on the car

4) Interior felt cheap with shiny plastics (probably the cheapest trim spec in the range, but still not a 'cheap' car)

5) Didn't like the gear selector being on a stalk from the steering column at first, but got used to it and kind of liked it by the end

6) Little cargo nets on the side pockets in the boot - neat and very handy

7) It had a reversing camera (but no parking sensors!!) which was better in low light/darkness than the Lexus. However, it had a slight video lag meaning you nearly hit things if reversing a little quickly.

8) Seats aren't as comfy as my F-Sport

Needless to say, I was glad to pick up my car again today, and really appreciated just how silky smooth the ride quality is from the hybrid system. I've been slightly bemoaning only being able to average 46MPG on my best tanks of the Lexus, but won't any more after the thirsty and lacklustre Merc experience!!

 

[200h]

i know what you mean about the column change its a bit wierd years ago i had an E class courtesy car

but after a while it became the norm,the seats in a lexus after softer / more comfortable than the germans aswell,

if our cars weren't hybrid we would only be getting in the region of mid 20's so 35mpg is ok.

[Ian J. Parsley]

Yes, I think it's a little harsh to compare consumption - it would be like comparing a Mercedes eco-range car (or whatever they brand them now) with the IS200t.

When I chose the IS, the C-class was probably the nearest competitor (there was no Jaguar XE then, although actually I've been unimpressed by it). What I found:

1) Yes, I find the hybrid system superior to anything with gears now.

2) Yes, anything other than a Lexus hybrid is noisy!

3) As I say, I don't think it's fair to compare economy. I wouldn't say 35mpg is great (I get 47-50 in the IS versus typically 36 in my previous Volvo S80), but it's ok.

4) Actually I really liked the Merc interior, both previous C-class and this. I particularly like that they haven't just thrown buttons everywhere (my biggest frustration with the IS interior, if anything even worse in the new RX - actually the CT is best for me in the Lexus range in this regard). 

5) Yes, I don't mind where the gear selector is. Indeed I increasingly like the innovation of the CT's raised selector over the IS' more standard one.

6) I don't know if these come as standard on the Merc. My wife has ordered a cargo net on the CT, so that can be done - and I'm sure price can be negotiated!

7) I actually find a lag on the IS' camera too. Also, are you sure there were no beepers? It took me a week to work out how to turn them on in the IS...!

8) I find the Merc the comfiest of the Germans, but the comfiest of all are Lexus and Volvo (something even reviewers usually concede).

I think Merc is on to a winner with the new C-class, and UK sales figures would indicate that. However, I take most of your points. I had an A4 courtesy two years ago or so and had a very similar experience to yours with the Merc - given the rave reviews, the Germans really can be quite disappointing in reality!