MB cost cutting that I have noticed in E, C, ML, GL

[PHYBENZ]

Last weekend I drove a C350, which is the car I plan to buy in April and I am not as excited as I was before I drove it and sat in it. The interior isn't up to MB standards in terms of materials. The dash materials especially lower dash are almost hard plastic, the center tunnel is hard plastic (first time in MB sedan). The door panels are of an almost hard plastic also, and with the MB Tex trim you don't get any leather on the door pulls or panel which make them look cheap. Here are some cost cutting observations I made on other cars too. The door locks no longer have a nice cover and are just a plastic stick and look very cheap. My girlfriend is the one that noticed them. The non retractable headrests are also a definite cost cutting move.

E class (facelift):

- the headlight switch panel on all interior colors is black, so they don't have to produce other colors and it is ugly. On a beige interior to have a black fairly large rectangle looks out of place.

- the door locks inside no longer have a nice cover and look very cheap.

- The trunk lid is the same for Europe and US because the license plate area is big enough for both types of plates. Not that big of a problem just an observation.

- I believe the seatbelts are no longer color coded, but all black.

ML/GL

- Same ugly cheap doorlocks

- The dash and door materials on the ML are not very luxurious.

 

[coolraoul]

Fot the C-Class I disagree, it is a big improvement over the precedent model. The plastics are much less shiny, more textured, much better to touch and look at.

Don't know for the details you mentionned, but the overall impression is excellent.

Concerning the hard center tunnel, did not noticed it. If you go in an Audi you will notice a lot of hard plastic too, but with beautiful look and texture. So is the C-Class, maybe a bit more hard plastic, but better looking, better to touch, and better adjusted and finished.

Also the buttons feels much better, more premium.

The headrest, it is I think for safety reasons, too many Mercedes drove with folded headrest despite rear passengers.

The ML I only agree for the doorpanel, stupid cheap plastic instead of leather, this is the only flaw. Even if the dashboard, that's true, has not the better material you can imagine, it is very good, and much much much better than the poorly finished Touareg or Cayenne. The Q7 and new X5, don't know.

In a GL you don't have this problem. the doorpanels are leather, like the whole dashboard, you don'see any plastic in the GL.

The black plastic for the lights in the FL E-Class, it is because if you have the beige interior with the beige switch panel you just don't see anything...the symbols are invisible, translucid on beige. And as the button is always black, it is imo better to have the whole panel in black.

The trunklid, well, I couldn't care less. The seatbelts are like always coloured like the interior.

For the rest, I did not saw anything, did not pay attention. But I don't see really it as cost-cutting, for me the new C-Class is a big improvement, it feels better finished (in the sense better made, more durable) than an E-Class I felt. Impression that everything fits perfectly and is build to last.

 

[PHYBENZ]

I agree that the fit and finish in the C-class is superior to the previous generation, it feels very well put-together, but I was just not impressed with some of the materials. You're right Audi has used hard plastics and actually our VW Passat uses hard plastic everywhere below the top part of the dash. I find softer touch more high quality.

 

[bmer]

But I don't see really it as cost-cutting, for me the new C-Class is a big improvement, it feels better finished (in the sense better made, more durable) than an E-Class I felt.

I've sat in both and I can honestly say (at least the facelifted) E-Class has much more luxurious interior just like it should. It's also more pleasant for the eye; beautiful, elegant lines and cuts instead of slightly puzzle-like sharp edges and not very integrated cockpit parts inside the C-Class.

 

[coolraoul]

Yes of course, I agree, the interior in the E is better designed, richer, with better materials.
But there is an impression of sheer quality in the way the buttons move, in the way everything seems bigger, I find that the interior in the C gives the impression to be build to last, an old-school imprtession that the E does not give.
It gives you immediate trust in the car, I find; even if the E is obviously better finished, it gives that impression to a lesser degree.

The C reassures me, and gives me the impression to sit in a car built like an old Merc. Just listen to the noise when you close the door...

 

[ZicZachZo]

I don't really understand all of this talk about Mercedes interiors being sub par in quality. In comparison to it's competitors I don't think it really pales with the exception Audi. But even they don't make the interiors like they used to. It's funny to me to talk about interior plastics, because my 1990 190E has hard plastic all over the place. I never touch it but you can tell it's not 'high quality'. But I don't get bent out of shape over it. If having a leather covered everywhere with chrome embezzlement and fine wood work everywhere is your thing, well the C class isn't going to do it for you. If you expect S class quality on the smallest cheapest sedan MB offers you are kidding yourself. There is a reason why the S class is easily 45k dollars more than her little sibling. One has to be realistic in expectations when comparing these cars. And to be totally honest, MB interiors were never much of a hoo ha until Lexus came along and set a new industry standard. One which I think is bologna. But that's my opinion. Sit in an old W124 and everything is just fine as far as quality and materials, everything is in a logical place. The seat belts will all be black, the headlight face plate/switch will be black. So one could argue that MB is just getting back to the basics with their interiors. Typical German designs. I do have to say though that the new door lock pieces are trashy. I dunno what they were thinking on that one.

 

[Centurion]

Every manufacturers use simple tricks or take certain measures to keep the costs down. Thrown me in side any Bimmer, Audi or Benz and I'll easily find knobs/buttons or panels to complain about.

These are premium cars and not flawless ultra luxurious cars like Bentleys and Rollers.

Welcome to the world of mass production.

 

[Osnabrueck]

I agree that the fit and finish in the C-class is superior to the previous generation, it feels very well put-together, but I was just not impressed with some of the materials...

I'm very with you on this. My wife and I made the same observation after test-driving the new C-Klasse. Maybe part of the problem is perceptual - The exterior styling of the new C is excellent, and almost makes you forget about its place in the Benz range.

Nevertheless, once you manhandle the interior for a while, you get the distinct impression that something is awry. It's not one thing, but it is the sense that things are more hollow and plastic than they should be - that there's some kind of window-dressing slight of hand going on. Case in point - the glovebox. It felt light and flimsy, not pithy and firm.

When we returned to my loaded Honda Accord EX L V6 for the drive home I sensed that the interior was higher quality in feel, materials and construction. Perceptually, Benz has to do better to win me over. The C I drove didn't even have lit vanity mirrors. Come on!

 

[coolraoul]

Wel I feel the exact contrary. The new C has a real feeling of quality all over it. May look a bit spartan from certain points, maybe some plastics are not the better on earth (it is just a C-Class), but the all feels really strong, solid, very well built.

Even the alu trim, I am quite sure it is real aluminium, if not it feels so true...

I am with ZichZacZo on it. On pic I wasn't impressed, but in real life it is another story.

I think, the new C is much less fancy-gadgets-alu-buttons everywhere, but much more focused on build quality, reliability and all that. Maybe the design is a bit classical, maybe some plastics are hard (did not saw that), but it feels reassuringly good I felt. Looks much better in black/grey however.

It is much more focused on core Mercedes values, I feel. I love the C-Class for that, it really feels like an old good Mercedes.

 

[cawimmer430]

I agree that the fit and finish in the C-class is superior to the previous generation, it feels very well put-together, but I was just not impressed with some of the materials. You're right Audi has used hard plastics and actually our VW Passat uses hard plastic everywhere below the top part of the dash. I find softer touch more high quality.

The interior of the C-Class uses a soft leathery type of material for much of the dash. It's not hard at all. Also, hard plastics don't necessarily mean "cheap quality".

There was a review in the C-Class section where someone summed up the W204 interior very nicely:

The new C-Class has moved the game on considerably when it comes to interior quality. In traditional Mercedes fashion the design is conservative and functional rather than flashy and full of gimmicks. But this is what people choose a Mercedes for and the marque is wise to play to its strengths.

To me, the interior is fine. It might not be as flashy as the Audi A4, but it's well-made and put together, has significantly better materials than the W203 and overall feels like a nice place to be in. Bottom line is, it feels like a premium interior, just conservatively styled.

My biggest problem with the C-Class is actually the lack of new, powerful engines, especially in the C350.

 

[cawimmer430]

I'd also like to add that Mercedes interiors were never known for their glitz and glamour. Perhaps the Mercedes' with the most glitzy interiors could be found in the 1920s and 1930s and again after World War II in the 1950s up to the late 1960s. After that it was all hard plastics and exteme conservative styling. Some of the greatest Mercedes' ever had interiors which if seen today look incredibly "cheap". Take the W116 450SEL 6.9 for example, one of the most expensive cars of its time. The interior was no different from a standard W116 S-Class, had a lot of visible hard plastic and wood which looked fake. Did people care? No. My '85 300SE has a drabby and spartan interior filled with hard plastics and cloth seats: and this was an S-Class in 1985!

I think these days people make such a big issue out of interiors to the point where it's ridiculous. The way I see it, mainstream manufacturers have stepped up their interior design and material strategy to such a level that luxury manufacturers are finding it increasingly difficult to differentiate their interiors from certain mainstream products.

Back to the C-Class: the interior is perfectly fine. Well-made, good materials, ergonomically well-thought-out and definitely premium in feel. What more could people want?

 

[Monster]

I've sat in both and I can honestly say (at least the facelifted) E-Class has much more luxurious interior just like it should. It's also more pleasant for the eye; beautiful, elegant lines and cuts instead of slightly puzzle-like sharp edges and not very integrated cockpit parts inside the C-Class.

Totally agree with you. I sat inside the C-class and then jump straight into an E-class, and even though the design isn't the newest, it is still a better place to be in.

Yes of course, I agree, the interior in the E is better designed, richer, with better materials.
But there is an impression of sheer quality in the way the buttons move, in the way everything seems bigger, I find that the interior in the C gives the impression to be build to last, an old-school imprtession that the E does not give.
It gives you immediate trust in the car, I find; even if the E is obviously better finished, it gives that impression to a lesser degree.

The C reassures me, and gives me the impression to sit in a car built like an old Merc. Just listen to the noise when you close the door...

The majority of the buttons on the E-class moves and feels high quality, except for those dam air con buttons and nobs. The rotary air temp control feels light, and cheap to use and there are a degree of free movement that you didn't expect. The air con buttons in the C-class is better, but it still feels cheap.


There is 1 thing I want to ask, are those interior door handle/release metal or plastic?

 

[cawimmer430]

There is 1 thing I want to ask, are those interior door handle/release metal or plastic?

Probably metal, especially if they feel cool. Might even be chrome, but don't quote me on that.

 

[Monster]

Probably metal, especially if they feel cool. Might even be chrome, but don't quote me on that.

They do feel cold, but when I give them a knock they sound strangely flat. One thing I found annoying is that sometimes the door handle won't spring back to its original position once I have pulled it open. I probably pull it too much, but things like this shouldn't happen right?

 

[PHYBENZ]

The door release handles are metal.

 

[Osnabrueck]

I'm definitely with you on the engines. Much as I generally like the new C Class, I couldn't go for any of the engines currently available. With BMW offering gobs of "oomph" for the money in the 335i it feels as though the current range of engines offered for the C lack a compelling performance/value proposition.

While I'm at it - I feel the same about the new A4. I'm really interested in the car, but the current engine selection needs some fresh blood (and I do realize that the 2.0T is refreshed).

 

[Osnabrueck]

They do feel cold, but when I give them a knock they sound strangely flat. One thing I found annoying is that sometimes the door handle won't spring back to its original position once I have pulled it open. I probably pull it too much, but things like this shouldn't happen right?

That's exactly what I'm talking about. There's a sense of drum-tight engineering that's lacking in the new C. It's not that the materials are sub-par, it's what the materials do. When I fiddled with the doors, the center console and the glovebox I got the feeling that things weren't going "CLICK" and "THUD" as best they could.

 

[coolraoul]

Monster spoke from the E-Class I think
Anyway, for instance the door handles are now made from a not very appealing plastic in recent BMW, whereas Mercedes is pure metal...

I still disagree, on the contrary; the C has an interior where everything feels strong and well built. I felt really good inside, and had the same impression than in an older Mercedes.

Anyway you are in a C-Class, not an S-Class. The e90 has lots of hard plastics, lots of little pieces of hard plastic everywhere, and the whole does not give a very good impression to me. There is more wood/alu, but the interior does not feel as well built.

The A4 had also some flaws, like the Golf-window buttons, all buttons felt a little VW with the metallic noise when using it... Can't say more about the A4, as I don't go often in Audi; BMW yes cause my bro likes them.

You can't expect a C to have the same materials than an S. But the new C feels very well built in my eyes, I like it a lot.

 

[NTT]

The interior of the C-Class uses a soft leathery type of material for much of the dash. It's not hard at all. Also, hard plastics don't necessarily mean "cheap quality".

I second that Christian.

A friend of mine has a year old A4, The interior trim is begining to show its age already, and the cloth seats have started to age rapidly, my 8yr old w202's cloth seats were still immaculate when I parted with it.

MB use materials which stand the test of time, and personally that's good for me.

My transition from w202 to W204 was and continues to be seamless and in most ways is a lot better, handling and ride quality to name a few.

 

[GBOY]

I don't know if it was just an oversight or cost cutting BUT my W220 S-Class had Power & Memory rear-view mirror and the New W221 S550 does not. The rear-view mirror has to be adjusted manually.