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

[GBOY]

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?

Most of the people who complain about the C-Class interior have never actually been in one... they base their opinions on pictures. That baby is HOT in and OUT IRL. Please visit your local dealer.

 

[fortuner]

hi guys

i agree with g boy and wimmer

g boy you right most off the guys who complain off the interiro have not even sat in the car...i own a c220cdi and when i saw pics i wasnt too pleased but as soon as i sat in my irst c class at the dealer it was a differeny story ...yes i wont say its the best mb interior but for its class and compared to rivals and the previous models its a lovely place to be in the things i dont like is the armrest in the centre should have been bit softer...besides that i am happy with all else and the material quality obviously would have like more leather ..but then why would they make a e class or a s class...


regarding the e class i driven more then my c claass i actually prefer sitting in my c i dont no if its because its my new car or iff its better but i somehow enjoy my newc interiror more then the e class interiror i actually feel the c is more solid interiro it reminds me a lot off the old er mercs...

regarding the ml interior i would have liked the door panels and dash to be in leather like the gl bec to me the ml is a premuim car i own one and i was dissapointed to see the gl and ml interiro design same i feel the gl should have been more s claas type interior and the gl amd ml both need a new command sytem urgent

 

[Merc1]

Another issue in which I've spent a lot of time writing about. I'll just say that in brief the ML/GL/R don't match the German made Benzes in build or material quality or interior design, but they're way better than the first generation ML.

That said I think the problem people have with the C is the look, not necessarily the quality of materials. Though I admit I haven't been in the car long enough to pour over the detail. Though my immediate impression was that it was of much higher quality than the outgoing C-Class.

M

 

[coolraoul]

I don't have any problem with the ML/GL, only the door panels in the ML, and the dash materials that is maybe not rich enough. But overall excellent interior.

The GL has imo an excellent finition, with leather everywhere it is hard to find any flaw.

I agree concerning the R-Class, I was quite disappointed. There are quite some plastics that are cheap, some details that have no place in a car that price, and the overall impression is not as good as the ML I found.

 

[fortuner]

i dnt think the ml.gl are below the german manufactured cars in quality i actually think the gl is very good just the design should not be same as ml ,,,it should be different like the e and s ae different ...


th ml build quality is very good only its short off leather on thr door panel and dash...and yes it needs a new command as well as the gl needs the new command


hopefully in the face lift they will adress the command

 

[bmer]

Most of the people who complain about the C-Class interior have never actually been in one... they base their opinions on pictures. That baby is HOT in and OUT IRL. Please visit your local dealer.

But as you can see everyone who wasn't happy with the C-Class interior in this thread has seen it IRL.

 

[Deleted member 182]

The way is see Benz interiors is that they are spartan but durable. I like W204's interior, looks functional. Reminds me of W201 which is definetly not a bad thing.

 

[FC123]

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?

I don't quite agree, while the impression of quality in newer Benzes may be stronger from a visual standpoint, I feel there has been a decline in true quality. Not to bang on about my trusty old w123 (world's greatest car by the way ) , but sampling the thickness of the materials the w123 feels a lot better than a w124, which in turn feels better than a w210. The w211 I've tried have all been prefacelift, and did not feel very Mercedes to me, though I like the design.

For the record my mechanic works at Mercedes (handles mine in his spare time, with receipts...) and informs me that the old Mercs are better built by quite a margin.

 

[coolraoul]

You are pefectly right, the quality has declined. The W203 was a good example of this.

There were many explanations, cost-cutting is only one of them. Because the environmental issue made it expensive and difficult to have environmental-friendly materials that feel so smooth and lasting than others...Recycled materials have been integrated, in Mercedes more than in others, and the materials have to be recyclable...So the feeling of quality fell a lot.
Also the competition was harder, and Mercedes decided to be even more innovative than before, but did not test enough all the electronic functions, so the result was the 2002 and 2003 E-Class disaster...However, very few mechanical problems, the E-Class is now the most reliable car of the category...

But Mercedes has changed everything recently.

The W204 is the car that had the most extensive testing programm ever, the car made 24 millions kms test from what I remember, before it was released. The new ML had been delayed, because they decided to test it 6 months longer before selling it.

The W221 is the most reliable S-Class since the W126, it is the most reliable car of the last JD Power survey, despite beeing in its first year (the most dangerous, where all the problems appear); the ML is the most reliable suv, the E-Class leads its category too, as does the SL...

Mercedes has known hard times, both from a quality and reliability point of view. Even the W220 S-Class had not the best finition you can imagine, with some hard plastics on the door panels or some light cup holder...

This has changed with the new generations.

Finition has improved a lot, and even if some plastic can sometimes be criticized, the quality of them, their durability, is class-leading.

And, like you, I like the W211, find it very well finished, but it does not feel "built to last"... The W204 feels built to last, it really felles like an old Mercedes, imo. Less gimmicks, more serious in the design, less appealing for some sides... But more German, more quality-oriented. Nothing feels light or fragile in this car. Everything smells quality imo, that what I love in this car.

I read somewhere that for a lot of plastics, Audi uses hard plastic with a big layer of smooth-paint on it, so that it is soft to touch. But with time, this paint can fell on certain places...It happens on my Golf IV at certain places, and I saw lots of B6 A4 with that...

Mercedes never uses it, if the plastic is hard it is hard, but if it is soft it is a soft material, not just a soft paint... It is more expensive, maybe less appealing, but it lasts... This is the way Mercedes is taking: the stress is put on the quality and reliability now, more than before.

 

[Deleted member 182]

The W204 is the car that had the most extensive testing programm ever, the car made 4 millions kms test from what I remember, before it was released.

Corrected: 24 million km. Three times more test km's than W203...

 

[cawimmer430]

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 shouldn't happen!

 

[cawimmer430]

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.

I think it's pretty gimmicky to have some system in the car that adjusts the rear-viewing mirror. Personally I'd rather adjust it by hand. It only takes a few seconds anyway. I can imagine changing this with a machine will take longer and just be plain gimmicky.

Just my opinion.

 

[cawimmer430]

I don't quite agree, while the impression of quality in newer Benzes may be stronger from a visual standpoint, I feel there has been a decline in true quality. Not to bang on about my trusty old w123 (world's greatest car by the way ) , but sampling the thickness of the materials the w123 feels a lot better than a w124, which in turn feels better than a w210. The w211 I've tried have all been prefacelift, and did not feel very Mercedes to me, though I like the design.

For the record my mechanic works at Mercedes (handles mine in his spare time, with receipts...) and informs me that the old Mercs are better built by quite a margin.

I agree that older Mercedes interiors were built to last and felt solid, but from a "material quality" point of view they always looked rather spartan. I mean back in the days of the W123, a lowly 200D had the same interior as a fully equipped 280E - with the 280E perhaps having some wood trim here and there. Next, hop into a comparable Citroen or Opel of the same era and you will find that they had similar interior materials.

I think build quality is something that can only be judged after a few years. The way I see it, Mercedes build quality took a dive, but is coming back strongly now. Even so, there are many W210 owners out there for example who've accumulated over 500,000 km on their cars and are happy. I personally know two!

 

[cawimmer430]

But as you can see everyone who wasn't happy with the C-Class interior in this thread has seen it IRL.

People have different opinions. Some think the C-Class interior is crap, others think the BMW 3-Series interior is crap and that a Kia Rio beats them both!