Can I just ask, how many times the peeps out there, in the UK have been picked up by a Merc taxi, not that many. I use taxis a lot ( usually on a friday/saturday night) and they are definitely not Mercs.

I'll take comfort every day. Traffic is dull in any car.

Good price but im just 22000 short

Lol have you just compared an E220 to a Maserati! Incredible...just incredible.

​yes. the steering wheel has nappa leather.

I picked up my car yesterday ... belter of a deal .. thanks OP !! Cant say I was treated like a regular high margin customer .. got the distinct feel of being a second class citizen in MB world .. Id rather take that than pay 10k extra for the privilege though :-)

By AMG, do you mean AMG Night Edition or AMG E 63? From Mercedes' brochure http://tools.mercedes-benz.co.uk/current/passenger-cars/e-brochures/e-class-saloon-estate.pdf, it suggests both SE and AMG Night Edition have leather while AMG E 63 has nappa leather. So, all E class should have real leather unless I have missed anything?

He sells both :wink:

Anyone know who the supplying dealer is - could get it cheaper calling them direct ?

Nope, me and my partner are both 5 8", the rear will be used for laptops or gym bags.

I have friends in auto design and they said the premium brands were afraid touch screens would make them look cheap, some of the French cars have gone for touch screens and i nearly purchased a Citroen Cactus for this reason.

Any chance of tall people in the back? I smacked my head getting in one and lasted about 30 seconds before I'd had enough of my chin on my chest.

I was told it's for legal reasons, they are future-proofing in the event touch-screen technology is officially banned in cars.

*sigh* ok.

I have a friend like you, they criticise me for choosing the wrong cars everytime yet he owns a TVR and I have three sports cars and two luxury saloons. He thinks my crossfire is only a chrysler, XF is too common as everyone has it, aston martin vantage is 5 years old, the XJL is a pretentious xf. His opinion about my f type of one week ago was "Mate if you got the GT I would respect you more". He is full of opinion about cars he doesn't own yet buys every magazine about cars and watches every tv show about cars and knows everything from the rotation on the ball beartings to the connections in the lighting on each car to the level of paint that chips off the car everytime you drive it (ok I made the last one up) but its to show case my point. which simply is that what I know about cars is from owning them, not reading about them in magazines or hearing about it or looking into it. So whilst your knowledge might be very valid however if it is not a real world owner opinion, with all due respect consider opening yourself to opinions of others who may have a real first hand experience of the cars also. There's nothing wrong with it.

Anyways, in my humble experience a ghibli comparative of merc is and remains the C and E class. Ok?

Seriously considering swapping our lease Golf GTD for a Merc CLA 22Od, someone stop me please.

Lol so Am I. Can someone actually be that car:D

Merc taxi?! Not here in the North East. Try an Insignia, or Avensis

I like sporty cars and I like to have a bit of fun driving but I dont think large saloons should be all set up to "handle" and look sporty as it inevitably means the price is a poor ride for little real world gain. Even basic models seem to be getting 18 inch wheels and stiff suspension and there's no need. By all means have sporty options on the model list but I wish they'd stop making all their models feel like a 7 minute 'ring machine. Like was said above, merc tend to get forgotten about in favour of BMW and Audi (even when their cars were as fun to drive as a washing machine) as you could cut 4.7 seconds off your commute time! If you want a sporty car don't buy something weighing 1500+ kg in the first place. Sporty should mean light and on British roads should be small (follow the lotus ethos). Large saloons should just isolate you from the world and waft you from place a to place b leaving you feeling like you just teleported there. Merc do that feeling well in the e.

Btw, the cabin is quite old fashioned but fit/finish/feel is very good and practically is excellent. I'm six foot four and could sit behind myself in relative comfort and no handbrake or central gearlever means central tunnel has tons of storage space. Little things like that just make a car easneed live with.

Mercedes, like Audi and BMW have purposefully shyed away from touch screens, developing intuitive methods for controlling the screen without constantly having to lean forward hoping that you don't go over a bump or mis-touch the screen. Also avoids greasy fingerprints on the screen.

Most driving is dull as hell anyway so what's the difference? You're either going at 7 mph through a city or cruising down a motorway.

I'd agree with this. Mercedes tend to get ignored by the Audi/BMW/Jaguar motoring press because they are dull and not a car for drivers. I have a C220 and find it very relaxing to drive. Economy is reasonable too.

Anyone who knows anything about cars...forgive me for being so naive.

Lets just stop for a moment and see what you were comparing..:

1. Maserati Ghibli Diesel (the cheapest one): OTR £49,160 (http://www.maserati.co.uk/maserati/uk/en/index/models/ghibli/ghibli-diesel.html)

2. Mercedes E220 AMG (not the cheapest one): OTR £37,565
(http://www2.mercedes-benz.co.uk/content/unitedkingdom/mpc/mpc_unitedkingdom_website/en/home_mpc/passengercars/home/new_cars/models/e-class/_w212/advice_sales/prices.html)

That is a £11,595 difference! So no I didn't think you were comparing to any other type of Maserati. If you were comparing an E350 (nothing remotely sporty about one of those) then maybe you might be considered to know a little something about cars :smiley:

When I got mine 2 years ago, the SE model came with full leather interior whereas the 'higher spec' AMG Sport model I got came with part Artico and part Dynamica cloth. Unless they have changed it recently...?

All se e class come with real leather (though it's quite a hard feeling grain) and amg come with fake artico. Both can be upgraded with nappa.

XF is surprisingly small inside, or the e is surprisingly big, either way I went for an e partly because it's significantly more comfortable. Merc made the current e to be a soft tourer that you can cover hundreds of miles in a day with little effort. It's a great car for day to day driving and a totally different experience to Audi/BMW/jaguar who seem to set up cars to please the nurgburgring brigade rather than focus of destressing what is usually a **** commute on packed roads with poorly maintained surfaces.

220 is too underpowered for this car though, 250 (same engine, higher tune) is better, felt less buzzy and more keen to pick up speed. I went for 300 hybrid and its a perfect blend of power and economy. If you could stomach losing more depreciation, get the new one out in April. Better everything and the rubbish 7 speed box is replaced by the 9 speed (current one is fantastic if you never try to work it but then dithers too much for my liking if you need to kick down. I end up using paddle shift to drop to manual if I can be bothered to plan the ovetake more but then that breaks the destress a little bit lol).

Still, excellent kit levels (base se spanks the competitors) and low initial price means decent running costs on this over 3 years.

7G-TRONIC is a traditional auto - torque converter with planetary gearbox.

Both our Copenhagen cruise/airport transfers were Merc taxis, and I was very impressed with their comfort at speed, however I was a bit disappointed as we just missed a Tesla taxi transfer going back from the port. All I seem to see here are Prius cab's, last one being an idiot who seemed to be completely in a world of his own, without any regard for basic highway code rules. .

My dealer normally knows nothing about cars, other things though......

Al lot of Merc E classes (at least in London) seem to have taxi cab stickers in the back. The ones that don't probably were mini cabs at some point too. Watch out for this yourself and see whether your opinion of an otherwise fine looking car changes as it did with me? Yes I know I'm being a snob. Personally though I think anyone considering a purchase in that budget would be better off with a Jaguar XF. Not only is it less ubiquitous (and therefore for the more discerning) but it helps British manufacturing too. I realise though that each car has a very different style to each other; the Merc is very conservative whilst the Jag looks more badass.

Drive the deal get a thumbs up from me too. Never had an issue with them and communication has been great. They actually do call you back if you ask them to unlike a lot of other companies I could mention.

My dealer told me New shape coming very soon

Got to agree with the Taxi comments, nearly all the ones around us are E-Class Merc's in non-metallic black or white.

Can I just ask, how many times the peeps out there, in the UK have been picked up by a Merc taxi, not that many. I use taxis a lot ( usually on a friday/saturday night) and they are definitely not Mercs.

Glad the majority slatted Mercs, I pick up my new C class 1st March and feel slightly deflated now

A cracking deal, the E Class Estate is on my shortlist and the outgoing models offer amazing value although the 300 hybrid floats my boat to a greater degree. Go here for a proper appreciating classic Merc, some belters to be had http://www.mtsv.co.uk/Showroom.htm

I went to Berlin for New Years and 90% of the taxis are new Mercedes, very comfortable.

merc should do something to stop its brand going for taxi. I can see full of skodas and merc with taxi plates

​Done quite a bit today actually. Had a quick browse on the app during a coffee break and couldn't resist!

No it can't!!!

Either they've recently changed it or ASA nee to get involved.
I've got both brochures infront of me and the C Class SE states
"To match the dynamic exterior, the SE is also fitted with black ARTICO leather¹ and high-gloss black trim for a stylish atmosphere inside the cabin."
E Class however
"The interior is appointed with elegant leather upholstery, a nappa leather-trimmed multi-function steering wheel and THERMATIC automatic climate control."

***Insert obligatory joke about indicators here*** (Awaits replies about how post is old and boring and not funny and how I couldn't afford one anyway)

the absurdity of some of the posts on here astounds me

If someone could buy one for me and I'll paypal them yeah? XD

I had a 2l diesel Merc a few years ago. Built like a tank, it drove like a tank. Make of that what you will.

​Believe it or not, the only type of gearbox you can use to pass your manual driving test, is a manual.

Hahaha, my mistake, I meant E class obviously. We ended up going with an F type so obviously the word "type" is on my mind.

Thanks a lot. How about TRONIC? Are they a hybrid? If so, can it be used for driving test in the manual category?

At least this has real leather, tried the new C-Class a couple of weeks back and it had 'man-made' leather, sorry but that's vinyl, not leather.

Excuse me if I ask a silly question as I a novice to cars. Is the TIP AUTO mentioned on the page a hybrid of manual and auto transmission? If so, can it be used for driving test in the manual category? Thanks in advance.

E Type? Are you sure?

As are the reviewers. The e type has been compared to the Maserati glibli over and over. Hence we looked as we were not even considering a Mercedes. Anyone who knows cars knows regardless of badge these two are similar in range from their respective make, despite the badge.

I think you magined I was comparing a quattroporte or a gt. yeah, no.

I've used DTD twice and both occasions they have been nothing short of fantastic. My next car will probably also be through them...don't hesitate to buy from them!

My Dad rang up for the recent Audi A8 deal, they took all of his details and said they'd get back to him in 2 days. 4 days later he chases them and they tel him they only had one car available for that deal - complete BS.

Good deal, but they are a joke of a company (drive the deal)

In the same way that the only thing wrong with most Fords is the badge, the only thing right about most Mercs is the badge (anti-taxi snobs note). S Class aside they're ugly and bettered by their BMW/Audi/Jaguar competitors.

The days of Mercs honed from solid are long gone.

Would prefer pre-approved BMW 520D to this anyday..but this deal this seems good value if after a merc.

Lol have you just compared an E220 to a Maserati! Incredible...just incredible.

A belter of a deal, not many Eclass mercy in Manchester, mainly old Toyota, Hondas, Nissans etc

I wanted to buy one but too many cab drivers are driving them. C class is a bit too small and the s class is a bit too juicy

I was expecting to see a poor reliability rating as generally Mercedes are not that reliable nowadays but not this model. Great reliability rating and engine problems are very low. Most problems seem to be electrical and while some electrical issues can prevent use of the car many others do not prevent use of the car.

http://www.reliabilityindex.com/reliability/search/140

That's a great result.

http://www.reliabilityindex.com/manufacturer

Will the new model be as reliable as the outgoing.

Heat added- Why I can't see the link ?

Good price but im just 22000 short

I agree, it is a great car but its personal taste I guess. We just got a new car and one of the cars in the running was the maserati ghibli and an XJL as we were thinking of replacing our saloon. However all reviews seemed to compare tyhose cars to a merc saying the mercs were much better in terms of MPG. So we looked into the c class and E class. The C class 250 drove with a whimper and the dashboard looks anaemic, the E class 300 felt a bit powerless. Also the mileage reduced significantly as soon as you put it into sports mode or whatever its called. This is only a 220 but a decent deal for the price of a new car. In the end we decided to keep out XF and got a completely different sports class car, howeverwe were terribly disappointed in the mercs. terribly.

Good deal for the price however driving in an e class, even a 300 engine feels pretty pathetic and an overall "poor" experience. I think the higher engines and classes in these Germanic cars are a bit better but a 220 is incredibly mediocre. Also have you seen the inside of the c class? It's not even touch screen. Also the element of luxury and comfort is ok but not that amazing.

So what if they are used as taxis? I expect taxi drivers look for comfort and reliability as being important attributes in a car, so if you would rather have a car that was unreliable and uncomfortable......? In Germany, lots of cabs are E-class Mercs. Doesn't stop them being popular with other drivers over there.

The new model is out this year with a new diesel engine, new 9-speed auto and over-the-air software updates. Prices start from £35,935. The old model offers value given the smaller but new C-class still uses the old engines/transmissions but has a higher price.

Although my friends think I should avoid these due to their cab status. But it's a great car would but again. Heated

I'll take comfort every day. Traffic is dull in any car.

I'll have 3

I had one of these as a hire car a while back. Very comfortable, like driving an expensive sofa, but quite dull otherwise.