Going Topless in Winter...
- 7/10
- 44,720
- See Mercedes-Benz Cars
Tech Specs...
- Engine Size: 2143c
- Gearbox: Aut
- 0-62mph: 7.8 Second
- Top Speed: Approx. 154mp
- Power: 204 bh
- Fuel Economy: 53.3mpg (Combined
- GadgetGeek Fuel: 36.4mpg (1022 miles)
Options on this car...
- Air Scalf
- Air Conditioned Seat
- COMAND Satellite Navigatio
- Heated Front Seat
- Edition 125 Versio
- Leather Seat Upgrad
- 18″ 5 Spoke Alloy Wheel Upgrade
What we love...
- Love the Air Scalf! Keeps neck toasty!
- Gadgets are great!
- Heated Seats are worth the extra
What we don't love...
- Gearbox isn't the best
- Not much boot space
- Not much space on the rear seats
Mercedes E Class Cabriolet E250 CDi 2dr Review...
Mercedes to me is the ultimate car for comfort and luxury, I still remember my dear old Uncle Gunther who used to ferry us around the city of Essen in his old 280C Mercedes with its Auto gearbox, for some reason he used to change it from 2 into 3, into D as though it was a manual gearbox. I always remember being so comfortable in the rear seats and the leather pull down armrest in the middle, but then the come down of going back into my Grandad’s E Reg Ford Escort!
But its the comfort and refinement of the Mercedes that always stand out to me. Those same points are still in Mercedes today and this E Class is no exception. Sinking into the drivers seat you are met by a range of roller switches that adjusts the lumbar with so many different positions, to help with the comfort.
Flick open the panel on the centre console, James Bond Styley and you are met with a couple of buttons and a pull switch that could double as an activation for ejector seats. Pull it up and the boot opens in your rear view mirror and the roof starts to fold itself away into the rear trunk. 25 seconds later and the car is topless.
But remember its winter! I’m sat here with a t-shirt, a jumper and a Mera Peak Berghaus coat on! Have no fear, this car is fitted with the Mercedes Air Scalf and Heated Front seats. A press of a couple of buttons and I’m having warm air pumped around my neck, next to kick in are the heating elements around my arse the pleasure of this, on this cold day is amazing.
Another feature the E Class Cabriolet includes is a small pop up spoiler that comes up at the top of the windscreen, then the wind deflector rises to the rear of the seats to stop the buffeting you normally get from a convertible.
This time around, I went to Alicante for the day! Yes the day! Flights with British Airways were cheap again and I reckoned that I could find enough to do in the place to justify flying out for 9 hours and having a gander around the city.
First Thoughts...
Mercedes is getting much better with the looks of its car range, and trying to steer away from the old Mercedes Badge that sticks up proud of the bonnet. This car looks the dogs… And the colour that this car is in, helps achieve its sexy looks!
As with all Cabriolets, they never looks so good with the canvas roof closed and I was dying to get the roof into the boot!
Whats it like inside...
Black Leather, comfortable seats and more buttons than the Starship Enterprise helps the likes of me! As you can imagine the rear seats don’t have loads of space, but my 9 year old had plenty of space without digging his boney knees into my back.
The finish is always good in Mercedes, so long as it doesn’t have that horrible fake walnut dash, and this model has a beautiful piano black finish.
Gadgets are the important bits...
This car has the COMAND system installed, it gives you satellite navigation which works exceptionally well, ipod connection and it includes the cables for free as well as a few other cable options for various devices. There is suppose to be a Google Search facility, but the system does not support a data connection with my iPhone and another phone wasn’t to hand at the time. But I have been told it works quite well with a Blackberry paired.
On the audio side, I was a little disappointed that there was no DAB but within a few minutes I had got the TuneIn Radio app streaming CHOM 97.7 which is the local radio station where my Dad lives in Montreal. There were options for video as well, but didn’t try this option.
On the roads...
Driving this car is great, the gearbox is smooth and the changes are seamless. When you need to stick your toe down, the car hesitates for a second before the engine gives you that extra power needed to get around the tractor that has decided to pull out on me on the A6 near Shardlow.
The car has paddles behind the steering wheel, as well as the option to change the gearbox mode into Manual. Changing manually isn’t as responsive as you’d like the gearbox to be but a choice of 8 gears enables you to get into the higher gear quicker.
On the motorway the car is quiet and with the roof up, the roof lining soaks the sound up almost as well as a hard top version. Very impressed with the road holding and the back end only slipped a little…
Overall Feel...
Overall, I did over 1,000 miles and didn’t have an ache or pain in my body! With the top down we were warm and cosy thanks to the Air Scalf and Heated Seats. With the top up, cabin was quiet and the ICE not too bad, but needs DAB!
Would I Buy One...
I’m not sure if I would buy one, I’m in my 30’s and whenever I’m in London I see these being driven around with the roofs down, gold chains around the drivers necks and some sort of loud banging noises coming out of the stereo. Up t’north there all seem to be driven by ladies close to retirement age.
Disclaimer...
The Mercedes-Benz was ade available to be to review by Cocoon Vehicles Ltd. To be transparent, I own Cocoon and have access to this vehicle so that I can review it as a hobby. Cocoon specialises in Car Subscriptions, Flexible Car Leases and Short-Term Car Leases in the UK.
