Sorry - It’s a bmw honest ( Bremen Mercedes Wagon)

It’s now wearing its roof bars & cycle carriers for a jaunt in the forest.....

 

Looks nice. I really like the GL at the moment. Toying between one of those, a Kodiaq VRS or another Mini GP to replace the one I sold

Enjoy it and give us some more pictures please


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Yeah, inside pics toooo

Kev

 

That certainly seems to be the case. I wonder how much of it is down to the EGR cooler debacle? Especially if owners are deprived of their cars for up to a couple of months, awaiting parts.

 

It’s started!
Firstly, the plate transfer had to wait a long time to receive the V5 hence the delay

Then “had” to get the towbar fitted as roof mounting bikes is tiresome



Wasteful excercise with the roof bars & carriers, though quickly sold the carriers (fortunately)



Shortly after the tow bar a Set of mud flaps were fitted front & back, as the interface between road and driveway really throws up the dirt......


A couple of weeks past and in typical Merc fashion the front end fell off! (Oops)




So the repair started







The Black Edition, Diamond Grille was fitted from the Glc coupe / 43 Amg
In my opinion, looks so much better,
(Note, the badge is now turned and centred!)

The weather, remained good, so thought I’d make the most of it and clean up the back end
More bits fell off, giving the cleaner look and shall make for easier polishing
Goodbye badges.




Which takes ownership, pretty much up to date.
The driving is different, composed and very balanced, the engine is silky smooth though doesn’t mate well to the 9 speed box, allbeit I refer to incorrect gear ratios throwing the mpgometer.
Otherwise all good!

 

Looks good. Enjoy.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

A good improvement to the front grill - much better.

 

Lovely Good to put your personal stamp on a motor.

 

Love that. How are you finding the refinement of that 4 pot?

 

Well
I’m more than sure it does that induction & exhaust thing from cold start, to increase warm up time
Either that or it takes a long time for the oil to get to the camshaft as the noise, whilst audible outside it’s silent inside, is a tad worrying, very pleniumish (is that a word?)
It’s surprisingly throaty & raspy when pushed, it plays nicely not the torturous growl from a diesel nor the linear torque, though progressive and effortless...

The Industry is changing and smaller capacity, finer tuned engines is the way forward hence the digital world aligning and synthesising the burble and pops we so desire...

Overall the move is a welcome one allbeit it’s still taking double checking at the “Petrol” Pump

 

'Tis now

 

Time flies by almost 6 month old now
The path of ownership has been rough, primarily over the first 1000miles, The car seemed so disconnected from itself and I had many thoughts of what have I done, fortunately in retrospect it appear very much a function of bedding itself in after its trundle along the manufacturing line, a very notable improvement in engine/chassis behaviour, whilst I deliberately opted for the 2.0 petrol, it’s taken quite sometime to accept its bolt on friend Aka the transmission, during the running in / adaption learning process it was rough, fortunately it’s now very much settled and works very well.

Eco,comfort,Sport & Sport+ driving modes offer so much differences in drive characteristics, partially due to the combination of Adaptive dampners, changes to the throttle map / transmission sequence & the tightening of the steering, all combine to offer enthusiastic driving pleasure and refined comfort when called upon.

Most notable is the silky smooth drive, whilst a 20” wheel set up seldom offers refinement, Mercedes appear to have gotten the Amg line suspension setup spot on... not to be blassy or ignorant to the earlier models which many report of drivetrain clunking, apparently Front knuckles were to blame and revisions made in 2019.
I have non run flat Pirelli Scorpion tyres which contribute to the ride, dealer fix has all manner of tyre combination, latterly resorting to the fitment of BMW * rated tyres... whilst I initially felt short changed, that I never had the all season tyres or more premium tyre fitment, after running the tyres for 6 months I’ve nothing but praise in all conditions and admire the cost to replace, and refinement.

As the nights darken, the intelligent Led lamps are coming into their own, with previous adaptive Xenons, the Leds is quite a jump, the lighting is awesomely excellent,
Being the run out 2019 model the interior has the colour changing ambient light package which offers an almost perfect ambience, there is a dark spot in the centre of the dash where the vents are, so perhaps a winter project shall have illuminated vents installed (being as I can’t help myself with fickering)

Media system is woeful, coming from the Individual Audio in the X5 to the base Mercedes package is terrible, whilst it does have Bluetooth, Media & USB streaming the speaker package is Pi5h!
Fortunately the petrol engine is silent and road noise is minimal which give no real cause to upgrade

Nav system, is counter intuitive and complex, most probably due to being too used to BMW I drive, however it’s not all bad, there’s the advantage of dash bennical direction display which proves most useful, nevertheless it always gets us there!, my complaint is more display focused, too which there is a premium upgrade to Burmister sound & command screen package on the Premier plus model, (still reported as poor package but much improved)
There is a serious case of information duplication, Speed can be displayed in centre of dials, on the needle gauge and the nav system has speed limit display and current speed, there’s also a digital speed in Km/hr on constant display in the between the dials... would be a sin to get pulled over, the car also has speed warning that’s manually set to nominal value.....
The presence of time is further duplicated between info dials and display so I could hardly ever be late, there was an option of analogue watch face that would further draw attention and give cause for complaint.

MercedesMe app, needs dealer registration, as I’ve fallen out with the local dealer, I’ll wait until first service to have functioning, I’m sure I’m not missing much...

Panoramic roof, I think I’d be lost without, on the Mercedes they blacken part of the roof line which I think looks pretty cool, one of those toys that I’ve had on the last three cars and now consider a must have! The roof blind is a mesh curtain, not that dissimilar to the F07, so hopefully it’s longevity is much improved...

Leather, Artico, has its good and bad points, primarily I miss the cowhide smell of the X5 merino, the new car Mercedes smell is rather plasticy smelling, however they do offer sufficient adjustment and comfort that’s taken sometime to set, though now defined in its 3 memory modes, most notable is the easy access, too which the x5 was quite a contorted rear mount stretch to plant the butt on the seat.

Several modifications were required to get just right, primarily the fitment of the towbar to allow moving man and bike to the hills, whilst the model is type approved for towing the brochures didn’t offer fitment due to the sensor in the bumper allowing automated tailgate opening, in typical fashion the aftermarket detachable fitment was mounted and has proven its worth and reliability!
Aftermarket front grill installed and IMO has lifted the front to what it should of been and the compulsory mud flaps installed.
Interior received an upgrade to the mouse like controller as the run out models were fitted with a simple rotary dial following many customer complaints (apparently) my first dash removal escapades had the wife doing summersaults when she walked into it on the dining table....
Dash cam was initially hard wired, though this proved problematic as I’d went for the RoadHawk due to its mount and low profile, this system didn’t offer battery backup, as such the camera worked too well in tandem with the engine stop start system and shutdown / restarted at every junction, this resulted in A N other removal of centre dash to wire discretely into the power outlet with the OEM cable.
Next modification will be incorporating the ambient lighting into the dash vents

Still a low mileage user, with circa 3000miles since new, the cost per mile in man maths is astronomical, probably circa £16/mile + fuel cost at circa 23/33mpg & the compulsory insurance,
(WoW! I’m sure it would be cheaper having a chartered executive hire car c/w driver)
Road tax is pretty much the killer as its in the high band, circa £460/year + the £320 government levy, primarily due to high emissions, Mercedes have since pulled the Engine from the 2019.5 line (albeit not my concern)

So taking into account the above -Why!
As previously mentioned, at the time of purchase I was casually looking, determined the next change shall be a Porsche! At the same time I was looking & we were focused on the wife’s next car as her lease was due to expire, so a combination of trawling through too many dealer showrooms looking at shiney new and looking at the approved used market, at the time I felt let down with poor prep with many suggesting we can attend to that at final sales prep!
I tried in earnest to get the wife into a New Macan and budget wouldn’t quite stretch to sole ownership, so made a tentative enquiry to a Dealer who I respect immensely on a lazy Sunday morning only to agree sale of the x5

Being frustrated by dealers and showrooms I threw the chicken bones and moved the pennies around settling to continue my Porsche saving plan and moved myself into new car Leasing, sadly I’ll never own GLC, I’ve used the X5 sale monies to fund ownership of my 4 year term and still leave sufficient, ultimately I secured a very good deal on my pay monthly / pay as you go Merc, disappointly I’ve grown to enjoy ownership.........
At time of agreeing, i had exhausted many searching scoping out the cheapest deal for the wife’s and knew sites to get cheapish deals (sitting stock) I knew my most have list and had settled on the model albeit I initially specced up the Urban model, with model run out, too many well specced 2019 cars remained and I stumbled and fell on this, apparently a cancelled order
Price wise it was negotiated cheap!

In retrospect, the ownership cost over the next years is Insurance/fuel & Servicing (Mercedes is Horrendously expensive & too frequent) and the much hated relatively low monthly payment which I can hide from myself easily
All the whilst in no means is it neglected, apart from the rear door blemish which was finally sorted under warranty, the car wears it fresh paint very well with no swirls or marring,
I continue and only use Sonax BSD which bring back much lustre and shine to the paint and a simple wipe with Dr Leather towels over the seats to restore!
Come spring an annual refresh will be carried out but otherwise it’s easy maintenance!

After 6 months in, I’m finally enjoying a combination of new car ownership & new marque, there’s something destinct about the driving characteristics that differs so greatly to both BMW & Audi it’s more arrival than getting there which aligns with my circumstances of having a child in car and losing the need to get there first!
Ultimately I must of matured since having!

 

Jeez, didn't realise it had been that long Good write-up, Sean - thanks for sharing.

 

Great read, thank you.

........so which Porsche is next?

 

At present the thoughts are unclear, I may opt for the Cayenne Coupe
Though would equally settle with an older garage queen, a lot depends on the wife, the change is a long way off so I’ll enjoy the chase for the foreseeable.....

 

Well Christmas playtime is over
No issues, only Slight modification inside that I was meaning to do
Before

After




Sometime after when it was dark
In white

Orange



Or my chosen Blue



Intensity / Brightness fully adjustable
Hopefully, one day I shall grow up......

 

Looks good


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Looks good.

Nice Audi at the front too

Kev

 

Nice upgrade.
If we all grew up we wouldn’t be on car forums like this....