2013.08.13 Cheap With Cheapsauce 2: The Cheapening
Consequent to the original Cheap With Cheapsauce, the 2012 Mercedes C250 has indeed been replaced with a mostly-identical 2013 Mercedes C250. Renewed because it really is a fantastic deal, all things considered. The non-identical bits are:
- It's white instead of "lunar blue".
- It has an itty bitty hint of a spoiler on the trunk, for no appreciable reason or purpose.
- It has NAV and a backup camera.
- It is actually less expensive than its predecessor, somehow.
For me, the biggest difference is the NAV. I've been completely content with the highly-functional map applications on my phone. And, indeed, according to many accounts the Google Maps mobile app is vastly superior functionally to the Daimler on-board navigation system in terms of giving directions. But to have a big bright screen showing a 2D render of the tactical situation, geographically, is incredibly soothing to my visual-spatial cortex.
For S, the biggest difference is the colour. She hates the white so far, for social reasons that I don't quite grasp. The large tree overshadowing our driveway where it parks should make it considerably less-white before long, so hopefully it will not be a long-term problem.
There was one grievous error in my estimation with the previous CWC: that it was fairly hoon-resistant. This turned out to be completely untrue. After adapting to the vehicle, I could often predict the turbo/transmission lag such that I could actually summon torque in a timely manner. In fact, as the lease-swap date approached, I made it a priority to get my fair share of the tire wear out of the car. The result being an impressive arrangement of drift-marks in the Daimler parking lot, with a new contribution made every morning. This has now ceased, as we plan on an international road trip with CWC2, and don't want to compromise the tire integrity beforehand.
It is worth mentioning that I drove a comrade's E350. It is a much nicer car, and probably much better suited to road trips. Something to think about.