tommallett

Thursday:

Let me set the record straight, I love big Mercedes-Benz. Mercedes somehow know how to produce large Coupe, convertible and Limousine models more convincingly than their counterparts in Inglestadt and Munich. Somehow the brand oozes sophistication and history in a way that the other two aspire to. Therefore I was pretty happy to have 150 miles to do in a new CL500 Blue efficiency. Sure enough the 20” wheels do not do the ride any favors; they are not bad most of the time but expansion joints cause minor tram lining and the suspension can’t quite react quickly enough to short, sharp lumps and bumps. Other than that there is no better place to spend ones time, the beauty of this compared to a Bentley or Aston Martin is the juxtaposition of luxury and functionality. Where the Aston Martin frustrates the Mercedes Command system is one of the best and the Mercedes comes with a kit list the Bentley can only dream of. I also managed to achieve 28.9 mpg over 141 miles which isn’t half bad and goes some way to justifying the Blue efficiency badges.

Friday:

I have been looking forward to trying a new 6 cylinder Audi S4 for a while. Smaller turbocharged units are gradually becoming the norm in German performance cars as manufacturers strive to achieve European emissions legislation. I don’t have a problem with it in this instance as I never liked the old V8 car anyway, it made a nice noise but felt slow, heavy and unrewarding to drive. This car came with a 7 speed DSG gearbox and that probably suits its character. It certainly is more economical and it is pretty quick without being exciting in any way. The only major annoyance is the steering which is overly heavy without providing any feel at all, on this basis it may as well be lighter and more pleasant around town. All in all it is a perfectly pleasant Q car that lacks the delicacy of the RS4 and R8. I can’t help but feel Audi are regressing to their old ways when it comes to chassis design and steering feel with their current crop of ‘RS’ and ‘S’ models.