Mercedes C180

[corncobs]

I'm in Germany again and this time got a Mercedes C 180 as rental car.

 

First I would like to say that people that complain about the usability of MFT should really try the Mercedes infotainment system.

 

This is by far the worst system I have ever used in any rental car hands down.

It's a system that uses a wheel with X/Y mouse.

There are so many layers in this thing it's crazy we tried to change the language setting to English. Well we finally found a spot to the language but that was only for the manual the system itself was still German. After some digging we finally found the language settings.

 

Secondly the windshield somehow creates a huge clare from incoming car headlights. I had a few situations were it was it very dangerous.

 

On a positive note the turbo charged 1.6l / 116 HP ICE combined with a 6-speed manual has some really nice pep to it. So far we got about 40 MPG with mixed driving unfortunately it's rated about 47 MPG combined.

 

Maybe we can tackle getting the BT connection going tomorrow. I will let you know how it goes.

 

Edit:

The 60 MPG rating was for the diesel version. Now the gap is much closer more in line what I would expect.

Edited February 23, 2015 by corncobs

[machoman1337]

I rented a BMW 425d from the BMW Welt while in Munich. I did NOT like the iDrive system one bit, the same way you dislike Mercedes' COMAND system. A touch screen is far superior especially for destination entry. Mercedes' system isn't as bad as BMW's though, since the phone keypad on the dash can be used for destination entry, similar to old-school text messaging (LOL).Even for general navigation, the knob just feels like a hindrance, as cool as it looks from the outside. VW is the only German brand that seems to have got it right by using a god damn touch screen!

 

I don't understand why people say MFT is hard to use - I understand the performance complaints, but the system is the most user friendly I've ever used IMO (my previous experiences were with Lexus/Honda/Acura). Stick a better CPU and a capacitive screen onto MFT and it'll own any infotainment system out there except maybe touch-based versions of QNX.

 

Gotta say Euro diesels are pretty sweet though. I got a fuel economy of 3.6 L/100 km on the autobahn in that BMW. Closest I've come to that in my FFH was 4.1 L/100 km. In fact, if an efficient diesel were available on the Fusion this side of the Atlantic, I'd have strongly considered that over the hybrid - I'd get killer fuel economy without sacrificing trunk space.

 

How's the autobahn experience btw? I really miss my time there and being able to go at 200 km/h without worry. It was funny seeing highway patrol overtake me at those speeds instead of trying to pull me over.

[corncobs]

The system in this Mercedes doesn't "any" physical button you could use for the navigation entries it's all going thru the knob thing. It really really sucks period!

 

I agree with the VW statement. The last time I was here in November I had a Golf diesel and the touch screen system was really easy to use. It's really cool how they use the approach feature that brings up the menu for the current screen when your hand / finger gets close to the screen.

 

We haven't tried the BT connection and why bother on a 20 min "commute" we have enough other stuff to talk about.

 

On the Autobahn I kept it at a 150 KPH with a passenger (American) not being used to higher speeds plus it was a little wet driving in. I'm gonna be alone on Sunday heading back to the airport I will probably see how far 116HP can go. ;)

 

As far a police goes > the opposite is even better! When you pass the police at high speed and they aren't following you immediately. :)

[TonyHzNV]

I'm in Germany again and this time got a Mercedes C 180 as rental car.

Corncobs: Bist du beruflich in Deutschland? In welcher Stadt bist du? Ist es kalt heute oder ist das Wetter schön? Nach meinen zwölf Jahren in Deutschland, vermisse ich das deutsche Bier und das gute Essen. Falls du dich im Süden befindest, solltest du einen Sauerbraten mit Spätzle für mich essen, OK? Und natürlich, auch ein (oder zwei) Bier dazu für mich trinken! Prost! Falls du wo anders bist, na ja, gibt's immer noch viel gutes Essen und ich glaube es gibt kein schlechtes Bier im ganzen Land. Ich wünsche dir eine gute Reise nach hause und viel erfolg mit deinem Geschäft!

 

P.S. Was kostet das Benzin heutzutage?

Edited February 24, 2015 by TonyHzNV

[corncobs]

Tony: Ich hoffe mal es gibt keine Vorschrift welche Sprache im Forum zu verwenden ist ansonsten kommen wir bestimmt auf den Index ;)

 

Ich bin im Moment in Burghausen ungefähr 1.5 Std östlich von München und bin beruflich öfters hier. Wetter ist nicht so toll kühl und regnerisch.

Sauerbraten stand heute auf der Speisekarte ich hab mich aber für Krustenbraten mit Klößen entschieden. Dazu gab es 2 Bier vom Hofbräuhaus in München.

 

Ich hab ja noch ein paar Tage und sollte mir Sauerbraten ins Auge fallen werde ich den natürlichen gern für dich verspeisen. :)

 

Benzinpreise sind auch hier gefallen aber keine vergleich zu USA. Ungefähr 1.40 Euro/l > $6/gal

 

For all others:

 

Tony : I really hope there is no rule which language to use on this forum otherwise we might be in trouble ;)

 

I'm currently about 1.5 hours east of Munich in Burghausen and I'm here quite often. Weather isn't nice kinda cool and rainy.

Sauerbraten was on the menu tonight but I decided on roasted pork with dumplings including 2 beer from the Hofbräuhaus in Munich.

 

I'm still here for a few more days and I should I see Sauerbraten I will gladly eat that for you. :)

 

Gasoline prices have fallen but no comparison to USA . Approximately 1.40 / l > $ 6 / gal

[machoman1337]

Lucky man! I loved the Hofbräuhaus and I had the roast pork with dumplings dish too. That was my first dinner in Munich.

 

Have you visited the BMW Welt? I spent an entire day there which included browsing through the BMW museum across the road and cruising around in a 425d coupe rental. Spent over 100 euros there (including an exquisite lunch inside the Welt) and well worth every cent. The "BMW on Demand" rental service is something I'd recommend to anyone who likes cars. Their cars are all fully loaded (including very nice HUDs) and their navigation systems are pre-programmed with nice destinations accessed by scenic high-speed routes.

 

I also visited the Deutsche Museum, which easily rivals the Smithsonian and you can walk around there from opening to closing and not see everything - and it costs just 3 to 6 euro. A must-see for all ages.

 

And boy do I also miss German road courtesy. North Americans are simply barbarians compared to Germans - I'm honestly surprised I wasn't subjected to a road test before being allowed to drive there as a tourist.

 

European countries usually sell at least 91 or 92 as the lowest grade gasoline, which helps keep prices high (on top of those crazy taxes). At least in Germany those taxes go to making some sweet roads (aka autobahns), with the highest maintenance standards I have ever seen.

 

Damn, $6/gallon is considered low there? $5.70 CAD per gallon (around $1.50/litre) was the record high last summer in Vancouver (which has the most expensive gas in Canada). When oil prices crashed we were seeing $1/litre for the first time in a decade. I'm complaining that it went up to $1.20 this week and meanwhile Germans must be rejoicing that gas fell to 1.40 euros!

[TonyHzNV]

Tony : I really hope there is no rule which language to use on this forum otherwise we might be in trouble ;)

You know, corncobs, I honestly didn't think about that! Was just wondering if you speak German. Better check my "Warning Points"! :) Hope the Mods didn't see that! :drop: You know we have a Hofbräu Haus in Vegas, right? The only other one in the world. I like the beer from there too, but I think my favorite from when I lived there was Stuttgarter Hofbräu. I was in a Medevac unit in Stuttgart (Ostfildern-Nellingen) for 3 years and lived in a little town called Waldenbuch where Ritter Sport Chocolate is made. I also spent 6 years in Hanau just east of Frankfurt in combat support aviation units (3rd Armored Div) and 3 years up north near Bremen near the town of Osterholz-Scharmbeck (Garlstedt). I was the Maintenance Officer of the 159th Medical Detachment, a Medevac unit, and our airfield was across the Weser River at an MBB aircraft plant in Lemwerder where they were assembling Airbus A300s at the time and overhauling German Army and Air Force aircraft. We were assigned up there along with 1 brigade of the 2nd Armored Division (from Ft. Hood, TX), pretty much the only Americans up north in the British sector. The Brits were always fun to go on exercises with. Anyway, there was a time when I would have stayed there forever. I really got into the culture and language and really grew to love the people and the Autobahns! The Army actually made me leave because I had so much time over there. That's how I ended up in Panama, but that's another story. I left there in summer of 1986, so before the wall came down and it was a different world back then. I made it back there a couple times after I retired because I was working for a tissue manufacturer/converter and we bought some German (napkin) packaging machines from a company called Senning in Bremen, and also some other stuff from Paper Converting Machine Co. Gmbh near Heidlberg. I went over with the maintenance superintendent to do machine checkouts before they got shipped. That was a long time ago now too. 1993 & 1995. The last time I was there was in 2003 when my first son got married, so it's been a while. I really enjoyed my time there though and sometimes I really miss it. I know this is a "little" off-topic, so I apologize, I just started feeling a little sentimental. Sorry! Enjoy your time over there, corncobs and come home safely.

 

And machoman, you're right about the Deutsches Museum and the German road courtesy and the Autobahns and, and, and! One can only wish that people would drive like the Germans here, ESPECIALLY IN NEVADA! Man they are terrible here! We should have a law like them.......the left lane is for passing ONLY! :)

Edited February 25, 2015 by TonyHzNV

[GrySql]

You know, corncobs, I honestly didn't think about that! Was just wondering if you speak German. Better check my "Warning Points"! :) Hope the Mods didn't see that!

Hey, if you're both happy, we monoglot barbarians are happy. ;)

[acdii]

Cool, had to break out my german to english for that. I have a german heritage, and always wanted to learn it too.

[TonyHzNV]

Cool, had to break out my german to english for that. I have a german heritage, and always wanted to learn it too.

 

Well, trust me. It REALLY helps if you live there!☺ and I have a Mexican heritage. My parents were born in CA, but my grandparents came from Chihuahua. I studied Latin & French in school and learned Spanish at home. Edited February 25, 2015 by TonyHzNV

[acdii]

Yeah sure it does, same as Japan, another language I like. Domo Arigato.

[TonyHzNV]

Yeah sure it does, same as Japan, another language I like. Domo Arigato.

 

Hai! ☺

[acdii]

I can bring tears to my daughters eyes from her laughing so hard when I do my Belushi Samurai. Or my angry chinese guy trying to speak engrish. I once had a customer who was from China, and I kid you not, he sent us an email saying he was frying to china.

[hybridbear]

Cool, had to break out my german to english for that. I have a german heritage, and always wanted to learn it too.

My family background is also mostly German. My wife went to German immersion school as a kid growing up in Manitoba and she still remembers quite a bit of it.

 

Well, trust me. It REALLY helps if you live there!☺ and I have a Mexican heritage. My parents were born in CA, but my grandparents came from Chihuahua. I studied Latin & French in school and learned Spanish at home.

Me gustaría hablar tantas idiomas como usted. Pero, solo hablo dos. Uno de mis mejores amigos es también de Chihuahua. Como usted es de Chihuahua ¿le gusta la música norteña? Cuando he viajado con mi amigo de Chihuahua él tiene pura norteña en su iPod jajaja

[TonyHzNV]

Me gustaría hablar tantas idiomas como usted. Pero, solo hablo dos. Uno de mis mejores amigos es también de Chihuahua. Como usted es de Chihuahua ¿le gusta la música norteña? Cuando he viajado con mi amigo de Chihuahua él tiene pura norteña en su iPod jajaja

No soy de Chihuahua hombre! Soy de California. Mis abuelos fueron de Chihuahua. No tengo música norteña en mi iPod, solamente Jazz, Rock, Blues, y Soul. ¿Cuando has viajado con tu amigo, te gustó su música norteña? Se parece que sí. Y HB, no tienes que llamarme con usted. ¿Somos amigos, no? :)

[acdii]

Dogs dancing to rock?

[hybridbear]

No soy de Chihuahua hombre! Soy de California. Mis abuelos fueron de Chihuahua. No tengo música norteña en mi iPod, solamente Jazz, Rock, Blues, y Soul. ¿Cuando has viajado con tu amigo, te gustó su música norteña? Se parece que sí. Y HB, no tienes que llamarme con usted. ¿Somos amigos, no? :)

Es cierto. Pero todavía eres Chihuahuense de origen ;)

 

Sí me gusta la música norteña. Y sí somos amigos. Tenemos unos amigos de Ecuador y ellos siempre dicen usted. Aún los papas dicen usted a sus hijos. Así es la costumbre en su pueblo en Ecuador. Aún conociéndolos por años me parece raro escucharlos decir usted a sus hijos.

[TonyHzNV]

Dogs dancing to rock?

Guess it's time to bust out that Spanish to English too........ :)

[nv rick]

All this talk about Germany and German food just makes my mouth water and stomach growl from memories of eating at Karl Ratzsch's and Mader's in Milwaukee before I retired. Sausage from Usinger's was a great treat. Just grab some crackers, some cheese (America's Dairyland) that we may have gotten freshly made from Widmer's in Theresa, WI. and you would have a terrific snack, or whole meal!

For 'reasonably' priced and excellent food, I really miss Milwaukee and its suburbs. Driving out to one of many restaurants on one of the lakes or stopping by boat was a nice way to spend a summer's evening.

Around LV and Pahrump, we can only find a handful of pizza joints that serve relatively good pies. In Milwaukee there were dozens of places. As far as ethnic food, whether you wanted Mexican, German, Italian, Asian, French or good old American food, you could find dozens of places that wouldn't make your Visa card melt.