C200 cdi

Boring but reliable

I gave a poor review a week after I had bought it, and now is the time to raise my hand and say that I was wrong. I have now had the car 5 years and done 100,000 miles in it and so far not one thing has gone wrong - touch wood. I don't use Mercedes servicing since parts are dear. I mean, £150 for a diesel filter that costs £40 on line? Fuel consumption has been extraordinary with an average of about 45 mpg overall. The seats aren't the old planks but comfortable but already the driver's seat is starting to show wear.The engine, especially when cold in winter, is pretty noisy until it warms up but I'll forgive it that. In 25 years I have had three four-cylinder Mercedes and only one gave me a problem. Unbreakable is the word, and no oil consumption between services. Everything being automated still irks, especially the start routine of start the engine, press the ECO button to turn off the stop start, and press "S" for sport mode - every ruddy time!

So what annoys me? Well, the automatic wipers for one. They have a mind of their own doing one wipe or waiting until the screen is opaque, or in drizzle going into fast mode.Their behaviour is impossible to predict so they stay off and I press the little button on the end until I go straight to on.. The rear wiper switch is a pain to access but, to be fair, the blade is still the original after six years and I have changed the fronts once in that time. I haven't needed to recharge the aircon yet either. The car is economical on tyres too.

I suppose I shall keep it, like my others, until I have achieved the usual 250,000 but will I buy another Mercedes? Not sure really.I can't seem to find any model that really fits the bill and I may well opt for a Skoda Karoq next time around. As I get older far easier to enter and exit.

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