Kids and dog in lap of luxury
The classy Mercedes-Benz E-Class coupe worked surprisingly well as a family car, writes Campbell Spray
IT DIDN’T look promising. My daughter and her two young children were coming over and instead of the large saloon I thought I had booked, I was picking up the keys for a two-door coupe; never my or my dog Sam's voiture du choice. Okay, it was a Mercedes-Benz E-Class coupe, but two doors and the loading in of children, dog and all the rest just don't mix.
I thought I had actually planned it all very well. My daughter Laura’s suggestion that I buy some booster seats so I could meet them from the airport had been acted on and the dog's back seat covering, pillow and towel were clean and ready.
Really, though, I should have had a bit of foresight and switched to the Citroen C4 Picasso which I had only a week or two before. This is a family car par excellence, right down to the extra rear mirror which enables you to keep an eye on the little blighters in the back and how they might pull the dog's tail. The C4 Picasso is one of the best cars of the year and deserves to be on the shortlist for the Irish car of the Year, see right.
The Picasso was one of the cars I most enjoyed driving in the year and Sam, like with many a family, was spoilt for space. It is brilliantly specced, very adaptable with all three rear seats moving, adjusting and folding independently. It is lighter, more efficient and cleaner than its predecessor by a good bit. Priced from €24,495, it is very good value taking into account everything that's on board. My only doubts are the ongoing questions of the resale value of Citroens because of pricing issues in the relatively recent past. Anyway, it is one worth checking out.
But back to the grandchildren and the Mercedes. Actually, it worked very well. Laura, plus Ben and Amy, were really struck by the brilliant white coupe that greeted them at the airport. The boot swallowed the Bugaboo and, it seemed, an infinite number of rucksacks and bags with ease. The two seats at the back were well placed apart so the kids couldn't fight and it made a good space for Sam on short journeys. (On motorways, I do believe dogs should be strapped in).
That the car had only four seats unfortunately meant that my partner couldn’t join us on the beach for everyone to let off steam. We were able to give the E-Class Coupe a good test and the overall drive was only let down by being rather squeezed in the front — and adult leg room would be similarly very tight in the back.
The front spoiler might have looked massively imposing but was rather ridiculous and I predict it will be scraped on the underside by even lowlevel sleeping policemen. The E220 CDI Auto could make 100km in 8.5 seconds and had great safe overtaking ability. However, so efficient have Mercedes diesels become that it only has 129 g/km, giving an annual road tax of €270. When you have a couple of generations of your family on board, safety is your main concern and with 11 air bags, attention assist, collision prevention assist, belt-tensioners (which were a bit off-putting), the Merc was well-served. And for a coupe it also had that rarity — rear electric windows which helped dog and children alike.
It was a classy machine. Prices start at €47,900 for the E220 coupe but as my test model became the Sport Automatic,that had risen to €59,105 and by the time “man-made silk beige leather” had been installed along with parking assist, heated front seat and panoramic electric sun roof, we were talking about more than €67k before p&p. This is getting very pricey but Laura did think the analogue clock was a great touch.
Last Tuesday, it was time to wave goodbye to the Mercedes and the grandchildren. I'll miss both, but at this stage, neither is for me full-time.