No Kompressor Whine

No Kompressor Whine

The V6 is good for 204 bhp at 6100rpm and max torque 245 Nm at 2900-5500rpm; herein lies the difference between the old C230 Kompressor and the newer C230 V6. While the supercharged 4-pot is indeed more thrilling to drive with more urgent torque delivery, the normally aspirated V6 spells of finesse and refinement (NVH) in the way it gets up to speed. Added to this the 7G-Tronic tranny felt less busy and don't lurch as much as the 5-speeder mated to the 4-pot. No Kompressor whine, no buzz, no busy swing of revs associated with relatively frequent gears hunting. The chunky steering (pic below) was very nice to handle while weight and feedback doesn't quite match the E90 325i Sports, it is much more confidence-inspiring than even the new W204 C200K. Same goes for the Avantgarde Sports suspension vs the new C200K, Agility Control (standard as in new C200K) bollocks notwithstanding. So in conclusion, the W203 C230 V6 still appeared quite classy (pic above) and relevant in the used car (junior-exec) market. More importantly, it still drives very well, with the V6 powerplant lending a more refined, classy and upmarket appeal to it as the last bastion of the top-end W203 in Malaysia. Chassis and steering dynamics are without a doubt - at least in this C230 AV Sports guise - better than the W204 C200K. It is with this that I am looking forward to sample the new (W204) C230 2.5 V6, bragging its much-touted Advanced Agility Control et al.

Some things just don't make sense. The G-Class is all-new for 2019, save for a couple of iconic, carryover bits like the door handles, spare tire cover, headlight washers and sun visors. Yet it still retains the same shape, and is bursting with over-the-top charm in its most raucous AMG G63 guise. And now, it's a lot easier to drive. 124,500 G550 earlier this year. The G550 is better for folks who might actually go off-roading, what with its less-aggressive wheel/tire setup, and it still packs hearty V8 punch and a world-class interior. 147,500, and it's a bombastic, grandiose, completely unnecessary thing. It's powered by an AMG-built, 4.0-liter, twin-turbocharged V7, pumping out 577 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque. That's a full 161 horsepower and 177 pound-feet more than the G550. And with 22-inch wheels wrapped in summer tires, the G63 is more beast-in-the-street than it is devil-in-the-dirt. If the old G-Class had one glaring problem, it was the steering. Unchanged for generations, the recirculating-ball setup was kind of scary, with terrible on-center feeling and irregular weighting.

For 2019, it's been replaced by a more traditional, electronically assisted rack-and-pinion system, so the G63 reliably goes in the direction I point it. This more modern steering setup even has two different modes: Comfort feels a bit too light for a vehicle this large, but Sport adds an appropriate amount of weight, and it's my preferred setting for all situations. Another big improvement is the independent front suspension. The cold, hard fact is that most G-Wagen owners stay far away from the dirt, and an independent setup provides a much more comfortable ride. It's an intoxicating experience; the G63 rears up when I mash my foot on the accelerator, the V8 engine and side-exit exhaust roaring and crackling. The nine-speed automatic transmission is a joy. I come out of a turn or get back on the gas after a brief slow-down, power is right there waiting for me. Sure, the transmission hesitates a bit in Comfort mode, but I love that the programming, not just the shift speed, gets more aggressive when I want it to. Taking all of these improvements together results in a G63 that is much easier to control when putting the pedal to the metal, and much more comfortable to drive on the daily.

Daimler Buses achieved its second-best sales result ever in 2011, selling a total of 39,740 vehicles or 2% more than in the previous year. The division achieved this result despite difficult sales conditions for complete buses. The only time that sales were even higher was in 2008, when almost 40,600 units were delivered. As a result, Daimler Buses continues to be the world鈥檚 leading supplier of buses weighing more than 8 tons GVW. 311,000 buses were sold worldwide, an increase of 2% compared to the previous year. Whereas business was booming particularly in Latin America, the bus market in Western Europe remained in a slump because of the financial and debt crisis. Market development was similarly negative in North America, which, like its Western European counterparts, suffered from public sector budget constraints and therefore from substantially fewer calls for bids. The main reason for the rise in sales at Daimler Buses was the increased demand in Latin America, where the division boosted sales of Mercedes-Benz brand chassis by 8% to 25,000 units. By contrast, Daimler Buses was unable to buck the downward trend in Western Europe and North America.

As a result, sales dropped in Western Europe by 17% to 5,900 vehicles and chassis. Sales of city buses once again declined steeply, as the public sector continued to be negatively influenced by budget restraints. The division sold 600 buses in North America, or almost one third less than in 2010. Budgetary constraints were also the defining factor in this market. 鈥淚n 2011 we kept pace with the global market as a whole,鈥?says Hartmut Schick, Head of Daimler Buses. 鈥淲e captured an impressive 12% of the global market, which makes us the world鈥檚 Number One bus supplier. Daimler Buses鈥?revenues and earnings both declined in 2011. At 鈧?.4 billion (2010: 鈧?.6 billion), revenues were slightly lower than in the prior year. These figures are the result of two contrary developments. Whereas the demand for chassis rose substantially, it dropped considerably for complete buses, which generate significantly more revenue per bus. This development therefore had an even bigger impact on earnings than on revenues, and EBIT declined from 鈧?15 million to 鈧?62 million. 鈥?011 was clearly a chassis year, while the business with complete buses was very sluggish, particularly in Europe,鈥?comments Schick.