6.9 Driving Impressions

[TJ 450]

I drove my 6.9 today, and I thought I would put forward my observations and comparisons.

I have been driving my 280S quite frequently, so now is the time for a good comparison to see just how good the 6.9 really is (subjectively).

OK, so you get in the 6.9 and start it up... The sound of the engine is just great! It's fairly noisy, but the sound is smooth at the same time and the exhaust note is nice and deep, whilst being well damped (except the lowest frequencies) and satisfyingly meaty. The sound is absolutely unique.

I set out for a drive and the first thing I noticed was how effortless the power steering was compared to the other models. Just the right weight in my opinion.

Ride quality is what makes it truly great. The suspension is a quantum leap ahead of the steel sprung variants in just about all respects, except body roll under moderate cornering speeds. The car behaves quite differently being thrown into corners however.

Notably, the car sits near dead flat on the road whilst the suspension takes care of all but the highest frequency undulations. The smoothness of ride and the exhaust note, plus the prodigious torque combine to exude a truly unique driving experience, very remarkable in my opinion.

Then comes the experience of thrust. When you put your foot down on the open road, you are propelled effortlessly seemingly without limits.

A truly remarkable experience that exceeds my expectations every time.

Whilst the other models may not offer this level of performance satisfaction, they too provide their own driving experience that whilst being quite different, is also satisfying in its own right. If you drive a 280S for instance, the experience is still a very competent one. It just leaves out a few of the superlatives, which are really just the "icing on the cake" as it were.

Tim

[Tony66_au]

You need to get laid Tim lol


Im actually looking forward to driving my 280S and if its anywhere near as much fun as the 280E I will be impressed.

The 6.9 I drove and the 560SEL I drove both were quite similar in nature but the aural experience was more primal in the 6.9 and sturred the passion a bit which was what led me to wanting one years ago.

My 6.3 experiences from many years ago though cause conflict coz Id love one of them as well lol

[Big_Richard]

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[Tony66_au]

LMAO!

Aural sex?

Its a funny thing this car obsession, its a small joy that grows as we age.

Its simplicity is probably what makes it so attractive.

[oversize]

Ok they're both bloody fantastic!!  So I'm gunna have to try s*x IN a 6.9 (engine running of course)!!!  LOL!

[Big_Richard]

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[oversize]

And you've have your car since new??    I don't think she's a v*rgin if you haven't!!!  LOL!  Yes a car's no place for the first time with a new girl....  But that's just me!

[Big_Richard]

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[gf]

One day id love to test drive a 560 or 6.9. the problem is im afraid i might be tempted to buy one after, and ive got doubts my finances would handle the proper maintenance one deserves. Love reading these 6.9 stories! the cheif engineer at the time probably said" I sink ve Should bore it out to 7 litres, nien 6.9! It matches ze vater bed suspension"

[Tony66_au]

LMFAO! You guys crack me up

[s class]

6.9 is fantastic, however, I've from time to time reflected that if the 6.9 had never made it into production, we'd all probably be more than satisfied with 450's.

[s class]

Further thought - whilst my 350SE has been in the panel shop, I've been driving the W202 C180 'inherited' from wifey for the last month - and its nice, competent, reliable etc etc, and uses 35% as much fuel as a 6.9.  Then for 1 week I drove the blue 6.9 and realised that even that kind of fuel cost premium is not enough to deter me from thoughts of 'appointing' the blue 6.9 as my official daily driver....

[oversize]

Well I could've told you that!!!  Hahahaha!   

[TJ 450]

Indeed, the 450SEL is a great car in its own right.

Tim

[Tony66_au]

I think the fuel economy aspect of driving a V8 Benz is over played way too much.

We need to realistically look at "Average cost of ownership" if we were truly to be tight arses.

So!  For the sake of the exercise lets hash this out a bit.

Costs of ownership New car versus old car would be based on the following expenses and disregarding salary sacrifice or depreciation.

Car payments  ($400 -$550 ish PCM) $4800 to 6.6 k per year

Insurance (Rating 1 or 2, $550 per annum-ish)

Service costs (Between $500 and $2500 per year depending on mileage and service packages)

Fuel is subject to use, mileage etc

So based on what we do know a new car (Domestic breed) under finance or lease is going to cost between 4500 and 6500 per year plus the other stuff totalling out around the 8 to 10 k per year PLUS fuel consumption say a Tank a week at around 60 lt at whatever your fuel price is now although the reality is that a tank will normally last 5 to 6 days but lets peg that at an average of $90 assuming you pay a buck and a half per lt (4.5 lt roughly to the US Gallon BTW) so lets say another 5k rounding off the guestimate at 13 to 15 k per year cost of ownership for a new ish car.

Now heres the tricky bit...........

Look ahead 3 to 5 years and your now  3 to 5 year old "New" car and guestimate your service costs.........

Because at around 70 to 90 thousand km you are in for a huge service bill and by now you will have had atleast 1 if not more of these major services adding $900 to $2500 in further costs to the ACO of that year.

Which is why we trade them in on a new model at 3 to 5 years of age.....................

In a word or 2? Design Obsolescence.


Your 32 to 40 year old Mercedes however is immune to this, you do most services yourself or have a good mechanic on hand.
You buy your own parts and you know what the issue is and how it is to be repaired.

You also practise preventative maintenance negating surprise breakdowns and because you know the car well it rarely if ever surprises you.

Sure it uses 15 lt per 100 km instead of 9, 10 or 11 but if you were to go on by the numbers I suspect that it would still put you at least a few thousand ahead at the end of each year. 

As for Eco considerations?

Well I still feel this isn't a hard science, there ARE no rock hard facts and the few that are to be believed also show that cars are a single digit percentage of the pollution pie and really make Sweet FA difference.

It is instead a Politico Pseudo science that applies guilt to the masses striking a chord with the feeble of mind, the sheep of humanity...........  In my opinion of course lol.

So....... Do the numbers stack up for you?

They do for me and I haven't bought a new car since 2004 and this represents (For me) a bit over $14'000.00 less expenditure to get from point A to point B each year, and Hell im loving the driving experience too.

Gents? (and laydee's)

Have at it!