WDB
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Post by WDB on Aug 1, 2017 11:52:35 GMT
Well, I kinda wish I'd managed to do the car swap before we left for France. While Vić's old E320 causes him expensive hassles, our merely middle aged E220 rumbles gamely on - although using more fuel and depositing more soot on its rear bumper than I'm entirely happy with. I took a spell in the back seat on the way here, while Mrs B1 took her turn at the wheel and Boy 1 did map duties, and it's a wonderfully comfortable car to be driven in. And it'll rumble us happily enough around Bugey and up the Rhine to Koblenz, then through Belgium and home.
But. But. We might have had a CLS350 by now. And that would have been fun, because the sub-mountain roads here (we're staying at 740m, but they go down to 600 and up to 1200 or so) are fantastic. Not fast, but well-surfaced, varied and thoroughly involving. After months of machine-minding in southeast England, it's so refreshing to come here and really drive.
The E220, on tallish Michelin Crossclimate tyres, holds on well enough, of course. And, with the autobox in S mode it drops rather raucously to second and hauls itself out of the bend. But the steps are all a bit disjointed, as if the car knows it would rather be trundling along a motorway and doesn't want to change its shoes for something more athletic. A CLS350 sits a bit lower, wider and firmer, and has 95 extra horses and four more ratios, which I suspect would make all the difference in terms of joined-up driving.
Next year, then. But if I can get one sooner, I'll be sorely tempted to come back up here just to give the thing a proper outing.
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Post by Humph on Aug 1, 2017 12:04:00 GMT
On the other hand, I did a 400 mile round trip in mine yesterday, punctuated by a full length office day, so started out at 05.00 and finally got back home at 22.15 and can't immediately think of a car that could have been much more cosseting to its driver for such a trip. In this modern era of cameras everywhere, the usefulness of a properly fast car is becoming really quite limited. Not to say it wouldn't be fun now and then of course, but increasingly I'm getting more interested in wafting in comfort than throwing cars about. Could be a function of age too though I suppose.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2017 12:27:53 GMT
It's caused me one expensive hassle. So far.
I look forward to having a demo of the CLS when you get one, promise not to dribble too much chilli sauce on the beige alcantara.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2017 13:03:42 GMT
I understand what WDB means and yes, the extra power and gear ratios make a huge difference. But... Humph has my vote. The ability to waft along at just over the speed limit in silence and comfort, making a long journey feel almost relaxing, and certainly getting home not feeling like you have done ten rounds with Mohammed Ali is the way of the world these days, unless you have multi-car garage and lots of free time.
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Aug 1, 2017 14:05:07 GMT
Yes, but I'm not thinking about hurling the car through the mountains; rather, I'd like to make it flow, which is what my (lighter, manual) 3-litre BMW can do on a properly twisty road, but where the E220 struggles. I have no doubt a CLS350 would be the equal of Esp's E350 as a cruiser, so there's the best of both worlds to be had here.
I should add that a 540i, or even a 530i, would probably bring the same quality of 'flow' to the party. It's just that I can't afford one this time round.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2017 18:24:40 GMT
Fair enough. It's that 'being on song' feeling that you are missing, and yes a larger engine with more gears can help.
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Post by Humph on Aug 1, 2017 19:21:21 GMT
I've got to do Edinburgh and back tomorrow. At least the morning journey just gets better as it goes on...
😉
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Aug 7, 2017 19:21:33 GMT
Bit of Vićesque drama this weekend. Saturday morning I took the car over the col (400m up and then down) to the market town over the hill. On the way up I noticed that the yellow Engihe Warning light was on. It didn't go out on the way home either. A little concerned, I consulted the manual, according to which the light covers a multitude of sins, including emission control.
Yesterday's only outing was on two wheels, but today I planned a 100km circuit including some motorway (and a superb hydro station in the upper Rhône valley) in the hope that the problem was due to a week of high-altitude driving seldom exceeding 50mph. On the last leg this evening the light went out and stayed out.
Fingers crossed that that's the end of it. We're homeward bound via Koblenz on Saturday. Might call the Mercedes Mobilo man before then so he can tell me (I hope) not to worry.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2017 9:41:20 GMT
Bof.
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Post by Hofmeister on Aug 8, 2017 12:38:42 GMT
On the way up I noticed that the yellow Engihe Warning light was on. It didn't go out on the way home either. A little concerned, I consulted the manual, according to which the light covers a multitude of sins, including emission control. On the last leg this evening the light went out and stayed out. The long boat is constantly throwing up various warnings about various systems. They go away some come back, some dont. The last one was a warning about the self leveling lights not working. A one off, |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2017 13:15:15 GMT
The engine management light often does that on both the Dodge Ram and the PPOS. And its pretty much always on the road up the mountain. It always sorts itself out on the first trip *after* the trip down. If you see what I mean. Bit higher than 400m, but the same thing I should think.
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Aug 8, 2017 20:32:58 GMT
Thanks chaps. It was far too wet today to drive anywhere, so we'll have to wait for tomorrow's trip to Lyon to see if it's properly back to normal. I cleaned a lot of soot off the back bumper today; I'll be curious to see if that grows back. (I've wondered about a tank or two or premium diesel as a treat but there hasn't been any where we've made our fuel stops. Maybe before Germany.
Incidentally, we're at 740m here, so Saturday's 400m was on top of that. Still hardly Andean, of course, but not what the engine has been used to. And it was 500m down to the station at Culoz, from which we took the train to Geneva last week. Life here certainly has its ups and downs.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2017 9:01:57 GMT
EGR is dirty and a bit blocked I expect. Similar story I was having with the SAAB. If that's the case cleaning might do the trick, replacement might be necessary.
Wheezy 4-cyls, see.
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Aug 10, 2017 17:06:47 GMT
EGR could be a good call. We'll have to make a policy decision on whether we spend more money on this car (the parking sensors are acting up again, as they have done at intervals throughout our time with the car) if we really are going to swap it this year.
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Post by bromptonaut on Aug 10, 2017 20:14:21 GMT
We were in same part of France as WDB (Ain 01) last week. Berlingo performed flawlessly mechanically with or without caravan but we chickened out of exiting Gex via the Col de Faucille taking the longer route via Bellegarde sur Vaseline Valserine. Apart from heat curtailing activity on two wheels or two feet we picked up a stone chip on windscreen coming round Rouen on way out that, while in Ain, turned into a crack that spread with every operation of screenwash.
Got it replaced at local Cit garage with only one linguistic hitch; the guy on reception heard my fracture dans la pare brise as a facture - there is an invoice in my windscreen - but we got there in end. Still waiting to find out how LV react to E600 bill which I was advised to submit on my return.
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