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Yes they are somewhat common but not that common. Most cars sold in Germany are Volkswagen Golf and Polo and Opel Astra and Corsa. They sell about 300k/each/year.
Mercedes C Classs, BMW 3series and Audis A4 sell about 70k/each/year and rank about 8,9 and 10 in the statistics (2009)
While the E-clas is common as a taxi, S-Classes etc are not very common here. We sell a lot more of those to China than to German Customers.
I would have to go with Audi. Based on there beefy stylish exterior and extremely beautiful interior. They cant be beat! I have equal feelings about BMW and Mercedes-Benz. There ok. Thats all i can say I have never been a beemer fan or a merc fan.
I've never been much for Mercs...I own a VW and as such have much love for the VAG family, including Audi! I do however love BMW's, and how buttery smooth the engines run, especially when mated to a proper manual transmission...gah, it's engineering perfection when it comes to the drivetrain. And the manner in which they can pull off sport oriented driving into a sedan is done about as perfectly as it can be.
I love Audi for their Quattro, and if I was buying one that'd be a requirement. However, i wish they had a rear drive option, or that the Quattro would favor the rear a tad more, even if it had the potential in a sport mode to put 100% of the power to the rear, only using the front when needed. Sadly, that's not the case...but they are still phenomenal cars.
I had a S-Class as a rental car some weeks ago, even it was no V8 but a V6 Diesel (S350L BlueTec) with 258 HP it was absolutely great. I could easily accelerate and go 240 km/h (150 mph) without any problems, due to winter tires it was limited to 240... however it was outstanding quiet and nice to drive, about 620 NM. I can imagine the 4-Cylinder is not that fast but as far as I have heared it is not as bad as i thought.
All in all I always think of Mercedes as being a "grandpa"-like car, whereas BMW and Audi are more sportive and have a better interior design (imho). I would prefer an BMW 535i or something like that.
Last edited by Douglas Dakota; 06-22-2011 at 06:12 AM..
Can't stand how MBs drive. They gave me the keys to a GLK and I disappeared for 30 minutes. Hated it. Felt like my mom's C-class. Throttle and brakes both tight. Same same same. Boring. Luxurious, but bleh as a driver. May as well go Lexus.
Audi stands out for technology. Good interface with MMI, though a few too many buttons sometimes. Driving-wise, I did the comparos with the A5 and Q5 at a driving event... 30 minutes alone in the car, drive how you want as long as you don't get pulled over. It had a lot of pep and felt pretty loose, but it didn't have a planted feel. Something any car with a nice engine can do. We also did a supercharged A6. That thing flew but come on - any decent American car can do that.
BMWs are distinct. I am not one for their spartan interiors on the 3s (X3 is vastly improved now however) or the former Zs, but there is nothing that will beat how it feels behind the wheel. After 3.5 years, I still love every minute with my X5 with adaptive drive. I fly through corners on a 5k lbs "SUV". Very much close to BMW sedans and even M3 owners who own both say the same. Never going to another make as long as I can help it. As for the i-drive argument, just go see the new version - it's been out for 2 years. I never thought of myself as a brand-loyalist until I laid that all out the first time (not here).
Porsche is generally considered to be a class "above" the brands mentioned, for the most part.
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Nothing like a S-class with a 4 cylinder engine.
