Mercedes sports car any good?
Posted by Error_Space@reddit | askcarguys | View on Reddit | 21 comments
So I seen a lot of Porsche 911/718 and people loving these cars, I also saw some BMW fans with their M series. I saw these car on the road quite often.
But come to think of it I rarely hear anyone talking about Mercedes. Personally I like their AMG GT couple, I think they look cool and the 8 cylinders sounds amazing, but why do I rarely see them on the road? Why do I rarely hearing people talking about them? Is there something wrong with it underneath?
ActionJackson75@reddit
I think the biggest difference is that Porsche designs cars to be sports cars, Mercedes tunes luxury cars to be faster and sportier. These days I think BMW falls somewhere between which makes them overall better for people that want a really nice sports car, while MB is for people that want a fast luxury car.
Since they're all quite expensive, choosing to drop 100k on a MB is generally saying you care more about how quiet and smooth the car is than how it handles and accelerates.
These 3 sit in a tier above all the other luxury brands, of which essentially every single one is an extension of a brand marketed at regular car buyers.
Daimler-450@reddit
Cause I just feel like with what they charge here in Canada you might as well get a 911 for that price instead of an AMG GT or something higher end like the SL63. Also they’ve basically killed any hype the lower priced 63 AMGs used to have.
Why would someone pay more for a 2L C63 AMG now when the M3 is cheaper, less complicated to repair, and can be tuned to make insane numbers? Here they were charging around $155,000 for the C63, when I can get a well spec’d factory ordered M3 Competition with individual paint for $20–30k less. Even with other AMG models, BMW usually has a similar car for a bit cheaper and it’s a better driver’s car, and at the high end you might as well just get a Porsche at that point, and it’ll hold its value better too.
Battle_Intense@reddit
Forget the name of the places that rents out supercars in Vegas for their track. Multiple guys at the counter claimed the Benz AMG was the most underrated ride they have.
jrileyy229@reddit
AMG GT sales are astronomically low if you're going to compare it to all 718/911 sales
Error_Space@reddit (OP)
Fair point… I can’t be sure all the 911/718 were in the trim competing with AMG gt, but still, when people discussing a high end sports car names like 911/718 M series comes out a lot, but I almost never hear people say Mercedes.
jrileyy229@reddit
As a brand, sports cars isn't really what they do... They make luxurious and flashy daily driver sedans and SUVs.
RunninOnMT@reddit
You’re talking about the sportiest cars made by what is BY FAR the least sporty German brand.
I’d rank them from sportiest to least:
Big gap
Gap
Audi
Mercedes
Thats a small target in general and yeah, Mercedes will try, but the AMG GT coupe is super high end, Very expensive and less of a pure driving experience than a Porsche would be at that price point.
Do you really want to drop huge amounts of cash on not just a sports car but a very very expensive high end sports car on a company that doesn’t really make that sporty cars? Porsche is right there and this stuff is their bread and butter! They emphatically know what they’re doing!
itafunnystory@reddit
You wouldn't catch me in a Merc. No thanks
Error_Space@reddit (OP)
Well why not?
Autobacs-NSX@reddit
Chrysler reliability at Porsche pricing without the enthusiast heritage of BMW. Built to lease flashy vehicles for real estate agents and company fleet. Merc peaked in the 80s with those overbuilt diesels and now they’re just expensive, less reliable Volkswagens
FearlessTomatillo911@reddit
I don't think there is no enthusiast heritage of Mercedes they have just always been a luxury car first. They have had a lot of success in motorsports, Lewis Hamilton used to drive for them for instance.
Autobacs-NSX@reddit
Merc’s racing exploits have been some of my all time favorites. For example group C & GT1 in the 80s/90s. But they didn’t translate that to their lineup quite as effective or for as long as BMW has. For the record I don’t like BMW at all but I recognize the m2, m3, m5 etc. for what they are and how BMW has translated the driving feel of their cars across their entire lineup which is why people buy them. On the other hand I think there is a bigger disconnect between Merc racing and Merc street cars both practically and in perception.
itafunnystory@reddit
Very well stated. You can see the racing engineering being translated down through Volkswagen and their group of offerings. BMW's race engineering translates down to its cars pretty direct. Obviously the exotics live closer to their race engineering than what did you not. What for whatever reason Mercedes seems to make a very regular car with lots of of creature comforts and almost none of the engineering that has made them a winning race team
itafunnystory@reddit
Precisely. It's for people who have a little bit of money and want to look like they have a lot of money and don't know how the hell to achieve their goal. So they leased a Mercedes, black with tan leather.
All of that aside, the g wagon is my least favorite car to drive of any car I have tested in the last 5 years. It handles like crap and the flat windows have always been a problem, to me. The reflection on your left window is of the car on your right side, so when you catch it in your peripheral vision, it plays a little trick on you
optigrabz@reddit
I know little about modern Mercedes-are the inline engines a favorite for sports cars?
Foxtrot-0scar@reddit
Black serie is the only supercar.
Due_Attention_4886@reddit
The Mercedes AMG models are available for a variety of body styles. Essentially they're sports-tuned versions of other models in Mercedes' range. An AMG GT coupe is an exception, but the brand is known primarily for luxury, whereas Porsche is primarily a sports car oriented brand. I feel like Porsche makes a better sports car. The AMG GT is going to be extremely capable for spirited driving, but also ideal for a 300 mile highway drive. The Mercedes AMG tries to do more, and succeeds, but the Porsche excels at being a sports car. The AMG GT is heavier and relies on brute force, while the Porsche is lighter and more nimble.
Fun-Computer-1168@reddit
I think its mainly because people see mercedes as more of a luxury car brand than sports, so most will go for a porsche or bmw when they want a sportier car
Temporary-Chest-3111@reddit
They’re around so part of it may be confirmation bias. AMG models are a dime a dozen in Tokyo as Mercedes is by far the most popular import automaker next to BMW (Mini included), Audi, and VW. Recent Mercedes are also perceived to be less reliable compared to their former selves, and less sporty, at the same time being more focused on luxury, than other German brands.
Error_Space@reddit (OP)
That might’ve be the case, but last time I saw a merc GT was a while ago and I saw a lot of porche/BMW cars between this time frame. I did noticed there are a lot of merc but most of them are luxury comfort vehicles like sedans and SUV, so maybe it is indeed the perception of the brand.
Slow_Description_773@reddit
Mercs imho is still associated with ther old guy driver image, I mean even older than Lexus. Yeah they can make some nice and sporty cars here and there but the way I see them is red leather interiors with shiny metal aviation style switches, that'll make sone 70+ guy drool.