Salon de TDUCK: New Car Releases

[TIMELESS]

Well if it were me, I'd probably be swaying towards the Porsche too. But even without looking outside of Germany, you have the BMW Z4, which is infinitely better looking. And that's coming from me... I've always hated the Z-series.

 

Edit: And to be honest, the new MX5 might not be in the same class as far as luxury, but it's far better looking and a great car too.

[CarMadMike]

It'd be great if Jag could make a £35-45k Coupé/Roadster too. Something which shares some of the madness of the F-Type, mainly the noise and the sexiness :p

 

Not sure I'd even have the MX5 on my radar if I was looking at the SLC or Boxster tbh, not enough va-va-voom :p

[TIMELESS]

"Va-va-voom"... :toetap:

 

Yeah, a.. D-Type? Stick a 4-pot turbo and the god-like sounding V6 in it, sell it for half the price. Everyone's happy. :lol:

[CarMadMike]

I obviously meant Zoom Zoom but got sidetracked by Thierry Henry's french voice saying va va voom and now i'm all hot under the collar. :p

[TIMELESS]

 

Speaking of... The new Megane:

 

 

 

 

 

Images: Auto Express/Autotrader

[superhyper]

Not sure what to think about that one. Looks aggressive and those wide rear lights give me a 90s Renault vibe for some reason :hmmm:

[CarMadMike]

That genuinely looks great, I was unsure about the weird mascara the headlights seem to have but it's grown on me since it was first unveiled.

 

Issue is that they're just using the GT trim for all the press shoots at the moment, the past Megane GT-Trim never really sold that well, and the lesser trims looked god-awful most of the time, so I'm holding back proper judgement until I see some absolutely basic/stripper versions driven by OAPs on the road.

[The Compensator]

I like the SLK/C. Way better looking than the SL.

 

Z4 is still miles better, though, and Porsche... well, Porsche's the best ofc. Too bad they're ditching the 6cyl boxers while adding weight.

[CarMadMike]

I like the SLK/C. Way better looking than the SL.

 

I don't agree, I think the SLC will always be hindered by the fact it's never looked like a clean sheet design. It has awkward proportions with the two ends stuck on. The Boxster/Cayman's success is that its design has its own identity, it's been designed with less interference from other cars in the range. Even the Z4, with its kidney grills, still looks a lot better.

 

Merc have done a good job in getting the new C-Class Coupé to look like a clean design, it looks like it was designed to be a coupe all along rather than a saloon that's had 2 doors cut out like the model it replaces did. It's a shame they didn't take this philosophy to the SLC.

 

The SLK/SLC always seems like a bit of a bodge job, a bit of a quick 'put new headlights on, offer an engine we offer in a different model, add an extra LED into the taillight and call it 'BRAND NEW MODEL'. It's why I don't think i'd bother with it.

[TIMELESS]

Merc have done a good job in getting the new C-Class Coupé to look like a clean design, it looks like it was designed to be a coupe all along rather than a saloon that's had 2 doors cut out like the model it replaces did. It's a shame they didn't take this philosophy to the SLC.

 

But does it? When they're just taking existing models and resizing them, does it count as a clean design? :lol:

 

You're right about the SLC/SLK though, you can't just put a current gen front and rear on a previous gen model and expect it to look right. :fp:

[CarMadMike]

But does it? When they're just taking existing models and resizing them, does it count as a clean design? :lol:

 

I never said it was a clean sheet design, just that it looks like one a lot more than the previous C-Class Coupé :nods:

 

The issue is that on the flip side, the new S-Class Coupé looks a lot more like the S-Class, whereas the old CL used to look quite unique in comparison to the rest of the range.

[TIMELESS]

True true, as you said, they literally just dropped 2 doors and called it a coupe.

[The Compensator]

I don't agree, I think the SLC will always be hindered by the fact it's never looked like a clean sheet design. It has awkward proportions with the two ends stuck on. The Boxster/Cayman's success is that its design has its own identity, it's been designed with less interference from other cars in the range. Even the Z4, with its kidney grills, still looks a lot better.

 

I don't see anything bad at all with the shape of the R172.

 

 

Merc have done a good job in getting the new C-Class Coupé to look like a clean design, it looks like it was designed to be a coupe all along rather than a saloon that's had 2 doors cut out like the model it replaces did. It's a shame they didn't take this philosophy to the SLC.

 

It's just a smaller S-class QP which itself is a clean design - if I understand what you mean by "clean design."

 

I also liked the old C Coupe.

 

The SLK/SLC always seems like a bit of a bodge job, a bit of a quick 'put new headlights on, offer an engine we offer in a different model, add an extra LED into the taillight and call it 'BRAND NEW MODEL'. It's why I don't think i'd bother with it.

 

Implies to all Mercedes facelifts. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

The Z4 is not selling well and I guess the SLK is the same. I have seen 100x more Z4's in my life than the SLK so maybe that's why they didn't bother with it much. I haven't read the press release yet, maybe there are new things undeneath...

[CarMadMike]

The R172 looks much better with the roof up than the roof down, I think it's when the hardtop is lowered that the awkward proportions are more visible. http://www.twistedlifestyle.com/Images/2012-mercedes-benz-slk-class_100342890_l.jpg

 

We don't have to 100% agree on this I guess :p

[The Compensator]

Styling is subjective obviously.

 

Others call BMW 1 Series Coupe the ugly duckling; I love mine. That's what matters anyway. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[TIMELESS]

It looks like it's been rear-ended and pushed into a car in front of it, and they've called that designing. It's very... squished looking.

[hassan1995]

I've never liked the look of that merc, there's something off with it.

[superhyper]

The proportions are off if you ask me :hmmm:

[hassan1995]

Wheel base is too small for the car it's trying to be, look at the z4 which has much better proportions.

[CLR-GTR]

The SLK is a bit out of proportion, the back end is too tall which perhaps looks worse than it is because of the tail lights being squeezed. The nose is pretty long, also ahead of the wheels (pedestrian protection I think, every merc has it now).

 

I like the new styling, especially with sport bumpers etc, but I don't like dropping the V8 for a V6, and also the name is odd... why 43 and not 45 (larger number despite 2 cylinders less....)

 

I'm surprised it's still seeing a facelift though, this is the car you hardly hear or read about.

[CarMadMike]

I'm surprised it's still seeing a facelift though, this is the car you hardly hear or read about.

 

Yup, this car needs revolution, note evolution.

 

My neighbour has a brand new 65' TTS Roadster in that gorgeous Daytona Grey, and it makes that SLC43 look deformed.

[The Compensator]

The SLK is a bit out of proportion, the back end is too tall which perhaps looks worse than it is because of the tail lights being squeezed. The nose is pretty long, also ahead of the wheels (pedestrian protection I think, every merc has it now).

 

I like the new styling, especially with sport bumpers etc, but I don't like dropping the V8 for a V6, and also the name is odd... why 43 and not 45 (larger number despite 2 cylinders less....)

 

I'm surprised it's still seeing a facelift though, this is the car you hardly hear or read about.

 

It should have been the SLC 32 just like the V6K 203 and the vacuum cleaners... 23?

 

V8 - 63

V6 - 43

I4 - 23

 

or

 

V12 - 65

V8 - 55

V6 - 45

I4 - 35... 36 for historic reasons

 

:hmmm:

 

Yup, this car needs revolution, note evolution.

 

My neighbour has a brand new 65' TTS Roadster in that gorgeous Daytona Grey, and it makes that SLC43 look deformed.

 

The TT is damn nice. Can't wait for the RS version.

[Ryzza5]

Has anyone heard of the Levorg?

 

 

 

The bonnet scoop seems completely unnecessary for a 1.6L boxer, for which they don't mention power figures (I can guess why).

[The Compensator]

The bonnet scoop seems completely unnecessary for a 1.6L boxer, for which they don't mention power figures (I can guess why).

 

125 kW/170 PS

250 Nm

8.9 sec

210 kph

 

I have heard of the Levorg and everyone loved the chassis/suspension. The engine, not so much. CVT in conjuction with the little engine kills the fun a bit.

 

You can buy a 300PS Levorg in Japan, and there are rumours there will be an STi version of it soon (although STi accessories are already available for the car).

[CLR-GTR]

 

The bonnet scoop seems completely unnecessary for a 1.6L boxer, for which they don't mention power figures (I can guess why).

 

Every car has such things. How much percent of the grille is actually open these days on cars? :lol: Though I agree it would have fitted better if there was a 2.5+ engine in it.