Mike Magrath has been tasked with doing the Edmunds rating on the Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG. I've been tasked with doing the Edmunds model review on the Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG. Though I was fully prepared to lirpa him to shreds in a fight to the death to get what could very well be my favorite car, luckily geography was on our side. We live in blocks away, and as we often do, made a switch midday Saturday after Magrath took the first round of custody. I can only imagine what a bystander would think seeing two guys flipping the keys to each other's wildly different cars then driving off.
Clearly, they'd think he'd lost this trade. Badly. Not quite Babe Ruth to the Yankees bad, but not good. Still, in order to make him feel better, here are 10 ways the Nissan Quest is better than a Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG
10) Everyone always says that Americans feel bigger is better. Well, you can get a huge, crazy Japanese bus thing for $40,000, or a fast, crazy German sedan-coupe thing for $100,000. The value choice is clear.
9) The Benz has 5 cupholders. The Quest has 16 by Frio's count, so if you like peeing a lot, go for the Nissan.
8) Despite the 290-horsepower gap, the Benz gets 19 mpg combined while the Quest gets 21. Plus, the EPA says you'd only spend $480 extra to fill up the Benz every year ... cha, right. Good luck with that one buddy.
7) No stupid carbon fiber lip spoiler or Alcantara wheel. They actually come with the AMG Performance Package -- I'd skip the extra 32 hp and 74 lb-ft of torque just so the car wouldn't have them.
6) The Quest can seat six of your friends. The Benz only half that. If you like people, then this is an easy choice. Since I barely do, and Magrath definitely doesn't, this probably applies more to other members of the populace.
5) I'd be more likely to want to know the person who owns the Quest. I'd really really really (x24) like to own the CLS regardless, but even I wouldn't want to know me. I'd figure I'd be going to the Sunset Strip a lot, wearing tight shirts and listening to something called a
Shingy. Oh, it's Chingy? I don't care.
4) The Benz lacks any sort of secret rum running bin.
3) The Quest has two opening sunroofs. I've been told people like more sunroofs. The Mercedes has only one and is thusly worse.
2) The Quest has a rear seat entertainment system. The Mercedes has a front seat DVD entertainment system, which you can't watch while driving. This is a travesty, for just this morning I was thinking, "You know, this car could really be improved if I could watch Downton Abbey while driving." Actually, I wasn't, but I do suppose I can't do that in the Quest, either. Still, a front seat entertainment system is totally useless. Then again if the acceleration and exhaust note don't keep my potential offspring entertained, I'm shipping them off to Switzerland.
1) The Quest helps you get some lumbar home or hauls around some old furniture. The Benz just hauls ass. Or helps you get some. Maybe that was a bad point.
James Riswick, Automotive Editor @ I was too excited to get the Benz to note the Quest's mileage
throttleblip says:
11:52 AM, 02/ 6/12
Title should read: "10 Ways It's Better..."
hondacura4 says:
12:12 PM, 02/ 6/12
I was on the way home last nite and the fog was fairly thick in my area. I saw these HID (LED?) headlights coming toward me in a pattern and clarity of which I'd never witnessed before and it turned out to be a CLS. Although I like the last design better the new car looks awesome at night!
jriz says:
12:18 PM, 02/ 6/12
"Title should read: "10 Ways It's Better..."
You're absolutely correct, shame on me. I would change it, but I cannot due to how our blogs are published.
half_ton says:
12:39 PM, 02/ 6/12
Number 11 . . . nice.
fordson1 says:
12:52 PM, 02/ 6/12
"7) No stupid carbon fiber lip spoiler or Alcantara wheel. They actually come with the AMG Performance Package -- I'd skip the extra 32 hp and 74 lb-ft of torque just so the car wouldn't have them."
These performance packages kill me - this is a car that, basically, exists for one reason only - high performance. And then they ding you an extra $8k for a "performance package." Ripoff.
zcalvert says:
01:17 PM, 02/ 6/12
i like your byline at the end.
agnh says:
03:11 PM, 02/ 6/12
#11. With the Quest, There is plenty of room for a hooker in the back, and with it's factory tinted windows, no one can casually see in.
mercedesfan says:
03:16 PM, 02/ 6/12
I saw a CLS in the flesh for the first time a few weeks ago when I had my car in for service and was blown away. I was fully in the "I prefer the old car" camp until I saw it in person. Now the 1st-generation just looks so droopy and stale. The new CLS has a presence that is captivating. In my opinion only three sedans on the market have real presence like this: the CLS, the Audi A7, and the Jag XJ.
ed124c says:
05:00 PM, 02/ 6/12
One reason why the Quest isn't going to make it: I was just at a local Nissan dealership and they had a top of the line Quest discounted about 8 grand.
Of course, that is topped by a SAAB 9.5, in the same showroom, with a discount of about 13K, lowering the price where it should be at about 34K. Nice looking car. I mean, really nice looking car. What a shame.
agentorange says:
03:45 PM, 02/ 7/12
"The Quest has two opening sunroofs. I've been told people like more sunroofs. The Mercedes has only one and is thusly worse."
WRONG!! Good cars have a solid roof. Sunroof count causes an exponential slide to failure.
#6 I whole heartedly agree with, somewhere beyond the Magrath level, I suspect.
gregbird says:
11:20 PM, 02/ 9/12
I'd rather the Quest. Don't get me wrong, Van=Boring. But I am just tired of all these "four-door coupes" that just look like a frown in profile. What ever happened to the the up-swept rear end? If you can give me and Audi S5 with two extra doors, then we'll talk. (I am kinda digging the BMW Grand Coupe, though.)