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By fake wood I mean plastic with an imitation wood grain. Nobody uses solid wood because it's too heavy and cracks. The wood in a Mercedes, Lexus, Rolls Royce, whatever is a laminate bonded to a plastic base.
What's in the Avalon is not even a laminate, it's just imitation wood grain.
The sad thing is that the real wood is on a base of plastic, and covered over by layer(s) of synthetic clear coat such as PU. In essence your fingers do not get to touch real wood. What a joke
Interestingly even the fake wood is made by taking pictures of real wood and printing that wood grain on synthetic material such as plastic.
and while interior might not meet your standards, with the 450amg model you're paying for the performance... 362hp and 0-60 in 4.8s is significant in a small sedan.
As a W205 C63 owner I love the comparison between the camry the the c class. They actually have a lot in common, both have an engine. both have wheels, both have 4 doors, both have seats and steering wheels. both are cars
As a W205 C63 owner I love the comparison between the camry the the c class. They actually have a lot in common, both have an engine. both have wheels, both have 4 doors, both have seats and steering wheels. both are cars
How's that V8 treating you? I've fallen out of love with my F-type V8S and am trying to sneak my way into an AMG GT.
Agreed. The (present) Avalon interior, IMO, quality-wise, is worse than the present Camry's. It looks plush on the surface (as much, if not more so, than its ES350 brother). But underneath the surface glitz, you have some VERY thin plastic parts. The glove box door, for example, feels as thin as cardboard, the flimsy latch barely holds it shut, and the heated-seat twirl-*****, on the center console, wobble so bad they feel like they will come off in your hands. But, to be fair, it sits on top of an excellent drivetrain and paint job..
Yeah, I've also got a MacBook Air. Love it. The case looks and feels more like aluminum than plastic. But it should have quality materials, though, for the price.....I paid more than $1000 for mine....just like for my previous Sony.
Back to the thread-topic C450, rxonmymind, since you are complaining about its so-called "plastic" interior, did you notice if it had hard-plastic sun-visors? (I sat in one some time ago, but forgot the details). That is an area where a number of automakers have been cutting costs...though in some cases, it is done with hard but thick, durable good-quality plastic, like on the 3Gen Subaru Impreza.
The visors were very nice. Squishing them between my fingers they were thickly padded at least 1/2-1" with a very micro cross hatched viynl pattern. Sort of a tough vinyl the kind that if you rubbed fast with your fingernails they would make that zip zip sound.
and while interior might not meet your standards, with the 450amg model you're paying for the performance... 362hp and 0-60 in 4.8s is significant in a small sedan.
you're correct but the one I tested was 61580 and had a beautiful glass moon roof starting from the driver and all the way back to the passenger area.
I could find absolutely no fault with the performance of the engine. It has TONS of giddy up & go. Marvelous engine
are you really saying the C Class interior is inferior to a Camry??? lol yea... ok
No, no, no. NOT inferior. I never said that. Not being an auto journalist articulating & correlating vehicles across many many brands by memory is a challenge. In doing so it's easy to misconstrue what I'm saying.
Never would I say a Mercedes is below a Camry.
However TO ME I believe the Avolon seems better having sat in both. But then again you're talking about two different interior themes now that I think about it some more. One is tailored towards a nice suit while going out to dinner with older parents & rolling easy around town. While the other is racing inspired better suited for track, sporting events and taking the wife out to a glitzy restaurant.
Not exactly an apples to apples comparison.
However TO ME I believe the Avolon seems better having sat in both. But then again you're talking about two different interior themes now that I think about it some more. One is tailored towards a nice suit while going out to dinner with older parents & rolling easy around town. While the other is racing inspired better suited for track, sporting events and taking the wife out to a glitzy restaurant.
Not exactly an apples to apples comparison.
See, this is what SW15LS was talking about earlier. You seem to muddle style preferences and material quality together when appraising interiors.
No, no, no. NOT inferior. I never said that. Not being an auto journalist articulating & correlating vehicles across many many brands by memory is a challenge. In doing so it's easy to misconstrue what I'm saying.
Never would I say a Mercedes is below a Camry.
You should say so if you feel so. Don't be threatened. For example, in 2003, professional reviewers were claiming VW had best interiors. Pffft. I found in those years Mazda to have much better interiors, and I stood behind my own opinion and purchased 2 of them. Then all my social circle were suddenly aware of how much better it is then their Toyota and Honda Camry and Accords, esp with the superior interior space design.
Originally Posted by rxonmymind
However TO ME I believe the Avolon seems better having sat in both. But then again you're talking about two different interior themes now that I think about it some more. One is tailored towards a nice suit while going out to dinner with older parents & rolling easy around town. While the other is racing inspired better suited for track, sporting events and taking the wife out to a glitzy restaurant.
Not exactly an apples to apples comparison.
Please. An interior is an interior. It doesn't matter who the audience is and what you are paying for it. your opinion is much valued.
See, this is what SW15LS was talking about earlier. You seem to muddle style preferences and material quality together when appraising interiors.
Maybe I could have articulated that better. I did take the Camry SPORT model XSE and I'm simply pointing out that some of the interior is equal to the Mercedes. Both had nice quality black perforated leather with suede and good solid red stitching. Didn't count how many per inch(should have) and seeing them in person they were nearly identical. That will NEVER happen in the automotive world again. Having sat in the Camry XSE about a month ago then the Merc I was struck at their similarities. NOT twins NOT exact. But using seat of the pants math and calculating the given area of real estate used for nearly identical trim I was surprised. Let's see...
Red stitched leather seats.
Red stitched leather steering wheel. ( Although MUCH bigger on the Merc)
Both perforated with suede. Although an option to change it on the Merc is a plus.
Red stitched leather dash. Here the Merc wins hands down as it's 100% across. The Camry only had the hump above the speedometer and directly across the right side of the center console done in the same red stiched leather wrap. Disappointingly directly behind it was uncovered plastic.
However it is stiffer and harder to squeeze the padding on the Camry. The Merc on can easily squeeze and feel the surface between the two layers.
Middle arm rest well padded with red stiched leather.
Metal pedals on the Merc. Win!
Center consoles both plastic. In this pic it shows a VERY nice black lacquer which my test vehicle was not afforded. Mine had defective silver carbon checker plastic.
Go below the dash in the Merc and one is greeted with that disgusting silver grey plastic that I wish the automotive world would quit using. It's on my center console of the RX and I can't stand it. Especially at this price point. Aluminum would be better.
Below the dash of the Camry is soft touch leather however right below that is the silver grey plastic.
A tie between the two as they switch places in placement of materials.
C&D named the C Class as having the best car interior under $60k in a recent write up. They said:
"Fine stitching, buffed metal, and lovely paneling are the price of entry in the $30,000 to $60,000 luxury segment; the $39,325 Mercedes-Benz C-class vaults itself above its pricing peers with astonishing functional and aesthetic details."
Sometimes I wonder how often a certain make get's a pass? Sort of like the "Michael Jordan" effect. That man could foul so many times & not be called out for it because he's MJ. But the refs or in this case the automotive journalist are harder on lesser brands. "pay your dues" type mentality. Also if you fail a maker I've heard they won't invite you back sometimes and WILL blacklist you. How is that conducive to objective reviews?
11-22-15, 10:16 PM
