So we got presented with an 18 Plate Mercedes Achshit demonstrator and, personally speaking, it’s probably the worst thing I’ve had the misfortune to drive in many a year.
Dislikes? There’s no leg room, the seat is uncomfortable and lacks adjustment, there’s absolutely no feel to the steering what-so-ever, the gearbox is pants, the radio controls are ridiculously complicated, the suspension controls are a joke, etc, etc.
Likes? The exhaust brake actually works as a brake! (Woo hoo!), the dash doesn’t encroach on your vision in any way, there seemed to be plenty of oddment places/space, etc.
Now I fully realise that, for some, what I have just said will mean that I should be dragged out into a public space and be made to watch while my wife is repeatedly raped by a syphilitic Gnu and my children are sold into slavery before I am fed alive to rabid squirrels.
However… the episode (with the Merc, not the squirrels) got me thinking: My current workplace is a 750 V8 Scanny. It’s a beauty but like all lorries it’s far from perfect – it’s a question of “Does the good outweigh the bad?”
So, – given the option of swapping the gearbox for a ■■■■■’s i-Drive I’d have the spanners out before you could blink!
…… and it’s (for me) very comfortable, but the (grit your teeth) XF has far better leg room!
…… and can I have the triple wiper system from the XF too?
…… but I’d prefer the exhaust brake from the Merc.
…… and the Iveco cab is far roomier… (though I admit that it’s a few years since I was in one so they might have changed).
…… Ok. I think I’ve got an outline, just have to work from there.
Now over to you bunch of (insert word of choice here)… new or old, main-stream or esoteric – what would your perfect wagon be??