[spangle1980]

Originally Posted by GaSelle

Absolutely not - 100% disagree. Last trip in an E-Class with that material on the seats my boss said from the backseat "what´s wrong with this bloody car, my ass is sweating" - on a autumn day after 15 minutes. Each to their own - the MB is not for me

Ahhhh BUT did you try the sensatec from BMW? IIRC we cannot get this in europe right?

[ASAP]

I had a 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe rental this past weekend and I have to say I was very thoroughly impressed with the package for the price.

Tech - pretty much on par w BMW - screens just like Idrive 8 - wireless apple car play etc. Digital dash also looked great.

Interior Build Quality was absolutely top notch and choice of materials didn't really feel cheap anywhere - 0 rattles or creaks.

Ride comfort - extremely solid and the car overall drives very heavy and just has that heavier bank vault feeling. The seats were also quite comfortable.

Where I think cars of this class aren't yet at the BMW levels are handling (FWD biased car) and engine NVH - it's just rougher than anything German and once you start to push the car you can tell it's a FWD biased lower tier SUV.

FWIW - still very impressive at 40k... if had an x3 sdrive... i'd be questioning myself whether to look into this option... M40i is another level and cannot be compared.

[avi66]

Originally Posted by spangle1980

Ahhhh BUT did you try the sensatec from BMW? IIRC we cannot get this in europe right?

On the G01 you can only get Sensatec, what BMW UK call leatherette, on base xLine models in the UK.

In the US it was originally pitched as a cheaper option on lower models, but the marketing guys got to work lol.

[Pszyk m40i]

X3 m40i or amg gl 45 if they even allow you to rent those 😆

[chicagox7]

Originally Posted by GDEvans

Will you actually get the car that you want? My experience of car hire companies is they give some examples of the type of car in that class. But you end up with whatever car in that class that they have in stock at the time. Take it or leave it.

Dublin airport will probably not have the same range of vehicles that you would find at somewhere like Heathrow.

Understand and agree. Being Sixt in Shannon- my assumption is that it will either be X3 or Q3. Similarly, assume the e class could have been an a6 or even a bmw 5 series.

Feedback received was what I was looking for. Good to be reminded about the narrow roads and to learn they have addressed them since I last drove over there in 2001.

As for time in the car- we’ll likely be in it for an hour or 2 at a time. Will be 2+ hours from airport to first hotel. Other excursions from the various hotels range from 45-1 hour away each way. Then there is the ring of Kerry and Dingle. Lots of getting in and out- hopefully- though still lots of time in the car itself.

Had rented a Nissan rouge the weekend before posting. Used it for trips of an hour plus each way; found it miserable to drive and not overly comfortable. That was a trigger in looking to upgrade the car for Ireland and seek feedback.

[GDEvans]

Originally Posted by avi66

They also drive like maniacs and seem to think if you go 60mph the car will somehow be able to pass when there’s only space for one car lol. 😜

Nothing like meeting a typical Cornish driver on a single track blind bend…..

My Audi S3 had particularly good brakes. And were used on many occasions...