Ask the mechanic: Should I buy a Benz or Forester?

The Mercedes Benz C180 year 2003 (W203) and the Subaru Forester are superb products both in quality and engine performance terms.

What you need to know:

Hi Paul, I am torn between buying a Mercedes Benz C180 2003 model and a Subaru Forester 2003. What would be the best option in terms of fuel consumption, maintenance, durability and resale value?

The Mercedes Benz C180 year 2003 (W203) and the Subaru Forester are superb products both in quality and engine performance terms. However, they are different concepts. The Mercedes is a sedan saloon for comfortable on road travel while the Subaru Forester is a sporty station wagon for both on and light off road use. The Forester has the benefit of multi terrain capability with a sporty touch for a taste of thrilling performance driving. It boils down to whether you are looking for laid back comfortable drive or a thrilling exciting drive especially if you get one of those 2.0 litre turbo charged Subarus.

The Forester offers an opportunity to explore the outdoor during camping expeditions if you are an outdoor person. The Mercedes offers you the opportunity to arrive in style with class. When it comes to the crunch, the C180 will offer better fuel economy during combined highway and city driving. On the highway the 1.8 litre engine will be sluggish when you need to ‘giddy up’ or overtake.

High revs as you try to power the engine will make the small C180 engine uneconomical. On the other hand if you are a gear head and love to speed the Subaru, you will not enjoy fuel economy. So economy is a tradeoff for the thrill. Durability of the Mercedes and Subaru is assured if you buy used cars with a good maintenance record and maintain them with the recommended fully synthetic engine oil as well as fuel with differentiated petrol blended with cleaning detergent and efficiency enhancing additives. The Subaru should be checked thoroughly as it tends to get abused by its previous owners. The Mercedes has a better maintenance ability because of availability of a strong dealership service parts support and independents. Subaru’s dealership is limping but there are some few independents keeping the parts and service activity going.