Centurion

Yeah the design alsone makes it a very special car. On top of that it is fast enough for me and since it does 0-100km/t in under 4 seconds it can be classified as a super car.

The Artist

Most overrated: Mcl f1.. SLR.. All Astons..
Underrated: Almost all AMG cars.. Zonda.. (ppl dont take it seriously until they read the fact sheet and crap their pants)

Merc1

I somewhat disagree about the SLR being overrated. It hasn't really been praised all that much, at least in comparison to the Carrera GT and Enzo, which it constantly lost to in every comparo I've seen. I remember Mercedes saying the SLR was supposed to be the ultimate in GT cars, not a supercar like those Ferrari/Porsche models. MB originally stated that the SLR was an upscale alternative to the Ferrari 575M and Aston-Martin Vanquish, and in that respect I think it superior (not in styling though), but then again it should be considering what it costs over those cars.

M

Merc1

Aston's overrated? Never heard that from anyone before. Why do you say that?

M

SDNR

Yes, OK Merc1, I see what you're saying, but the SLR is supposed to be the ultimate expression of the "superiority" of Mercedes-Benz engineering - and I'm sorry, from that perspective, it just doesn't live up to the hype.............IMO of course

Merc1

I'm not sure if I totally agree with that compared to other GT cars. When compared to the Enzo and CGT, then no it isn't superior but more or less in line with the Porsche and Enzo. All three have some exotic engineering and materials, but ultimately the SLR didn't translate enough of that into road prowess over the other two, plus its saddled with an automatic only. I think that alone was a mistake. They should have at least offered a manual or SMG/F1/DSG type box as an option.

I suspect the SLR would have been a lot greater if Mercedes hadn't forced their idea of a supercar onto to MC, which is why most of the original staff has reportedly left, including Gordon Murray.

I personally would have made sure it met Mercedes' quality/safety/durability standards, but let Mclaren have their way with the ride and handling.

M

Beemer B773ER

Well, i'll quickly add my 2-cents into the whole SLR debate before getting back onto the topic of the thread.

Do I like the car ? 50/50, some aspects yes, some aspects no. Do i respect the car? Very much so, fine piece of machinery inside-out.
But,....I'm guessing one of the reasons why people think the SLR is overated is because they're a bit disappointed with it. I for one am one of those people. In my view, you've got Mercedes-Benz, one of (if not the) largest motor company in the world. Extensive motoring heritage, both in passenger vehicles and performance vehicles, as well as being highly accomplished in the motorsport arena over many years. A company which turns 'ordinary' SL's and CL's into rocketships with thunderous engines so and so forth, .....and yet they do not 'take on' the world's best supercar manufacturers in making an all-out supercar.
Instead they made a 'compromise', ..but they openly stated this, so in that sense, they made exactly what they set out to do, ..so both thumbs up to them..!!

But a little part of me still feels disappointed that they did not make an all out supercar to set the supercar world on fire and raise the bar. Im not sure why they didn't. Maybe it was the fact that they knew the Veyron would end up doing that, so there was no point in investing so much money to try and knock-off the Veyron from its mantle. Im not sure, could be a variety of reasons why MB didn't make a super-supercar.
..and this leads me to the thought of whether BMW's rumoured future supercar will be an all out supercar, or similar to the SLR.


Ok, maybe my 2-cents about the SLR turned into a dollar bill there..hehe.

Now onto the topic at hand.

Overated: I don't think i really have a car which i think is overated as such. So i'd be really stretching the truth if I forced myself to name a car as overated. Each car which does receive its fair share of hype, must have its merit to justify the hype (some less than others), so in that sense, I dont use enthusiastic hype to judge whether a car is overated.
The main reason why I can't comment on overated is because I haven't had first-hand experience to compare my initial perceptions of a vehicle to that of a first-hand experience behind the wheel.


As for underated: I have to agree with Martin about the Subaru Liberty. Very much underated. When compared to a car such as the 330i, it really does take a biased man to say that the Liberty is far off the Bavarian maestro, ..especially when you compare the cars dollar-for-dollar.

I could also include the X3 as being underated, ..but i think most of the negative energy from enthusiasts is due to its styling (which I personally have no problem with), so in that sense, people write off the X3 and don't give it a second look.


So yep.. that's my dollar and 2 cents.