YOUR VIEWS
WRITE TO autocar@haymarket.com
Wide of the mark
Your report on the new Mercedes SL once more showed the dreadful trend towards wider and wider vehicles.
When I’m driving, two critical width dimensions concern me: the gap between my precious alloys and the kerb on the invisible nearside and the easily assessed gap between the right-hand side of my car and the oncoming traffic. (Mirror-to-mirror width doesn’t really concern me.)
It’s about time insurers lobbied the government for new regulations, as roads and parking spaces haven’t widened and won’t in the future.
Every article about a new vehicle should include the ‘maximum track’ dimension: rim edge to rim edge, plus tyre-bulge allowance.
David Moore Via email
Is this your legacy?
I recently ended up driving a 2020 BMW 520d as a courtesy car, and my experience seems very at odds with your rather glowing road test review.
I’ve always enjoyed driving BMWs, having owned several myself over the years (although never a 5er), but this has changed my opinion of the brand.
Despite being an M Sport model, it didn’t seem very well specified, with several notable omissions.
The sat-nav kept sending me down closed roads and the real-time traffic data was about as accurate as the month-ahead weather forecast.