Benz or nothing. Mercedes and others. You must have surely heard any of
these rhetoric from Mercedes Benz admirers if you stay in Nigeria,
Africa’s largest country by population.
In Nigeria, people –
especially young people – fantasize over Mercedes Benz products as
though they are magical creatures and or they are totally different from
other brands’. Don’t get me wrong. Mercedes are QUITE different. But do
they totally worth all the hype they get here?
Nigeria is one of
the poorest countries in the world. With 91 million living in abject
poverty, the UN believes that more poor people are found in Nigeria than
anywhere else in the world. But there’s a growing trend among young
people in Nigeria; One that has to do with many young men between the
ages of 18 and 35 driving fleets of exotic-looking, expensive Mercedes
vehicles even when there’re no solid business or income to point to as
the source of their car-purchasing financial power. The ones that don’t
drive a Merc yet lick their lips in hunger when they pass one. Though
unconfirmed, there’s a belief that some young people visit certain
shrines of spiritualists with female panties and underwear in exchange
for money to buy “Benz”. Some are said to have “sacrificed” their
destiny to afford one while others “sacrifice” other people for the same
purpose. Although this weird myth is unconfirmed, it has gained
popularity within local media. The group of people that participate in
such processes are referred to as “yahoo boys” and they are connected to
internet fraud.
So, is there anything like Mercedes and others?
Depends
on how you see it. On the outside, Mercedes cars look more appealing
than the “other” car brands, mostly. But are looks quite enough?
In
Germany where Mercedes vehicles are manufactured, BMW makes vehicles
that out-perform the former’s cars nearly all the time when compared in
the same range.
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BMW fans say that Mercedes GLE Coupe copied the X6 interior and exterior design
In
terms of super luxury, BMW also makes Rolls Royce cars (although in a
separate location) which are often used by royalties and important
people. Come on. We like Mercedes but there’s hardly anyone that would
pick a Mercedes over a Rolls Royce when luxury is the only aspect being
considered, we have to admit.
Extending our beam-light on
European car brands, we have the Bentley, Bugatti, Porsche and
Lamborghini. All four are owned by Volkswagen and are practically the
fastest cars on earth. They have their cars occupying 7 spots in the top
ten list of Nurburgring record holder’s list as at today. The first
Mercedes on the list is the Mercedes-AMG GT R (2017) at number 12 right
before a Japanese-made Nissan GT-R NISMO (2015) at number 11.
Speaking
of the Japanese, they make some of the most reliable vehicles on earth
according to recurring performance data gathered by different
organizations in the world over the past two decades.
For
example, Consumer Reports’ data shows that either Lexus, Toyota or Scion
held the record for the most reliable car brand every year since 2010.
All three brands are owned by Japan’s Toyota Motor Corporation.
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Toyota is the world’s biggest vehicle brand with over 8 million sales in 2018.
In
the latest Forbes list of reliable car brands for the year 2019, Lexus
took the number one spot, its parent company Toyota came 2nd while
Mercedes sits at faraway disappointing 17th position, coming out worse
than fellow European brands Audi, BMW, Porsche and Volkswagen.
Conclusion
Mercedes
are very cool to own. We get it. Even Mercedes at some point said they
want their vehicles to look more appealing to young people. We get it
but not all of us want bright-looking fancy cars to attract 20-year-old
university girls and all that. Some of us are engineers who would prefer
a Hilux or Ford F1 for tough jobs. Others are very busy lawyers,
bankers and doctors who want to spend less time repairing their vehicles
so they opt for a reliable Corolla or Honda Accord. Then there are rich
elites who travel only in a Landcruiser or Lexus LX 570 for safety and
ego.
Our verdict is that the Mercedes Benz brand might worth the
hype among teenagers as the fancy go-to brand for quick showoff, but
among the majority populace, it is still the overhyped and overrated
brand that has failed to prove to be neither the strongest, fastest,
easiest to maintain nor the best car for status symbol or luxury.