armoredsaint

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...ic-test-review

joshg1001

...they keep talking about how heavy it is...maybe its the 4matic system that makes it feel heavy. I think 3800 pounds is in line with others in this class. Even in their car the radio button is misaligned!

BlackjackM

Ugh Aaron Robinson. By far their worst editor/reviewer IMO.

armoredsaint

the bigger dumbass is Eddie Alterman

DBOC205

Looks gorgeous! .. The car doesn't look too shabby either.

DanW205

I can't believe the C/D reviewer said that this car suffers from turbo lag. Not sure what to make of that...Drive an STi like I did, and you'll know what turbo lag is.

Ryan_U

The BMW 335 and the Cadillac ATS are 100 lbs lighter than a c400 but I can't believe any car reviewer can tell the difference of a 100 lbs especially with a more powerful engine. They just look at the spec and find what is different and then make a comment. I don't really trust car reviews because they are not blind tests. I wish they would test cars where the reviewer can't see the car brand, only the road, and then they review.

StanNH

Don't forget that almost all the earlier reviewers favored the C300 over the C400 for the reasons cited in this review. To them, the C300 felt lighter and more agile, and was more fun to drive.

The other big negative noted was the same problem other car manufacturers have when they submit cars for testing. They always want to showcase all of their technology and options, so they provide fully loaded vehicles. This, of course, drives up the price of the tested car to maximum levels; levels which are typically well beyond the average price of that vehicle. In this case, the tested car was probably something like $10K more than a modestly, but well, equipped C400.

It was a harsh review, mainly because this was not the kind of vehicle the tester favored. If this was more of a track car, and less of a luxury cruiser, he probably would have loved it. No W205 in stock form is a track car, nor are they intended to be. They are good handling and comfortable cars, made to appeal to those of us who want a more civilized and sophisticated car than the competition offers.

c4004matic

Agree completely, He was simply disappointed the car was not an AMG!!! As to his comparison with the 335 most reviewers have said exactly the opposite, that since the 335 is now "so compromised" the C400 is actually the better driving machine. You have to take all these guys with a huge grain of sand. This guy says the 400s grip is midpack, while the article just before it was gushing at the TLX handling.. The C had a skid pad of .88 and the TLX .83 can you spell oxymoron? And BTW .88 is exactly the same grip that a 335 has. Furthermore the C does not understeer, period, nor does it oversteer either, its entirely neutral, which is exactly what you would expect of a well designed AWD car that doesn't have 500HP. As another reviewer pointed out, wheel spin is an essential impossibility. That is one of the reasons it can accelerate so well, it can put all the power to the road all the time. Smoke outs are fun but they don't make cars any faster in any situation!!!!
Ill take his 335 on any track on any day and teach him a few lessons One last oxymoron, If you are passing on a highway experiencing any turbo lag is essentially impossible since the boost is available at around 1600 RPM. unless you are driving 25mph on the highway I'm pretty darned sure the would be no lag at all. Even from a standstill lag would be less than .5 seconds. On my ecoboost F150 lag is almost imperceptible on the C series its even less! I guess he must have been driving in ECO mode to even mention lag.

ezshift5

.......with few exceptions, car magazine folks (like most of us) are subject to some degree of bias.

It's been a long time since Latin class........

De guispitus non-desputandem

(and speaking of class, my turbo 4 coupe lacks the power of my college days 'Vette - - - but then again the 350/350 did not look like a large piece of jewelry)

ez

c4004matic

That 350 on those old vettes from the 70s and 80s was more of anchor than a propulsion system. Hey at least they "looked" sporty! Often they were more curbside decoration than transport since they were broken more often than not anyway

WCBenzDrvr

Meh. Kind of a shallow review and with an implied inaccuracy (he suggests the Airmatic is responsible for the agility selection, which is of course, not true). His pre-determined point of view was that it's expensive and kinda girthy so it fails both as a sport sedan and a luxury sedan. This is of course silly. The Merc is in line price-wise with a 335xi or an S4. Yes, fully tricked out it is more expensive, but it's also more luxurious with better safety features.

c400 0-60: 4.7 sec
335xi 0-60: 4.4 sec
S4 0-60: 4.4 sec

Can anyone feel three-tenths of a second? Anyone? Didn't think so. Likewise, the S4 and 335xi both do the 1/4 mile in 13.0. The Merc: 13.3. This will never be a material difference for any driver not on a timed track.

If the steering is a bit soft and the turbo a bit laggy (and from my experience it's minimal and in line with all other cars in its class) so be it. I'll gladly take it in exchange for all the upside.

c4004matic

If you can show me a 335 ix that runs 4.4 seconds to 60 Ill show you a lemon tree that produces pears! The S4 has essentially the same acceleration as the 400 though. The 335 runs about 5 secs. So its now the "SLOW" one of the group. The fact is that all these cars will out accelerate 99%+ of the cars on the road. I don't think the majority of C400 driver are going to be passing a lot of Lamborghini's, GTR's or LFA's on the road, however, they might embarrass an old AMG here or there

vols1

I thought I was on the bmw forum for a minute there. They hate it if a reviewer doesn't gush over their bimmers and god help them if they don't come first in a comparison test. Car and Driver does tend to give critical reviews but who cares because it's just one more point of view.

mihaelb

I don't think that it was the reviewer's preference, as some of you assert, for a sportier car. To me, the review reads as biased against this brand. Negative (and neutral things) are exaggerated, and positive things are 'reported-on' as objective items, with just little praise sprinkled-in to seem like it's a fair review.

Suffice it to say that if this was the only review I'd have read about this car, I would never have considered it. Thankfully, we live in the internet age, where one misguided/angry reviewer's opinion no-longer carries much weight.

mihaelb

No, read the review again, and tell me that it wasn't written in a prejudiced stance from the onset. Things that should have been minor negatives or neutral are blown out of proportion (in a negative way), whereas positives are glossed-over.

MJ50

where's the photo taken by the "other" photographer???

StanNH

Is this really that far off base?

" The person who buys this C400 isn’t looking for ultimate lateral grip or hand-slicing steering sharpness, but maxi-button luxury in a small package. And at this odd job, the car excels."

Capt Slo

I don't see this review as being negative in any way, shape, or form. It's basically stating what Mercedes is excels at, and that isn't being a sports sedan to rival BMW or Audi, rather a luxury automobile with great details.

I've mentioned it in other threads but this exactly why I'm buying a W205! I've owned plenty of "fun" cars to drive and this time I wanted to try a "cruiser" and this car hits the nail on the head.

Here's a quote from the article that speaks volumes to me...
"This is a product for people wanting an S-class that is able to sneak into compact-car parking spots."

If I wanted a sports sedan I would have never considered a Mercedes in the first place.

StanNH

Couldn't agree more. I've also had tons of sports sedans, sports cars, and muscle cars. I wanted a compact luxury sedan that gave me competent handling, economical operation, and style. I wasn't in the market for yet another harsh riding sedan that got great write-ups but was impossible to live with on a daily basis.

The W205 is exactly what I was looking for, it's what I wanted this time around, and I think MB knew precisely what they were doing when they introduced this series.

c4004matic

And they already started winning awards for it too!
KBB best luxury sedan of the year.
They will probably get the highest luxury sedan from consumer Reports too. The initial review was gushing.

PeteInGilroy

I agree Consumer Reports initial overview raves about the car. That "First Drive" report was published about 6 weeks ago and ended by saying "it certainly has the potential to land among the highest rated sports sedans, but we won't know that for sure until our formal tests and evaluations are completed in the weeks ahead". Well, I'm still waiting for that final Report.

bwoodbmw

Yup... people keep getting offended when anybody says that it isn't as sporty as the 3 series... I own a 335 and have spent real time now test driving the C400... the c400 is not as sporty as the 335, it may be just as quick but if I needed a car as a getaway car after robbing a bank and those were my only two options you bet I would be picking the BMW. That said, pending any announcement about a C450 I will likely buy a c400 in the next 12 months. I don't need a getaway car that makes me want to drive fast all the time, I want a mini luxury cruiser that can be a bit sporty when I push on it.

gfmohn

From late July on, I Googled repeatedly for C-Class reviews. I have favorites for about two dozen of them. (Of course, some of the earlier of them, which were based on auto show displays were not based on actual driving.) NONE of them criticized turbo lag. They said either zero turbo lag or barely perceptible turbo lag.

Eilers

I read an interview with one of the key engineers behind the new petrol engines,(it was in german on this site) http://blog.mercedes-benz-passion.com/

I am unsure if he was speaking only for the 4 cyl. or also for the V6 engines, but he mentioned several times, that they focused very hard on giving the engines maximum low end torque, even at the cost of peak horsepower figures.

They arguably succeeded, as peak torque is reached as low as 1.200 rpm on the 4 cyl. engines.