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I've had the C300 a week. The obvious downsides vs the 221... Road noise is considerably higher, but only an issue at highway speeds. Ride even on Air is firmer. No infrared tint. No soft close doors. Doors lack that solidity and heft. The T4 is smooth for a T4 but you know when it's working. It sounds sporty but the effortless rush of on demand power without the racket isn't there. The TTV6 they put in the C400 for two years and then killed is probably the more relaxed performer. Of course, the car has zero prestige.
The upside...I love it. Usually I miss my old car but none of that here. The interior is a constant source of satisfaction. Tech is phenomenal and when the various gizmos are all doing their thing it's a very Zen driving experience. Variable suspension, engine and tranny mapping and steering weight makes it into a Transformer of sorts... Relaxed sport sedan or a real little monster. The T4 is loud under load but has tons of torque at the bottom, and it goes like a ***** if you let it off the chain. I will say that the moment you come off the throttle and it downshifts the engine is virtually silent.
The Burmester audio system shames the H/K in the 221. I'm still installing all my stuff though.
The driving experience vs the S is very different. You ride in the S. You drive the C. It's very balanced, light and tight, and the steering is a masterpiece. Some authentic Benz comes through in ride quality and the sense the car is solid (an illusion..,it's built with aluminum and air).
If the new E is essentially the C with more drive train refinement, a more compliant ride and more luxury amenities, I'd put it on the short list for anyone getting out of a 221. The 222 is overkill and insanely expensive. I'd wait for the six cylinder version to hit though. The E300 is launching with the same T4 I have, in a car 400 lbs heavier. It's a great performer in the little C300 but it'll likely be just enough to get by in the E.
When I do the audio next week I'll have them Hushmat the crap out of the door interiors. Might cut the highway road noise. I'm replacing the loud, stiff run flats with a very quiet grand touring tire, and of course tint so my face doesn't feel like it's being cooked. But overall very happy with the decision to get the C.
Yeah but who's really sad are the guys on the C forum. One poor fella already got himself banned because he got too worked up. But most everyone else has actually been really cool. That forum's pace is pretty frenetic compared to this one.
Don't think the E is going to be that big a leap from the C, didn't want the larger E with the same T4 engine as the C, and the C's pricing let me load one up where the same money would have put me at a mid level E. I'll be looking at them when the C's lease is up though.
That's good to know you're satisfied with the C Class . I like these cars too . How do you compare the seats or is there any competition at all between the seat comforts of the W221 and W205 ? I mean , front seats in W205 C Class has extension at the lower part of the seat ,I like to call these as tags or lips , if your car has one of these do they really work or some kinda gimmick ?
That's good to know you're satisfied with the C Class . I like these cars too . How do you compare the seats or is there any competition at all between the seat comforts of the W221 and W205 ? I mean , front seats in W205 C Class has extension at the lower part of the seat ,I like to call these as tags or lips , if your car has one of these do they really work or some kinda gimmick ?
I don't think the seat extenders are gimmicks. You see them in a lot of small to mid-sized luxury cars where the seats aren't nearly as big as the S-class. I had them on my E60 M5 and they definitely added more support to the hamstrings.
It has them and they work, but they create a little canyon for dirt to collect. Overall seat comfort is good, lots of adjustment and good lateral support. Seat bottom isn't as cushy. Cooling is stronger than in the 221. Lumbar control is down on the seat bottom and it seems to have a mind of its own. No massage or active bolsters.
One strange thing. The little issue I had in my heel that lead to the surgery (which didn't touch it) is suddenly going away. No idea why, just some change in the geometry.
One strange thing. The little issue I had in my heel that lead to the surgery (which didn't touch it) is suddenly going away. No idea why, just some change in the geometry.
Omg, if that happened to me I would feel like putting a smile on that hospitals face.
Doesn't seem like that long ago that the C class was viewed as the poor man's Mercedes. But I sat in one at the dealer a couple weeks ago with a leather interior and thought "this is pretty nice."
The interior is very nice on the c class, it just seems like a girls car, mainly bc it is. I see 28 of them a day near me, usually bought for a young girl. But Im glad you like it and better you leased it.
Ha! Yeah I'm sure when people see a young guy in an S they presume he borrowed his Dad's car. Can't win. I think there's probably a disconnect between how S Class drivers think they're perceived on the road and the actual perception.
But you may be onto something with the C being a chick car. My wife and daughter love the C but were meh on the S. They said it felt like an old dude's Mafia car.
Doesn't seem like that long ago that the C class was viewed as the poor man's Mercedes. But I sat in one at the dealer a couple weeks ago with a leather interior and thought "this is pretty nice."
My first impression was "nice try Mercedes". You took a boring compact sedan and tried putting some S Class lipstick on a C Class pig. It took a few days of driving it to "get" it. It's not a "baby S Class" whatever the f that is. It's a very well executed, fun to drive, compact sport sedan from the same guys who build the S Class. That's it.
Ha! Yeah I'm sure when people see a young guy in an S they presume he borrowed his Dad's car. Can't win. I think there's probably a disconnect between how S Class drivers think they're perceived on the road and the actual perception.
But you may be onto something with the C being a chick car. My wife and daughter love the C but were meh on the S. They said it felt like an old dude's Mafia car.
The W221 has an element of a younger following where the paradigm is 22" rims, tinted windows, quad exhuast and some other assorted cosmetic updates. Then there is the older crowd that tends to be more conservative, although there is some crossover.
There is some element of having a status symbol type car, which has both upsides and downsides with regards to ownership.
I tend to like material quality, so I'm with you on the C. I like fast, nimble, smaller cars, so I find it an attractive choice, combining a nice level of finish with a smaller footprint. However, I think I'd really like the C63. I'm a sucker for the V8 soundtrack so it's sort of a personal preference. I also like the "over the top" unnecessarily quick performance.
But
- a new C63 is $80k or so, above my willingness to spend discretionary income, even on a lease.
- even in 3 years, it may be more than I'd like to spend, but I'll be clear of college expense, which without grants and academic scholarships that my daughter has obtained, would have been $63k per year. Of course there's grad school, but while I may help, she's going to have to work that out.
- I'm in the northeast, up on a hill, so 4wd is a requirement for one of the family cars. So the rear drive only C63 may be a non-starter.
- I may swap out the Volt for a 2011 Touareg TDI if I can snag one on the cheap. They're impacted by the VW scandal and I like buying low.
I'm with you on the C63. Beside the engine, the 63 gets a vastly different suspension, and different body work including wider fenders and a different hood. Plus of course the brakes, exhaust, etc. In the flesh it's a stunning car, and I was okay with the pricing. The ride was the only turn off. If I could put a C63 on AirMatic that would have been perfect. So I figured I'd build the most expensive C300 I could come up with instead.
I used to have a sport package 135i convertible, that had a pretty active ride, especially with the run flats. I put on Michelin Supersports, 10mm wider front and rear, which gave a bit more sidewall, and the improvement in ride quality was pretty dramatic. It eliminated the harshness on sharp bumps.
The newest run flats are supposed to be a bit better, but the oem Re050a run flats were like concrete.
The other thing I felt was required is a spare tire kit, with a jack and tools. There was a kit offered by BMW that had a bag with an alloy spare wheel and tools that clipped into attachment points in the rather small trunk.
I assume the C63 is firm but not harsh, but not sure about that.
The interior is very nice on the c class, it just seems like a girls car, mainly bc it is. I see 28 of them a day near me, usually bought for a young girl. But Im glad you like it and better you leased it.
I drove to Newport, Oregon for the weekend and saw countless C-Classes... Not a single W221. The only S I saw was a blk/blk W222 with the dealer logo still on the licence plate. That car is so narrow! Only was I could quickly see its a not a C-class was from the length of the car from the side. I like that few people own the S.
'Cedes Symbol(thats an index finger)
Last edited by mercedesbenzs55; 04-03-2016 at 11:34 PM.
Ha! Yeah I'm sure when people see a young guy in an S they presume he borrowed his Dad's car. Can't win. I think there's probably a disconnect between how S Class drivers think they're perceived on the road and the actual perception.
But you may be onto something with the C being a chick car. My wife and daughter love the C but were meh on the S. They said it felt like an old dude's Mafia car.
I hav an independant mechanic that i use and when I pull up in the s he asks me why i drive an old mans car! LOL
The C is MB's bread and butter car. It's intended for mass consumption. The S market is considerably smaller. I realized this when I did a national AutoTrader search for a 15/16 C and there were 17,000 hits.
I drove to Newport, Oregon for the weekend and saw countless C-Classes... Not a single W221. The only S I saw was a blk/blk W222 with the dealer logo still on the licence plate. That car is so narrow! Only was I could quickly see its a not a C-class was from the length of the car from the side. I like that few people own the S.
'Cedes Symbol(thats an index finger)
I took a trip in the S to my hometown in Upstate NY. At a certain point I realized we hadn't seen another S for a long time. When I got up to my little town people looked at us like we were gangsters or something. One night, on the way back to our hotel, I caught a sheriffs deputy right behind us. He tailed us for a good twenty minutes, until we were almost to the hotel and then lit me up.
He was in a near felony-stop stance and approached very carefully. I put both hands up high on the steering wheel (good idea if you get a twitchy cop) and then he relaxed when he saw we were just your basic couple. Told us to have a nice night and left.
So basically I got pulled over for "Driving An S Class in Geneseo NY."
04-02-2016, 10:42 PM
