My C350 4M driving experience so far...
 

Hi all,

In reading some of the posts, I think the general consensus is that the new C350 Coupes may not be as quick as everyone likes, but I have to say, this car is plenty quick (and I suspect quicker than the manufactures spec sheets suggest).

I've now passed the break in kms and have opened it up here and there and was really impressed with the power.

My last car was Challanger SRT8 with the BIG hemi (not the little one), and no my Mercedes isn't as quick as that beast was, but I tell you, there's not much between them when I'm at highway speed in sport mode putting the pass on someone.

The revs on my 2013 C350 4M climb very smooth and quickly and before you know it, you're going from 120km/h to 170km/h. It also makes a lovely note from the exhaust when you get on the throttle.

I went on a road trip earlier this week with a co-worker. It was a three hour drive to the destination and it went by in no time because the ride was so excellent. The car feels great on long distances. The seats are supportive without being uncomfortable, I feel connected and the suspension makes the ride perfect. I never felt like I was driving an all wheel drive car either, but rather a RWD, and I drove it pretty hard in some areas.

So far so good. I am convinced I made the right choice. I can't wait to try out the 4Matic system next (I've had a Quattro before, so this will be an interesting comparison for me) and test its prowess in the snow.

Thought I'd share my impressions with you.

Best regards,

JP

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c1...0Coupeside.jpg

Congratulations and glad to hear all is well! My last car before the Benz was a Magnum SRT8, and "beast" is indeed the right word! :eek: I loved it, but had to turn it back in and at 14 mpg, maybe 16 on the highway, it had its downsides.

As you approach winter, as good as the 4MATIC may be at delivering torque to all four wheels, I hope you are getting properly shod. Those all season tires will be a disappointment...here in Michigan, my original equipment Conti tires were treacherous. Putting on Blizzak WS60 (now its WS70) for the winter transformed the car and allows my rear wheel drive to get through the snow quite easily. The ability of the car stops at the wheels...the rest to the ground is all tires!!

Yep, I'm a firm believer in good winter tires. My old Quattro used to slip and slide just as well as the rest of the cars on the road when I wasn't paying attention with my all seasons. You can get you going better with AWD, but with a good set of snows, you become almost immune to the winter conditions.

Great...glad you understand...depending on your caliper size you may be able to get 16" wheels, but certainly no larger than 17"....215/50-17 for a narrower contact patch for better performance than OE tire size. Negligible speedometer effect is 1.98% difference, which equals 2kph (actual 100 shows 98kph) so your odometer would rack up slightly less distance.

i miss the g37 coupe's manual. the tranny in our c350s isnt to my liking at all :(
but the MB is pretty damn awesome otherwise even though its not as quick

I had 17" replicas for my winter tires and no problems

glad you are enjoying the car :)

I agree on the power and the transmission is my biggest gripe (give me a C63 style manual mode). The ride is great and very smooth, in fact it's dangerous at high speed so you don't know that you're going so fast. Great car otherwise and the more I drive the more I like.

Beautiful car. I wish I held out for a 2013, but Lonestar gave me an offer on a 2012 I couldn't refuse. How do you like the start/stop?

I have to admit, it was a bit strange at first, but I'm used to it now. When I know it's only a brief stop, I don't press my foot too hard onto the brake pedal when the car is stopped and the engine will just keep running. Hey, if it helps me save a couple of bucks on fuel, or perhaps balance things out when I'm really hard on the accelerator, I'll take it :)

What's the fuel economy on the 2013s vs 2012s? Also, you can turn the start/stop feature off, right?

Yes, with the "ECO" button. It's activated again at the beginning of every cruise, though.

not sure about fuel economy between the two, but during break in, I got 740kms to a full tank of gas. As already stated by another poster, you can turn the ECO mode to OFF by pressing a button on the dash, but the car defaults to it being ON every time you start the car.

740KMS on highway? or stop/go traffic :P

Either way that's a lot.

:zoom:

I'm happy my car doesn't have start/stop , I hate that thing! lol I always feel like I stalled :D

Canad C350 4M
 

I have a question for Canadian owners.
I just picked up my C350 with 2013 sport package and it does not have 2 things compare to 2012 ones:
1. the start/off button , I have to turn the key (at dealer they told me b/c i do not have the convenience package!!! is there such a thing anyways??)
2. the paddle shifters on the steering wheel, so the middle console shifter works but no paddle!!
I was surprised yet I have to call my dealer and ask about it.
Any one knows if this is the norm on 2013 ones?

First of all, congratulations!

Keyless Go is seperate feature...I think it's a 900 dollar option. You wouldn't have that unless you chose this feature.

Canadian 4Matics do not come with paddles, regardless of whether you chose the sport package or not. US models do come with them, for whatever reason.

So, yes, it sounds like your car is normal.

Funny, I didn't even notice it was doing it until I drove without the music on. It's very unobtrusive, in my opinion. But whatever floats your boat :)

LOL...but yes, that's probably about 70% highway. Now that I've broken it in more and driving it harder, I'm still getting near 700kms to a tank. Not great compared to many others cars these days, but certainly not bad either. (and quite a bit better than my old Hemi, lol)

I haven't had any seat time behind a model with the eco start/stop feature. Is there any delay or lag - or increased risk when flooring from a stop/red light versus an engine at idle?

I would imagine that since the engine has to restart the effect of mashing the pedal on a green light would be not exactly as ideal as desired. :nix:

One would think so, but my experience is that it starts the engine as soon as you raise your foot off the brake pedal, so it's pretty instant. Obviously not as instant as having it running all the time, but if you want that, as I said, it can be turned off, or you can just rest your foot lightly, rather than firmly on the brake pedal to ensure the engine doesn't stop to begin with. It's really not a big deal. (and I felt the same way you do about that feature when I first heard about it)