mb_bilal

Hi, I am considering buying either a 95 or 96 MB C220. There both fully loaded with rims with about 200,000km on the 96, and 213,000km on the 95. The asking price for both is $8,000 for the 96, and $7400 for the 95. The 96 colour is Beige/Beige, and the 95's is Grey/Grey. I was just wondering from you guys, whats the horsepower in these cars, and how is the performance on them, the cost of the upkeeping, and the 0-100km time. ALSO WANTED TO KNOW THE TOP SPEED. I really like this car, and considering its a 4 cylinder thatd even better with raging gas prices. SO TELL ME GUYS HOW IS THE MERCEDES-BENZ C220??

MattB

I assume those prices are CDN? They're pretty solid cars from my understanding, but when things break its expensive.

davis449

The horsepower is a dismal 148 with 155 ft/lbs. of tourque. I would go for a C 280. However, they are pretty solid cars and I'd imagine the top speed would be around 125-130 if you had a good amt. of distance to get it up that fast. 0-60 times are around 10 seconds.

NdnMbLova

I would highly recommend getting a '99 and up c230k or a c280. By this time the 202 had been tweaked very well and they have few maintainence issues, however as is with all mb cars to upkeep them is very expensive.

mb_bilal

I am sure the C280 is a fabulous car but seeing the gas prices, and the fact i don't live in Germany where they don't have a speed limit, the C280 is to excessive for North America. The power in that car, and even the C220 won't be able to run at their full pontential here in North America. Everyone wants the bigger and better, esp here in Ottawa our countries capital. But nowhere to use that power. Now look at the gas prices, their at a all time high. The Mercedes-Benz C220 and the C280 are basically the same cars with different engines. So why not get the C220 and save some money on repairs and on the gas pumps. Me getting a C280 and paying for two extra cylinders and 40hp, and whats worst i can't use it to its full pontential is even worst. It doesn't add up. The C230 Kompressor is a good car too, but same thing, more at the gas pumps, and too much power for our roads. I really wish they had a C180 model here.

Alexbenz

220 or 230 is alright......your using it to get to point A- B so you'll be fine....my problem is i live on a mountain top and go up and down all the time and i want power so a 220 would be weak for me

Benzonline

How is a C280 too excessive for North America? Nothing excessive about it and no power the engine makes is wasted....it just has more power to get the car moving. My friend has a 94 C220 and it aint better on gas than my C230 Kompressor. The problem with the 220 is no low end torque...on the highway, a simple overtake requires foot to the floor to hit kickdown..with the kompressor its just a touch so the boost from the supercharger kicks in and you're off.

The deals are out there, just be patient as I got my pristine 99 C230K for $12K in Toronto.

davis449

Have you ever merged on a "North American" freeway??? You cannot tell me that you wouldn't see a use for 40 hp in that situation. It's a situation I encounter everyday too and am ecstatic I don't have to worry too much aobut dying cause my car can't get there quick enough.

MattB

194 horsepower is excessive? The C280's 194hp is low for the class too, the Infiniti I35 has 255hp, the Acura TL Type-S had 260...

Benzonline

Now, if you were talking about the C43 being excessive, which these days its not, Id understand. But C230K/280....nope. Average power.

NdnMbLova

I was gonna say the same thing, for the w202 chasis i think that the c220 is a little too little. To do highway driving comfortably you need the 2.8l engine and esp when overtaking people or even merging onto a highway you need it. The gas mileage is almost the same and youll be thankful if you get the extra 40 horsepower. Its the difference btwn having the power when you need it and not having it.

Benzonline

Dont get me wrong..the C220 is great and can move the car but the thought of having to use kickdown constantly and to watch the RPM travel close the redline to pass someone isnt my cup of tea (sometimes)

K_Sport Driver

i would go further to say that the 230k has below average power for these days. look at its newer rivals. Lexus IS, Acura TSX, etc. almost all of them have more power and better reliability. if you think THESE are excessive, i'd hate to see how you'd react to a ford GT or Enzo

Benzonline

Well of course but still hella fun to drive! In 1999 I think it was "average"...these horsepower wars only started now.

rcltrh

I have a 96 C220 and it's a great car. Got 156K miles, 33 mpg with or without the ac (for some reason ac doesnt seem to matter for mileage) but I can tell a lack of accelerating power with the ac on. I have no problems getting up to speed in merging on Arkansas interstates, and I constantly drive in the 75-85 MPH range back and forth to work 5 days a week 30 miles each way and the engine is quiet as can be and I never have to kick it into the downshift to pass or get onto the interstate, although sometimes it kicks in while climbing the mountain to my house if I have 4 passengers. Rock solid car, and as far as 4 cyl's go its actually not bad - much better than a 96 4 cyl chevy s10 pickup I had once and a 4 cyl 1991 mustang LX I had years ago. Of course not nearly as peppy as my ML430, but I still love it. Only problems I have had have been the monowiper not parking right - assume its a loose lockdown on the shaft but I havent had time to pull the mechanism - I just reach out of the car and push it down while driving if I have to, alternator replaced about 10K miles ago, transmission shifter bushing that I replaced myself, and dirty brake dust on the wheels all the time. Other than that its been wonderful and I am giving it to my daughter next year when she turns 16.

rcltrh

Ok so I remembered another couple things NEVER EVER EVER use anything but premium gas or the check engine light will be in before you pull out of the gas station lot, individual instrument cluster lights have to replaced every now and then but you can do that yourself, and they also had lots of problems with the wiring harnesses in the 95's and older but fixed that problem in the 96's so I'd go with the 96 for that reason alone, but that's my bias I guess. Thought I would add those negatives just so you'd know.

mb_bilal

I hear ya guys. The thing i am fine with a Mercedes-Benz C220, enough power and torque for me. I test drove this car today for about 1 hour drove it on the road and on highway ran beautifully and to my standards. I am sure this car would be good enough for going over mountains. I had a fun time with this car today. I talked to a Mercedes-Benz dealer about this particular car, it does 0-100km in about 13.4seconds. Which isn't to bad for this type of this car. Im not looking for performance really, im looking for luxury. If i wanted performance, i would buy the much more expensive E36 BMW 318i or 328i, which are one of the best cars ever made.

mb_bilal

rcltrh, thanks for the advice. I will take it into account about the gas thing too. I only put premium gas in all my cars, it cleans as you drive and also you get good performance out of your car. If i put premium 91 octane fuel for this car, it will be a rocket.

ddtham

Why is the E36 more expensive in Canada? And what do you mean by "this type of car"?
BTW, 318i is slower than C220 Glad you like the C220

mb_bilal

The 318i had many engines produced for the E36 model. Im talkin about the the M44 engine referred to as "318is" coupe and saloon in europe. The top speed in that car is around 129mph with the Automatic transmission, and around 132mph for the Manual transmission. Im talking about the sedans/coupes. My friend has a 96' 318i, i asked him to pull out his manual for me, and it says it right there in "KM" though.
The C220 has a top speed of about 130MPH with the only option of the automatic transmission.
Factoring these figures in, it turns out that the automatic 318i model is slower by 1 mile, but the 318i has a smaller engine and 10hp less than the C220, so its not that bad. Plus the 318i lighter than C220, handles better and plus overall fit and finsh of its sporty look is amazing. Getting around with the 318i in a normal driving condtions would be much quicker, because the 318i's pickup would better than C220 with a manual 318i and at par with a regular 318i with automatic transmission. The 318i does 0-100km in around 9-10seconds with manual, and 10-12seconds with the automatic trasmission. So infact the 318i turns out being much quicker becauase the 0-100km on a C220 is 13.4 seconds. However, I am going for more of a luxury car and thats why I am looking for a C220, or if i can get a really good deal on a 318i.

Benzonline

13.4

Didnt seem that slow when I drove one. However a C230K would do 8!

mb_bilal

I am quite sure with the Supercharger it could, but the late W202's could have been more agressive looking as they are today.

ddtham

I know that you were talking about the 318i saloon/coupe. That thing is super slow.... I know this because couple years ago there was a race in my car club between 97' 318i and 95' Honda Cielo Accord. They are both stock, and the accord beat the 318i by couple of car-lenghts. When the accord faced C200 (yes, a C200), they were dead even. Mind you that they are all manual. I can't believe that C220 is slower than 318i.

Besides, where did you get 13.4 for C220? if you check car-stats.com, its more like around 9s.

BMW gave this number on their E36 manual booklet:
318i 0-100KM/H 11.3sec
320i 9.9sec
323i 8.0sec
328i 7.0sec(?)
These numbers are for MT.

mb_bilal

That can't be right, my friend has a different number in his manual. There were many different engines made for the 318i. I had the pleasure of driving my friends 96 318i, it was a pretty quick car. It sure did feel quicker than the C220 buts my personal opinion. But anyways back to the C220. I wanted to know from you guys what sort of packages were available for the C220 in 1995/1996. I also looked at some 1997-1998 C230 any major differences between the C220 and C230. Also before buying this car, what are the costs associated in the upkeep???

YJ97C230

I have 97 C230. with only 100k km at the moment in Montreal.
here are my thoughts from experience.

- down shifting is very slow in automatic gear. need to press pedal to the floor to downshift on the highway.

- low rpm power is weak. it pushes car only after about 3000rpm.

- floaty stock ride, with lots of body roll. (eibach pro springs are on the way).

- not so bad on gas, especially on the highway.

- I don't have traction control, so very very slipery in winter. (I opted for studded winter tires to compensate for this, it's forbidden in Ontario).

- very tight back seats.

- very expensive if something goes wrong. (C$500 for MAF sensor for example)

that's all I can think of right now.

between the the two, I would go for 96 if you don't mind the color. In fact I have beige/beige but I HATE the color. look so old people's car. well, my father's old and he owns it