Nostromo

I just took delivery of a 2006 pewter/ash c230 6-speed yesterday and wanted to post some initial impressions regarding the engine. The V6 is quite smooth at idle with the engine note being a tad, how should I say, raspy. That's most likely due to the high compression the motor runs. Beyond idle, the engine is very flexible and pulls smoothly from anything over 2000 rpm. The engine has a clean mechnical note and is devoid of the roughness I had observed in the 1.8 Komp. All out acceleration comparison between the two? Hard to say, but it does feel like the V6 pulls longer in each gear than the 1.8 could. Mid-range is very good and the gear ratios seem wonderfully matched to the motor. The six speed shifter is close to that of a Miata in travel and slots in cleanly with the exception of reverse and first. Overall, the new powertrain is very good.
One observation: passing through 2900 rpm in second and third, the engine, seems to hit a flat spot. It's very subtle and momentary. Similar to a shift in an automatic but much more faint. It only does it under moderate load conditions and not if you accelerate through the rpm range very slowly. I was wondering if any other 2.5 owners had observed anything similar. Please let me know.

akbro93704

Congrats on your car!! Pewter is a great color.I thought MB would have made the idle smoother in these new V6's.Our '00 E320 makes lots of diesel like clickety clack sounds at idle, as do all other Mercedes V6's(and the Sohc 24V V8's) I have heard. Even though they smooth out under acceleration, I have never understood why they are so noisy at idle.

mick1

i experience no such thing with the 3.2 liter engine (I often would change gears at 4000 rpm)

Saprissa

that's interesting, because neither of my V6 MB's make much noise at idle.
In fact, i had both in the garage the other day to compare, and they were almost in a perfect synchronized humm.
I know what the diesels sound like, and if my V6 even sputtered once like that, I would be taking it in for maintenance.


Carlos

Saprissa@aol.com

slowmo

Have you ever driven the e46 BMW 325? I have a 2004 325xi and thinking of getting a C-Class but I was wondering how it compares to the C230 2.5l since they are kinda close in price and power.

Congrats on the new ride. Did you get leather because I was on Edmunds and it says leather upholstery is standard but under options there was LEATHER. Do they mean some parts of the interior is leather standard (leather inserts)?

Again Congrats

mbny

i think you definitely need to test drive one to make a decision. the C230 could have the upper hand due to the AWD on your BMW and some added weight as well. also take a look at the 06' 325i and take that for a drive, then see which you like best

mbny

although i still think the C230 with 1.8L supercharged is a good deal, the new C230 with V6 is a great deal IMO. haven't driven one yet, but i'm sure the engine is smoother and probably quieter than the 4 cylinder. at idle and when first starting to drive off, the engine noise on my 05' makes it clearly obvious that there's a 4 cylinder under the hood. still a nice car, but having a V6 would make me love this car even more. wish i had known there was gonna be a V6 available only 4 months after me getting my car. i would've definitely waited

Nostromo

slowmo, I did not get the leather option. The car has leather 'seating inserts' which means all the seating surfaces are leather while the sides and back of the seats are vinyl. One can hardly tell the difference though. I haven't driven an e46 325 but a 330. Definite power difference but the MB 2.5 rolls through its rpm range with just as much smoothness as the I6, and dare I say feels a touch more livelier. I feel this may be due to the smaller inertia of the rotating parts (shorter, hence lighter crankshaft) in the 2.5 V6. The feel of the transmission (shifter throw and gear engagement) is far superior to that of the 330 which had unusually long throws.

Amy_fl

I just bought a new '05 c230k auto trans. on Monday. I actually test drove the '05 (auto) and then the '06 (7spd auto) right afterward. I decided I preferred the '05's feel more (not to mention that I was able to negotiate the price much more than the '06). The '05 felt a little lighter in the front of the car (due to the smaller engine) and makes the steering easier for me. The '06 steering felt really stiff to me, like it was difficult to turn the car at lower speeds. One last thing that made my decision was how rough the shifts on the '06 were, perhaps if it were tuned differently the ride would have been smoother feeling. Just my two cents!

on9

i have exactly the same experience. test drove the 05 and 06 back to back and the gearchanges on the 06 are not smooth at all. also i thought the v6 idles kind of rough and loud (a little diesel like) and i wouldn't say it's any faster than the kompressor. the power delivery is different, definitely more linear, but i wouldn't say it's faster.

amdeutsch

Incorrect. Only the fronts have those. That was changed a couple of MY ago as a cost saving measure.

slowmo

could the reason why the 2006 C-class tranny have rougher shifts because the 7spd tranny is still new and MB hasn't really perfected it yet? has the new slk shifts, anyone know? thanks

richardsayzz

my dads 04' S500 ...i think it has the 7spd tranny....already needs a tranny swap..been in the stealership for like a week

advans

I drive my C320 almost every day and I change gear at peak HP, if you see in the Brochures it says it =] no problem, But my C320 also "looses it" when peak 2 changing to 3...I tried that on a 230k SS loaner no prob, 0-30 seems quicker than my 320. My 240 just....lags...lol that car is slow thats why my brother drives that!