TA-9FF

Probably OT, but I don't care.

Just came back from out of town this past weekend and drove 400 miles all hwy, cruising mostly around 80mph, with the occasional 100+ sprints. I'm always impressed how comfortable and stable my C230 is on long distance trips!

Of all my previous cars I've owned (All have been Accord's of varying MYs), this is the first car I've ever had where I won't have back and neck pains from 3+ hours of continuous driving, even with the stiffer sports suspension. What really gets me is that Accords are always built with a softer suspension, for a more comfortable ride, and yet I still always get aches and pains on road trips. What gives?

Thanks MB!

patrick_y

Hmm, while the longest trip I've ever taken in the C230 was a two hour trip, my rear wasn't in pain excessively either.

I think the suspension is a bit too firm, I prefer the BMW 325i with Sport Package, I prefer the quick reacting suspension (that's what I call it).

Ironically, and some people disagree, but I prefer the feeling of my 2005 C230KSS at high speeds than a BMW 2005 325i (not the new model) with Sport package. At high speeds, I think (some disagree) that the BMW's suspension which is softer feels less planted on the road. In addition, the Mercedes steering is superb compared to even the BMW (people usually agree with me that the Mercedes steering is better).

These cars are extremely confident all the way to the top speed of 130 mph (I haven't gotten mine there yet but I've hit around 120ish). Can't compare it to a Honda. Probably not even the S2K (that's a Honda right? I think it's the only Honda I've ever driven).

ChristianJan

I've had a couple long trips, like from SD to Riverside, and I don't get major backpains from my benz as I would if I were driving my brother's accord for about an hour and a half. Sometimes it's every other car as well, not just the accord, so I'm gonna join you in thanking MB, haha.

bxtc

I took a plane to Stuttgart Germany from Sweden to pick up my car, on the way home it took me 10 hours straigt in the car, it was very nice and the only place i got some pain was my butt, haha - but thats to be expected haha. MB+++ very comfortable!!

drexappeal

Drove to Vegas in May running on my TEIN's w/ my OZ's and absolutely no uncomfortable aches. It's a 4+ hour drive (without speeding) and driving in comfort mode.

What's even better was, by the time I got there, the gas mileage seemed to be so much better with the 19's than the stock 17's. I still had a little under 1/2 a tank left by the time I got there from L.A.

white_w203

on long drives i dont mind the stiffness. i can definitely feel the road more with the larger wheels and low profile tires. the thing im scared of on long drives is the road conditions. scared of getting a dent on my wheel or blowing out a tire.

drexappeal

Sorry this is straying a bit off the main topic, but just had to share.

I've got the Goodyear F1 GS-D3 tires on my car and I have to vouch for them being some of the toughest tires in the world (not to mention my OZ's being great quality rims). Aside from the tire noise (which I don't mind), these tires are crazy tough. I was driving on my street (lots of hills) and there is one point where there's a stop sign on the top of an incline. When I was rolling through the intersection, there was a plastic fan (square plug in fan about 3ftX3ft) that was in the road and out of my plain view. Obviously, I ran over the fan, since I wasn't able to see it. When I ran over the fan, all I could think was (how much for a new rim and new tire). I pulled to the side and inspected the tire/rim. On the surface level, everything looked okay (w/ exception to a little bit of the rubber pealing on the surface).

I went back to look at the fan and it was completely dented. I was about 3 blocks away from my house, so I drove home and parked the car in the driveway. Inspected the tire more closely and the rim. Everything seemed to be okay, so I figured I would check it later that night (and expect it to be flat). Later that night, I had to go somewhere. Checked the tire and it was still fully inflated. Started to drive (expecting vibration from a bent rim). Nothing. By the time two days had passed by, I had already driven around 150 miles (after the incident) on freeway and sidestreets. No problems!

So, moral of the story, if you want to protect your rims, the F1 is a very strong tire! Just to remind everyone, I'm running on 235/35R19 F / 265/30R19 R.

TA-9FF

I totally forgot I had Comfort mode Drex!

LOL Oh well, I'll have to remember to switch it next time I go outta town

drexappeal

Don't worry. You're not the first one to forget about that setting. I forgot about it the first 6 months that I had my car, so all the long trips I took, I could've gotten better gas mileage. I remembered the button when I was 3/4 way to Vegas from L.A. (when I already had to fill up the tank). After that, every long trip I took, I switched to C.

FrankW

MB is the first company that does a lot of R&D on the seats itself. It's one of the things that MB takes pride in along with safety and innovation.

riding 1hr in my car is far better than 1hr in my friend's e46 M3.

harpz

I must agree the C 230 is one of the most comfortable long distance cars i've been in...only one better is the E 320 and only b/c its bigger...lol...longest the car's gone: 3 drivers, 26 hours, 1 mission to get from toronto to Orlando....lol....terrific gas mileage in comfort mode so my hats off to Mercedes Benz

drexappeal

With that long of a trip, the AC is a blessing too!...LOL. All the interior odor can be eliminated with the Benz AC!...hahaha

Tangerine

i want comfort mode

mbny

I'm gonna have to disagree with a couple of things you mentioned here patrick. I noticed that you mentioned the E46 3-series with sport package being "softer" than the C230 sport. After having the 330 coupe w/ sport package for almost 4 years, I have to say that the 330 is much more firm and tighter than my C230. Also I think the 330 had slightly more comfortable seating and felt much more stable at higher speeds. I own a home on Long Island as well as Palm Beach FL and drive down to FL usually twice a year. I've noticed that in my C230 I tend to have a slight lower back pain while in the BMW I never have which I find unusual since the BMW feels tighter. I've topped out both cars several times on my way down and back and I've gotta give it to the BMW on feeling more confident at 100+ all the way to 130. the BMW is abit more harsh on the bumps and definitely has alot less body roll in the turns, but feels more comfortable on the smooth roads. Just my opinion

mbny

E46 M3 makes my 330 coupe w/ sport package feel like a Lincoln Town Car. definitely not a good comparison to the C230. M3 handles ridiculous, but is quite harsh all around. I always thought the 330's sport package included the M3 suspension, but when my cousin got his 04' M3, it felt way tighter than my car.

patrick_y

I never owned an E46 3 series, so I would value and take into higher consideration your opinion moreso than my own.

I really like the suspension on the Sport package 2005 E46 3 series more than I like the sport suspension on the 2005 C230K SS. The suspension in my opinion "reacts" faster to holes and dips in the road and is far more comfortable than the C Class. Many of my friends who own 3 series were expecting the C to be more comfortable since it's a Mercedes but they were apalled when the ride quality was as one put it "worse" and the handling wasn't as good as the 3 series (more body roll when turning the corners a bit faster).

Another thing, I think the BMW M3 is actually more comfortable than my C230 (some people think I'm daft here) but once again, the quick "reacting" suspension that does seem to "fill in the bumps in the road" (as I like to put it) and lets you feel the bump but doesn't make you jump out of your seat. I feel the C230 makes me more uncomfortable.

I also have to say, in my experience even driving a Porsche 911 (997 model) is more comfortable over the bumps than my C230. Again, everyone who hears this is surprised, only two of my associates agree with me here.

Lastly, what does dissappoint me slightly is the fact that while the C230 has such a stiff suspension, it still has a considerable amount of body roll which surprises me. I personally feel that the one I test drove felt a bit better.

I have the tire pressure set up to 4 PSI over the recommended tire pressure.

patrick_y

I thought "C" mode only gets you better fuel economy in city driving and highway driving with traffic. If I'm going at a constant highway speed of say 65 mph, would C mode help me at all?

My understanding of "C" mode is that the car starts moving in second gear (forward and reverse) and will tend to upshift faster. However, I don't see how this translates into any improvement on long highway trips (unless you're sitting in traffic, then starting from 2nd gear is a blessing).

I do understand that in city and highway traffic driving where there is more shifting and taking off from a standstill is involved then "C" mode can be beneficial.

drexappeal

I don't know, but I tested both modes to and from Vegas. Going to Vegas I used S mode and had to fill up 3/4 of the way there. Going home to L.A. from Vegas, I was in C mode and still had a little over 1/4 tank left. Even though, on long trips, you're normally going a constant speed, there are times (i.e. passing, freeway merging) that the C mode will have smoother transitions from gear to gear (especially since it starts in 2nd and not 1st).

If you're in the city and highway traffic, I never use C mode because the benefits aren't as substantial. I've tested that as well and a full tank of gas lasted me just as long driving in C mode in the city as it did driving in S mode. With all the stop and go traffic, no matter what mode you're in, you're consuming more gas just by the amount of times you are accelerating and decelerating. Even though the shift points are not as aggressive in C mode, it's still stop and go no matter what. That's unavoidable, therefore, the gas consumption will be relatively the same (especially if you have the same commute every day).

r3v1ls

Back when I had my C, the most enjoyable cruises were always the longs ones. The car was such a joy to drive on the freeways because of it's comfort, stability, and the great low-end torque.

I would agree with the rest of you guys that it's smoother than a 325i. I recently drove one back on the freeway and the handling is crisper but it didn't feel as stable on the freeways as the C did. It might be due to the heavier weight of the C which makes it feel more planted during high speed cruises. I've taken the car up to 120 and it still felt as secure as it did at 80.

drexappeal

Is the 325i lighter? By how much?

patrick_y

Thanks Drex for your assessment of the "C" and "S" mode.

The 2005 E46 325i weighs about 3200 pounds in manual and about 3285 in automatic.

The 2006 E60 325i has actually gained weight, it's 3285 in manual and 3350 in automatic.

The 2005 C230 Kompressor Coupe weighs 3250 (doesn't state manual or automatic), the 2005 C230 Kompressor Sedan weighs 3240.

THe 2006 C230 Sedan weighs 3405 (manual) and 3450 (automatic).

The weight difference shouldn't be substantial, however, since the BMW has a larger engine (it's the same block as the 330i), I would imagine that it weighs more than a 2005 C230, although according to curb weight in pounds, the difference is minimal. Keep in mind, the 2005 3 series is actually smaller than the 2005 C Class. The E46 3-series is determined as a sub-compact car when the W203 C-Class is rated as a compact car.

FixMy230K

but my experience on long drives in my 02 Kompressor are OK, but no more than that. Best seat I've found, (of course, this differs with your height, body configuration, underwear type, etc) is in the 04 Passat Wagon that my folks drive. The K seat is a bit too low for me, with my inseam of over 34" (maybe I should do some stretching before I drive )

Re:suspension--I didn't notice it when I lived in the burbs, but now that any trip begins with 10 miles on a road that's twistier than a snake having a seizure, I would like a bit softer sus.

??? Can a shop re-tune the 02 Kompressor suspension?

mbny

I don't think the M3 is more comfortable than my C230. In 45,000 miles, my BMW felt as solid as the day I picked it up from the dealership. However, now at 19k in the C230, I'm starting to notice her really loosening up abit and I hear rattles now when going over bumps. It's still a comfortable car, but being how I had a mildly soar lower back on my Florida road trip and never in the BMW, I'm gonna have to give credit where it's due. The seats in the BMW just felt more comfortable and seemed to hug me in place better. I definitely had fun driving in both though, but alittle more fun in my 330

harpz

lmao wasn't too bad we had febreeze....the worse trip was in the winter was a lil shorter then 20 hours....with some uhh...cough cough spirited driving....i hit 200 KMH and my passenegers didn't even notice just asked y everyone is driving so slow...lmao....ahhhhh good times..lol....no more trips like that school starts soon....do u think the new C class would ride the same way or do u think the car would be less easy to handle curves?..btw i am the slowest driver in our group....

I'm going to try and "borrow" my cuz's bmw and make the trip soon....he's got a 3 series based on the guys report i'll see which one is better...330's prolly more fun to drive but long distance....hmmmmm

r3v1ls

06 325ci (e46) - 3,285 (auto)
06 c230 - 3,450 (auto)
06 325i (e90) - 3351 (auto)

I didn't find the weight for the M111 C-class nor the e46 325 sedans. But from the numbers I did find I believe it's safe to say that the 3-series is lighter by about 200 pounds. The M111 engine I beliebe was also heavier than the M271.