Met with my dealer over the weekend. He informed me of all the changes for the MY-03 C-Classes:

1. As most of you know the C coupe comes w/ a 1.8L S/C motor now.

2. The C320 coupe will be out in January.

3. They will be coming out with Flexible fuel vehicles (C320 sedan, wagon, and coupe.) Don't ask me what that is...

4. New 2.6L engine for the C-Class wagon (C240)

5. 4Matic option for C320/C240 wagons & sedans.

6. Tele-aid and auto-dimming mirrors now optional.

7. Sport package has been removed for MY-03 (Stay tuned for the new C-Class sport vehicles.)

8. New door handles inside.

9. Power steering column adjustment moves from door to steering column.

10. Window switches: New child safety symbol.

11. Air condition modification from "EC" to "AC off"

12. Air condition display "MAXCOOL"

13. New air conditioning directional diagram.

14. Optional heated steering wheel for sedans and wagons.

15. New brown poplar and charcoal cinnamora wood trim option for sports coupes.

16. C320 comes standard now w/ a 6 speed manual tranny.

The last change is my favorite. I have a 2001 C320 and I'm thinking of swapping for an '03 C320 manual. I get bored driving automatics. Regarding the C-Class sports vehicles, my dealer is not sure yet what options it will have. This is replacing the sport package. My guess is it will have the AMG body kit and the rest of the sport package features it used to offer.

Hope this gives everyone a better idea on what's to come. Especially those people looking to buy '03 models.

Looks like MB's trying to get into the BMW/Enthusiast market by coming out with a manual tranny for the C320 and sports vehicles for the C-Class.

Cheers!

 

i got the impression you were more interested with the sedan than coupe but the coupe also has 1.8 badging on the fenders and the wind reducer on the pano roof.

 

also i think the lock is deleted from the trunk

 

Another important change is the shape of the turn signal and cruise control stalks. I presume the voice activation stalk has also been changed. Also two thumbwheels for the vents have been deleted.

 

also led's for the turn signals in the mirrors for the sedans, yet to be confirmed for the coupe

 

03 Coupe has a seat belt attachment
" can close roof with "tunnel" mode
" Removed the top vent wheel and the cold vent wheel


Erik

 

Sounds like your dealer missed all the obvious ones. He must have been reading out of a brochure and has no clue about the actual car.

 

Does anyone know if something is supposed to light-up when the cruise control is engaged on the 2003 C-320? I don't see anything showing the cruise control is engaged.
Thanks,
Bob (New 2003 C-320 owner)

 

Nothing lights up to indicate cruise control activation in the 2002s. I assume this is still the case for 2003.

Cheers, BT

 

anyone got a picture of the NEW interior door handle?

i thought they don't have any sort of sport pkg for C-class sedan this year? if they do, amg kit would be nice.

 

I didnt get the wind Reducer with my 2003

 

I don't think I got the 1.8 badging or the wind reducer either! I dunno if I really wanted either tho hehe. I did notice that the new C230ks on the lot (after I picked up my car) had the 1.8 badge, never realized it wasn't on mine.... Maybe I'm missing something here? LOL

 

When did you get your car? These two things have only been appearing on the coupes in the past month or so. The early build 2003's won't have either of these items. They both seemed to appear at exactly the same time.

 

anybody got a picture of the so called wind reducer thingy? i was at the dealer yesterday and did not notice the thing

 

Here is a picture of the wind diffuser. Actually it is barely noticable, it blends pretty well with the pano-roof. Also take a look at the passenger interior door handle, it looks the same to me. This car also had the 1.8 badge, viewed in the next picture.

 

Here is the LH front side 1.8 badge. I think I would shave this turkey if my 2003 would have had them. I think they could have made them more sporty, perhaps an insert to the fender molding.

 

This is a rear LH corner shot showing the tail badges of the same C230 as above.

 

cool, thanks for the pictures.

btw if it's me, i'd leave the 1.8 badge on. just so that you can tell people it's a 1.8 liter engine that kicked their ***.

 

The 1.8 badge seems awkward in conjuction with the 230 badging. They should just put a 180K in the back, although they'd probably make the car look low-end. But if they didn't want that, maybe they should just leave out the 1.8 badge. Not that there's a problem with 1.8L engines, the Audi ones are great, but it seems to occur to the typical MB owner that bigger numbers = better trim.

That black Coupe in the back of the picture looks beautiful, I miss the gloss of my Coupe But I dont' feel like washing the car in -6 celsius temperature. What do you guys do in the winter to keep it clean?

 

that black one in the last pic is the new CLK.

 

They're a bit off, but nowhere near as hideous as the front fender badges on the C 32. The closest thing to this I can remember was on the doors of the Renault Le Car

 

heeeeeeeeey

oh well...you are right...hahahaha

 

No, the car in the back ground is an SL500.

 

Here is a close up...

 

Oops my mistake! I was wondering why the C230 looked so sporty all of a sudden in that picture lol