Talked to my dealer today and they were able to grab a C320 Coupe today, which was not available for order on Friday. The car is currently spec'd as an Alabaster White/Oyster Leather, C2, Automatic, but can be changed. No pricing data available, it is showing as $777,777. If interested in a contact for it, let me know. Car is in the Columbus, Ohio area.

Now why was I there...trying to decide if I really need to have a C32...

 

I take it $777,777 means no pricing available yet?

 

Correct. They can't see anything firm on pricing as of yet.

Also, this car is physically not built yet, it is pending and has a build date window assigned.

Also, the C230 Sedan was also confirmed for me today. Yes, a sedan with the 1.8 from the C230 Coupe.

 

Cool! Now when is the C32 AMG Coupe and C30 CDI coming

And the sedan too! Well, that sure takes all the wind out of the other thread about the merits of a 230 Sedan...its coming

I think its a great idea, personally.

 

Actually, it does nothing to "take the wind out of" the debate on the merits of a 230 sedan. That it apparently is coming has nothing to do with the merits of it coming. You know, the distinction between "is" and "ought."

As to the merits, my initial reaction is that it is a bad idea. However, someone on one of the other treads gave a scenario that seems like a decent one. (Sorry, I don't remember who it was). A sport model, sport suspension, 17 inch wheels, etc. priced LOWER than the C240.

Apparently, that person was right on the money!

That will be a rougher riding car with a rougher engine than the 240, but being a "sport" model, those characteristics would probably be ok to the intended buyer.

The only thing MB needs to be sure to do is make sure that the car can reasonably compete, in performance and handling, with the 325i, A4, etc. It needs to have a REAL sports suspension - not the typical MB "sport" suspension.

And, I hope the 1.8 is significantly better re: noise, vibration and harshness than the old 2.3.

 

Yeah, that would be nice. But if I were putting money on it, I would bet that it will be the same kind of suspension that they have used previously for sports and nothing better.

 

It will probably have the same suspension as the 230 coupe. All US coupes come with the sport susp standard, so I bet it won't be any different than a coupe handling wise. But a coupe with 17in wheels, good tires and upgraded swaybars is an excellent handling and riding car. We need to get one of the tuner or car magazines to test a car like that compared to a stock coupe to see just how much the various upgrades help, and where the point of diminishing returns is.

 

I think the C7 Coupe handles pretty decent already. I thought the base car scrubbed more than it needed to, but that's almost 90% due to the all season tires. Sure, I'd like a little more power -on oversteer, but other than that its a great compromise between ride and handling.

 

The "sport" suspension is by no means rough riding, and the 1.8L S/C powerplant is very smooth.

Quote:

The only thing MB needs to be sure to do is make sure that the car can reasonably compete, in performance and handling, with the 325i, A4, etc. It needs to have a REAL sports suspension - not the typical MB "sport" suspension.

The 325i should be about the same in acceleration, I'll give it the edge in handling, but the 325 is SO SMALL inside, I'd take the MB.

The A4 wouldn't be a match in accelleration(stock), but would probably be about the same in terms of handling and ride. I think if I were a sedan person, I'd consider the A4 over both cars. I like the clean lines of the A4 sedan slightly better than the styling of the C class sedan, and much more so than overmined and overcooked look of the 3 series BMW sedan...the 3 series Coupe is still a nice looking car.

Quote:

And, I hope the 1.8 is significantly better re: noise, vibration and harshness than the old 2.3.

Youre so full of it. The 1.8 is smoother(dual balance shafts, smaller displacement), but the 2.3 was never a NVH monster like you make it out to be. Get in a vehicle powered by a VW, Infinity/Nissan, GM, Ford, Toyota, etc 4 cylinder(and nearly all thier 6's) motor, and then come back and talk about NVH. Nissan's 2.5'S' motor is rough 4 popper.

 

chill Outland, chill...don't get mad over someone who is simply trying to give himself some confidence boost by making fun of the 1.8/2.3 four cyclinder engine. It's just a sour grape attitude. Everybody gets em when they just bought a car and hear about something a little better is coming out.

 

No need but youre right on the money about Macphisto.

I'm not getting sour grapes over anything...sorry if it reads that way. I wouldn't take the 1.8 over the 2.3 anyway...I love the extra torque-, and its a way cooler looking motor under the hood! and its plenty smooth for my tastes.

However, having driven the 1.8L C230K, I can say there's nothing to fear there either, overall its a nice mill. Personally, I think MB should have opened up the barn and let a few more horses out with the release of the all new 1.8, but that's just my opinion.

 

i'm not a sour grape type either...

unlike many people i don't say "i wish i'd gotten the M3 instead", I SAY "AW...i wish i can have the M3 TOO... "

 

As far as I know, the 1.8 engine was developped to reduce fuel consumption. The other explanation that I see is that with the same engine for 3 models (C180K,C200K,C230K), MB will be able to reduce the costs of production.

 

...was developed with three goals in mind, and a fourth that's related:

-Lower emissions
-Lower fuel consumption
-Smoother, quieter operation
-Reconfigured intake to make an easy transition to gasoline direct injection, which of course is already available on one model of this engine in Europe.

Remember, the old 2.3 was the last iron-block gas engine in the lineup - they had originally planned to replace it several years ago with an all-alum design, but the project was a failure - the engine they came up with at the time solved none of the problems they wanted solved, and was more expensive to produce. So they went back to the drawing board, and the new 1.8 is the result.

I thought the last of the 2.3s, with the latest gen supercharger and other internal changes, was not bad at all, but from DB's perspective, this was a dead duck at the end of its life span. So we move on, actually a bit later than DB had originally planned...