Bud

I ordered a C230K a couple of days ago. Blue, c2, c4, 6speed. I ordered it from a dealer about 2 - 3 hours away, and I hate the sleazemen at my local dealer so I'm asking some q here instead of trying to drag any info out of them.

Is the cassette player hidden? I can't see it in any photo's so far.

Does anyone have links to photopoint-type albums, especially with cars in Orion (not that I ordered that forbidden color

Are there separate brochures for the sedan and coupe? I may drop by my local **** (oops, 'dealer') to pick one up.

Is there only one cupholder, a wide mouth hole in the center console?

How well does the back window stay clean? I can't believe it doesn;t have a rear wiper? How about in the rain, i.e. can you even see out the rear if stopped in the rain?

Does the rear of the sunroof tilt up for ventilation?

Does it come with floor mats?

What are the folks in the north doing about driving it in the winter? Is anyone going to try it with the std tires? What about putting extra weight in the back?

I've not had a rwd car for over 20 years, so what do I need to re-learn about rwd handling vs fwd (or va awd?)

Has anyone yet experienced ESP actually helping them? I keep thinking that if one tire looses traction, a couple others will too and ESP is not going to help. 4 tires x no traction = no traction. I guess I don't see that many times where you have different traction levels on the two sides of the car.

Has anyone had the traction control system kick in?

russ9908

Picked my C230 up last week (obsidian,charcoal leather, c1, c5, auto) and can answer some of your ??.

The tape deck is behind the radio display, it folds/tilts down for access.

The coupe is included in the overall C Class brochure.

Only one cup holder in the center console.

The rear portion of the panorama roof is fixed and does not open, although there is a separate retractable sunscreen for it.

It comes with standard MB carpet floor mats.

Am sure the other readers will provide you with additional info. Enjoy.

MB-BOB

Actually there are two cupholders. One is a highly over-engineered pop-up kind that climbs out of the center console and displaces toward the passenger seat (so that it's out of the way while you stir the 6-speed box). The second is the hole from which the first holder pops-up. It's got a rubber bottom, etc. Neither cup holder will accommodate a 64-oz Big Gulp, but medium size drinks fit reasonably well.

I think I understand your sunroof question differently. If you mean to ask whether the movable sunroof tilts up at the rear for ventialtion in addition to retracting over the roof, I believe the answer is YES. The rear part of the Panorama roof is fixed, as noted elsewhere.

I have a sedan, and the ESP seems to work more often than I thought it would. Some folks complain about hesitation in pick-up when rounding 90-degree corners (coupe and sedan). I find that this diminishes when I deactivate ESP, (which indicates that it is working mysteriously... I must be going round those corners just a little too fast!) In short, the ESP, ACR traction control and ABS work in the background with very little commotion... more refined than in other cars similarly equipped.

You've made a good choice with your C230K. Welcome to the club!

IrishinNE

I ordered a black/oyster/6sp/C1/C4/C5/C7/CD November 1.

Some answers:

There is no rear wiper. MB is selling this as a "coupe" not a hatch back.

There are two cup holders in the center console. The passenger side pops up and flips to the right when you press a button after sliding the cover back. The driver side cuphoder is the hole where the passenger side cup holder was retracted. Its pretty cool to watch. Really.

The tape deck is behind the radio screen.

It comes standard with carpeted floor mats, winter floor mats cost about $75.

The rear sun roof is fixed, the front sun roof pops up at the rear to vent and then extends over the rear sunroof to fully open. When opened you can see out of the rear sun roof although with two pieces of glass the tinting is darker. I really can't imagine getting the car without the sunroof. When my BMW loving friend first saw this, his mouth dropped open and he just said "damn". He has a great 330xi!

I think we are all getting pretty spoiled with winter driving and front and all wheel drives. ESP should make this car handle better in the snow than anything I ever drove in my younger years and I used to get around just find with a good set of winter tires in a rear wheel drive ford with a 302 V8.

tommy

Here is the link to my photopoint account, but you have to promise not to move to n. NJ when you get that certain blue color:

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/Album...043&a=13785946

Hope that works.

As far as other questions:
There is a raging debate about not having a rear wiper on the Edmunds' Town Hall c230 forum. Most people seem to think that it's no big deal, and that if the car would need one, then MB would have put one in. I'm generally with that opinion, but the water on my rear window sure didn't clean itself off this morning when I was driving to work.

I've got the c7 package (big mistake of you not getting it, imho, you might want to reconsider if it's not too late), so I'm going to get 16" rims with snow tires early next month for the winter season. Take a look at my pics, and post any remaining questions.

Rick

I concur with MOST of the above. The site www.mbusa.com has the rest of the details you were asking about. BTW, the MB winter mats aren't all that great. I was given a set by my dealer as concession for...never mind. Anyway, I've replaced them with some deep ribbed rubber mats for winter...they fit right over the carpeted set.

But Orion Blue? Check out Citron and Paprika! :p (just kidding, Orion's a great color, but we ALL seem to have it!)

young

i agree that the mb rubber mats are not that great. just a shallow sheet w/ a hexogonal pattern and the mb logo. i lucked out on a set from ebay but i'm going to buy some from mats.com. even the audi winter mats are better! can you believe that??!!!

Bud

Thanks to all who replied! A lot of what I asked is not on the MB site. I did check there 1st.

Tommy, why so hot on the C7 pkg? I actually want a comfortable ride and do not want to feel every tar strip and bump in the road, which is my understanding of the effect of the C7.

I actually prefer the look of the std wheels to the C7, though I've only see the C7 in pics, not in person.

Have you driven both std and C7 and could you give me a comparison? I'd really appreciate it.

My build is supposedly set for the end of Dec. I have no idea what the options cutoff time period is.

Lynn

I drove a C230K without C7 for 77 days and 1800 miles while awaiting delivery of the car I ordered with C7. I have had the car with C7 for 16 days and 500 miles. I have the Michelin tires. The ride is only slightly harsher with C7 than without. It is less difference than what I had been led to believe. Perhaps the ride with the Continental ContiSports would be worse. I have experienced the tires following grooves or ripples in the road surface only twice.

Cornering is much improved with the C7 package. I would assume that braking is also, but fortunately, I haven't had to do any emergency braking with either car.

I almost forgot this. The C7 wheels are a hell of a lot easier to clean than the stock ten spokes.

Oh, by the way, Bud, Orion Blue is a terrible color. Try Paprika.

greg230

i too also opted for c7 in my coupe, and test drove a c7 and a regular back to back. I didnt notice a considerable difference in ride quality, or performance. but i admit i didnt push the cars as hard as i had wanted.

personally i just wanted colorkeyed handles and thumbgrips for the steering wheel

j/k

greg

oh and mine is black, so feel free to move to philly, you will make my car all the more unique

tommy

I am so up on the option because, imho, it's a package, that when you add up all of the parts, is worth much more than $750. You really do have to see the c7 wheels in person; they're very nice, though I do understand that there are people who might like the stock ones better (having this opinion is usually the result of controlled substances). If you're getting Orion, you should really think about the visual difference between black door handles and Orion-colored ones. It makes a HUGE differences on brighter colors.

Look at the package in its totality, and it's worth it. Your results may vary.