Tee_Tz Drives the W204 (Review)
07-23-2007, 05:23 PM
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Tee_Tz Drives the W204 (Review)
My review - 1st time with the W204
Just came from test driving the new W204 C300 Sports Sedan. It was basically "fully loaded", minus the Panorama Sunroof (Option Code 413).
The LOOK!
Right off the bat, it looks better, and I’m happy to report that the rear doesn't look as bad as it did on paper. Also at first glance it’s actually ‘noticeable’ - more prestigious, bigger, and more modern. And if that huge Mercedes star in the grille doesn’t tell people that this is a serious car, perhaps you should keep the invoice on the window. The exterior is brilliant, aggressive, sporty, classy, and modern Mercedes. The front looks so good than the only thing I could think about is how many tickets I’ll be getting for not having a front plate on. Then you open the door and suddenly for a second it doesn't even feel like a Mercedes-Benz. All the instruments, the dials, and the panels look completely different from the rest of the model range, yet similar. I unlock the doors and to my surprise the side mirrors begin unfolding - wow, that's new. I get in the car and switch on the engine on and the Comand screen opens up, firmly, smoothly and slowly (not like a Fischer Price toy). As I engage reverse gear (yes, it has the teach yourself driving in 24 hours transmission), the car starts to roll back slowly, I don't feel bumps, the steering is stiff – as if its forcing me to stay in a straight line, and the seat is hugging me like we're a newlywed couple. As we get on the road the first thing that comes to mind is - it's sporty.
The DRIVE!
From the stiff suspension to the agility body control, this car feels tight; but the question comes to mind – will it be tight and heavy (a.k.a slow), or tight and nimble. The short answer is - firm and nimble. It drives well - the noise factor has been reduced, even on max the A/C doesn't sound like a lawn mower anymore. Bumps in the road are seldom to notice and you kind of feel like you want to drive on the curvy backgrounds like Michael Schumacher, or rather Fernando Alonso/Lewis Hamilton, rather than a straight motorway (like you might in a CLS63). You feel like you can do quick U-Turns and take corners quicker than you can on any Avis Rental. It’s not lightening quick and doesn’t accelerate like a Nissan 350Z kind of sports car, but it eventually picks up the pace and makes you feel like you’re not pulling along a trailer. We get off the motorway and we get to a red light and I can finally start looking around. In the center of the dashboard there's a peculiar slot, like a space for a skinny cassette player. Well, it's for the cassettes of the 21st century, Multimedia Disks.
The TOYS!
Obviously the salesman had no clue which ones, but I reckon MMS and possible SD's – not sure if you can view pictures from your digital camera, but that’d be interesting. Really it’s for transferring music files (MP3 and WMA both will work) and it brings up those files on the Comand. Talking about the Comand – well its easy to use, basically it’ll take you an hour to browse through the whole system and a couple of days to learn to use it while speeding on the highway and eating and drinking on your way somewhere. I tried Bluetooth (my phone is Apple’s iPhone) and it was instantly recognized and works brilliantly, it’s truly hands free. The steering is shaped funny so while driving you have to make an effort to look down at the buttons so you don’t keep hanging up on the caller, but it’s a “training issue”. Oh and talking about steering controls, yes this car is finally voice activated – so you can shout at it to do something for you and sometimes it’ll understand and sometimes you’ll just do it yourself. It come standard with the AUX port in the glove box standard, but for $350 you can get the special iPod adapter, which will charge and manage your iPod music via the Mercedes Comand system. Of course the iPod adapter is only one of the many options for you to listen to music – because of course it includes a 6GB hard drive that you can store your music onto and play it (MMS/SD slot)! So forget bringing your iPod Nano. That can also be done via the CD player. And speaking on the CD player, this car didn’t have a 6 Disk CD Changer in the glove box – which is an option – but with the 6GB (2,000 songs) internal hard drive and the iPod adapter (up to 10,000 songs) and single slot CD player that plays MP3s (200 songs), and the SD/MMC slot (up to 1,000 songs)… suddenly the CD Changer becomes as pointless as having a 12-slot cassette changer. Finally for the toys section – this car can play DVD & WMA (Windows Media) movies! But here’s the catch – the handbrake must be on. So if you’re at home and someone else is watching TV and you have no other DVD Player or the computer is being occupied you can, yes, walk outside get in your car, crack open a window and play a movie in the parking lot. Trust me, the seat is more comfortable than your couch, and it the car has true surround sound thanks to HarmanKardon.
The BAD NEWS!
Well let me start by saying - it’s a good drive. Its fun, it feels like a new born baby and it’s modern to the digital age. It literally gives you so much to do inside the car and for the first time Mercedes has given the C-Class real features, not just styling. And that brings us to the bad news – these features come at a price. Chances are you want the sport package (option code 333), and you can get the sport package, but those wheels that are seen on the sport package aren’t really part of the sport package nor is the aluminum trim. Instead the wheels are an $800 plus option (option code 786 – AMG 5-Twin Spoke Alloy Wheels); and yes that beautiful Panorama Sunroof is a $1,000 option; the iPod Integration how about the price of a top of the line iPod Video ($350); the Multimedia (a.k.a. Comand & Toys) package is over $2,000. Of course you’ll probably want a premium package and depending on your pockets PI or PII may sound good to you – and get this, TeleAid is an option…. Hmm, I see Mercedes are moving backwards. Luckily the steering wheel is standard equipment, but that car would set you back $39,925 without taxes, gas guzzler tax, and destination and delivery. Oh yes, and if you’re not aware Mercedes no longer gives Service A & B free in your 4-year warranty, therefore, you can pre-package a deal for $3,000 or something to get them done for ‘free’. And that’s where we reach the conclusion.
The CONCLUSION
Everything is good until it’s compared to something. I mean the Civic is good, but compared to an S550 it can generate a chuckle. The C300 is good, but when compared to a BMW 3-Series suddenly it’s not as great. Granted the C300 has more toys (Pano, Hard Drive, MMC Slot), the 328 is faster, sportier in the drive factor and is farrrrr cheaper even with the options (Bluetooth, Sat. Nav w/ Traffic Updates). And let’s not even mention BMW’s free service and maintenance. At the end of the day, the C300 is a great car, a vast improvement from the W203 – it almost feels like it’s the W205 because there’s a generation gap between the two; BUT it loads great options to the car at a huge price – for this price more features should become part of standard equipment or part of PI. All in all, the W204 is a great car, but tomorrow I wouldn’t buy it – I’d rather a 2005 C55 AMG at that price, although the C300 looks better and does more in the ‘non-driving aspect’.
Some FAQs
1. Why doesn’t the C-Class have a rear camera for reversing?
Actually, I defend Mercedes here. I just don’t think this car needs it – more cost for nothing, it’s a small car – if you can’t park it then you probably shouldn’t be driving.
2. Why isn’t there a Electronic Trunk closer option like … well, every other Mercedes Benz nowadays?
This is still not industry standard, it’s for premium car (S-Class caliber), so I think it’s not too necessary for the C-Class yet. Yes, maybe it should have been an option, but I doubt it’d be a popular option, therefore, why even offer it?
3. Why doesn’t Mercedes offer Parktronic on the C-Class?
Again, like the rear camera, this car is quite small and if you need assistance with parking it, you also need assistance and driving and therefore should not be driving.
Tee_Tz.
Just came from test driving the new W204 C300 Sports Sedan. It was basically "fully loaded", minus the Panorama Sunroof (Option Code 413).
The LOOK!
Right off the bat, it looks better, and I’m happy to report that the rear doesn't look as bad as it did on paper. Also at first glance it’s actually ‘noticeable’ - more prestigious, bigger, and more modern. And if that huge Mercedes star in the grille doesn’t tell people that this is a serious car, perhaps you should keep the invoice on the window. The exterior is brilliant, aggressive, sporty, classy, and modern Mercedes. The front looks so good than the only thing I could think about is how many tickets I’ll be getting for not having a front plate on. Then you open the door and suddenly for a second it doesn't even feel like a Mercedes-Benz. All the instruments, the dials, and the panels look completely different from the rest of the model range, yet similar. I unlock the doors and to my surprise the side mirrors begin unfolding - wow, that's new. I get in the car and switch on the engine on and the Comand screen opens up, firmly, smoothly and slowly (not like a Fischer Price toy). As I engage reverse gear (yes, it has the teach yourself driving in 24 hours transmission), the car starts to roll back slowly, I don't feel bumps, the steering is stiff – as if its forcing me to stay in a straight line, and the seat is hugging me like we're a newlywed couple. As we get on the road the first thing that comes to mind is - it's sporty.
The DRIVE!
From the stiff suspension to the agility body control, this car feels tight; but the question comes to mind – will it be tight and heavy (a.k.a slow), or tight and nimble. The short answer is - firm and nimble. It drives well - the noise factor has been reduced, even on max the A/C doesn't sound like a lawn mower anymore. Bumps in the road are seldom to notice and you kind of feel like you want to drive on the curvy backgrounds like Michael Schumacher, or rather Fernando Alonso/Lewis Hamilton, rather than a straight motorway (like you might in a CLS63). You feel like you can do quick U-Turns and take corners quicker than you can on any Avis Rental. It’s not lightening quick and doesn’t accelerate like a Nissan 350Z kind of sports car, but it eventually picks up the pace and makes you feel like you’re not pulling along a trailer. We get off the motorway and we get to a red light and I can finally start looking around. In the center of the dashboard there's a peculiar slot, like a space for a skinny cassette player. Well, it's for the cassettes of the 21st century, Multimedia Disks.
The TOYS!
Obviously the salesman had no clue which ones, but I reckon MMS and possible SD's – not sure if you can view pictures from your digital camera, but that’d be interesting. Really it’s for transferring music files (MP3 and WMA both will work) and it brings up those files on the Comand. Talking about the Comand – well its easy to use, basically it’ll take you an hour to browse through the whole system and a couple of days to learn to use it while speeding on the highway and eating and drinking on your way somewhere. I tried Bluetooth (my phone is Apple’s iPhone) and it was instantly recognized and works brilliantly, it’s truly hands free. The steering is shaped funny so while driving you have to make an effort to look down at the buttons so you don’t keep hanging up on the caller, but it’s a “training issue”. Oh and talking about steering controls, yes this car is finally voice activated – so you can shout at it to do something for you and sometimes it’ll understand and sometimes you’ll just do it yourself. It come standard with the AUX port in the glove box standard, but for $350 you can get the special iPod adapter, which will charge and manage your iPod music via the Mercedes Comand system. Of course the iPod adapter is only one of the many options for you to listen to music – because of course it includes a 6GB hard drive that you can store your music onto and play it (MMS/SD slot)! So forget bringing your iPod Nano. That can also be done via the CD player. And speaking on the CD player, this car didn’t have a 6 Disk CD Changer in the glove box – which is an option – but with the 6GB (2,000 songs) internal hard drive and the iPod adapter (up to 10,000 songs) and single slot CD player that plays MP3s (200 songs), and the SD/MMC slot (up to 1,000 songs)… suddenly the CD Changer becomes as pointless as having a 12-slot cassette changer. Finally for the toys section – this car can play DVD & WMA (Windows Media) movies! But here’s the catch – the handbrake must be on. So if you’re at home and someone else is watching TV and you have no other DVD Player or the computer is being occupied you can, yes, walk outside get in your car, crack open a window and play a movie in the parking lot. Trust me, the seat is more comfortable than your couch, and it the car has true surround sound thanks to HarmanKardon.
The BAD NEWS!
Well let me start by saying - it’s a good drive. Its fun, it feels like a new born baby and it’s modern to the digital age. It literally gives you so much to do inside the car and for the first time Mercedes has given the C-Class real features, not just styling. And that brings us to the bad news – these features come at a price. Chances are you want the sport package (option code 333), and you can get the sport package, but those wheels that are seen on the sport package aren’t really part of the sport package nor is the aluminum trim. Instead the wheels are an $800 plus option (option code 786 – AMG 5-Twin Spoke Alloy Wheels); and yes that beautiful Panorama Sunroof is a $1,000 option; the iPod Integration how about the price of a top of the line iPod Video ($350); the Multimedia (a.k.a. Comand & Toys) package is over $2,000. Of course you’ll probably want a premium package and depending on your pockets PI or PII may sound good to you – and get this, TeleAid is an option…. Hmm, I see Mercedes are moving backwards. Luckily the steering wheel is standard equipment, but that car would set you back $39,925 without taxes, gas guzzler tax, and destination and delivery. Oh yes, and if you’re not aware Mercedes no longer gives Service A & B free in your 4-year warranty, therefore, you can pre-package a deal for $3,000 or something to get them done for ‘free’. And that’s where we reach the conclusion.
The CONCLUSION
Everything is good until it’s compared to something. I mean the Civic is good, but compared to an S550 it can generate a chuckle. The C300 is good, but when compared to a BMW 3-Series suddenly it’s not as great. Granted the C300 has more toys (Pano, Hard Drive, MMC Slot), the 328 is faster, sportier in the drive factor and is farrrrr cheaper even with the options (Bluetooth, Sat. Nav w/ Traffic Updates). And let’s not even mention BMW’s free service and maintenance. At the end of the day, the C300 is a great car, a vast improvement from the W203 – it almost feels like it’s the W205 because there’s a generation gap between the two; BUT it loads great options to the car at a huge price – for this price more features should become part of standard equipment or part of PI. All in all, the W204 is a great car, but tomorrow I wouldn’t buy it – I’d rather a 2005 C55 AMG at that price, although the C300 looks better and does more in the ‘non-driving aspect’.
Some FAQs
1. Why doesn’t the C-Class have a rear camera for reversing?
Actually, I defend Mercedes here. I just don’t think this car needs it – more cost for nothing, it’s a small car – if you can’t park it then you probably shouldn’t be driving.
2. Why isn’t there a Electronic Trunk closer option like … well, every other Mercedes Benz nowadays?
This is still not industry standard, it’s for premium car (S-Class caliber), so I think it’s not too necessary for the C-Class yet. Yes, maybe it should have been an option, but I doubt it’d be a popular option, therefore, why even offer it?
3. Why doesn’t Mercedes offer Parktronic on the C-Class?
Again, like the rear camera, this car is quite small and if you need assistance with parking it, you also need assistance and driving and therefore should not be driving.
Tee_Tz.
07-23-2007, 06:29 PM
#2
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BMW is looking more appetizing these days indeed.
At least the plastic cover that covers the navigation screen doesn't feel as flimsy as something from Fisher Price. But who knows, it might be from Playskool.
I'm not sure about the pricing compared to the BMW 3 series. I think the Mercedes C300 price is a bit leaner than the 328i's pricing.
I really don't care about the parktronic nor the back up camera either. In the US, you really don't need them. I wonder if those Europeans on this forum are shaking their heads when they read an ignorant American expressing desires for Parktronic systems on a C-Class.
And you accidentally called the C300 a Civic.
At least the plastic cover that covers the navigation screen doesn't feel as flimsy as something from Fisher Price. But who knows, it might be from Playskool.
I'm not sure about the pricing compared to the BMW 3 series. I think the Mercedes C300 price is a bit leaner than the 328i's pricing.
I really don't care about the parktronic nor the back up camera either. In the US, you really don't need them. I wonder if those Europeans on this forum are shaking their heads when they read an ignorant American expressing desires for Parktronic systems on a C-Class.
And you accidentally called the C300 a Civic.
07-24-2007, 01:19 AM
#3
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2013 650i Coupe, 2010 IS250 AWD, 1999 S500
I don't see the gripes about the price, BMWs are just as if not more expensive. A loaded 335i easily tops 40K, and the 328i isn't exactly cheap either.
For the level of standard equipment on the 08' C it really is somewhat of a bargain for a Mercedes-Benz, especially a C-Class which up until now have come pretty much bare as bare can be.
M
For the level of standard equipment on the 08' C it really is somewhat of a bargain for a Mercedes-Benz, especially a C-Class which up until now have come pretty much bare as bare can be.
M
07-24-2007, 02:41 PM
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I agree... not sure about price grips? I just built a 328i online with the same options as what I would want on a 300 sport... and it came to 43k?
the only thing it has that MB doesnt, is memory seats, real time traffic?
If I "build" the 300 sport that I want (pretty much with every option), it looks like it comes to ~41k.
So to me the MB is better priced?
BTW - my wife and I test drove the 3 series last weekend for the first time, VERY disappointed. Our 2006 A4 2.0T Quattro was leagues ahead in the luxury department. Very disappointed.... so now we're down to MB and Audi. I'm hoping that the MB interior is nice... (that's a big thing for us, interior)
the only thing it has that MB doesnt, is memory seats, real time traffic?
If I "build" the 300 sport that I want (pretty much with every option), it looks like it comes to ~41k.
So to me the MB is better priced?
BTW - my wife and I test drove the 3 series last weekend for the first time, VERY disappointed. Our 2006 A4 2.0T Quattro was leagues ahead in the luxury department. Very disappointed.... so now we're down to MB and Audi. I'm hoping that the MB interior is nice... (that's a big thing for us, interior)
07-25-2007, 03:21 AM
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Very good review, esp. the conclusion...thanks. I do think the new C is the best looking so far.
I have to agree w/ you. I think the MB is nice, but that's with any Euro car, they don't like to give you things for free like the Japanese companies. Although you can get a loaded Bimmer for 35 grand doing Euro Delivery.
I wish the C300 would have more power to at least match the 328i, isn't that who they are competing against? Doesn't make sense. And at least add brown leather, etc...
I actually prefer the interiors of BMW and MB and driving exp. to the Audi a4. It's less buttons and more focused and sporty with a lower dash and cowl. I don't know why but the a4 was the least fun car out of the 3 for me, except the a3, which I love...I also think the saab is fun.
I have to agree w/ you. I think the MB is nice, but that's with any Euro car, they don't like to give you things for free like the Japanese companies. Although you can get a loaded Bimmer for 35 grand doing Euro Delivery.
I wish the C300 would have more power to at least match the 328i, isn't that who they are competing against? Doesn't make sense. And at least add brown leather, etc...
I actually prefer the interiors of BMW and MB and driving exp. to the Audi a4. It's less buttons and more focused and sporty with a lower dash and cowl. I don't know why but the a4 was the least fun car out of the 3 for me, except the a3, which I love...I also think the saab is fun.
07-25-2007, 08:37 AM
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'05 A4 1.8TQM6
Now, is it unlimited miles and a 4 year time frame or is it up to 4 services within the warranty (assuming 1 service / year)? Using me as an example, I blew through my warranty in 2.5 years, so I got my 4 free services from Audi (when they still covered maintenance). After 50k, no more free services. Now, would MB cover up to 4 years regardless of mileage? For $3000, I'd hope so 
BMW still leads in the covering of maintenance dept. Audi offers a maintenance package for $550 covering the 4 services during the warranty period after they dropped the included maintenance.
Nice review btw
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08-05-2007, 03:30 PM
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2016 C63
I have a 335i and ordered a C350 Sport a couple of weeks ago. Equalized for options and features, I believe that the 350 is about $4,000 dollars (US) less than a 335i.
TEAShea
from Nebraska
TEAShea
from Nebraska
