stealtheo

Hello All

Thought I would post some info after test driving both the C-300 and C-350

I have a 2002 C230K Coupe fully load with panna roof and a 2005 C230K SS also fully loaded with regular sunroof.

I am looking at buying the new 2008 C-Class Sport Sedan. After driving the
C-300 SS had already made up my mind to go with P1, P2, Multimedia, Panna roof, 18"AMG and iPod connection.

Yesterday while at the dealer to close the deal, they received a C-350, Took it out for a test drive and that was it! Took the car on both highway and back roads, also stopped the car on those back roads (with sales-person in the back seat) and hit the gas and did a 0-100 on both cars. Got back to dealer and choose not to get the C-300 with the Panna roof and the
18' "wheel and go with the C-350. Works out to be same price without those options.

Even though these cars should be exactly the same on the outside other that the engine. (Roughly 40 more horses and torque, wich only adds 100lbs to the car) and the front rotors are one inch larger on the C350.
The ride on the two cars is "completely" different. The C350 "FEELS" like a much heavier, sure footed, hug the road,car. (felt more like my TA - Ram-Air)
I even liked how the 17' all seasons gripped the road over the 18" "Z" rated Conti's.

I have the Panna roof on my 2002 as stated above. Yea it's nice however, on a nice sunny day you cannot tilt the glass unless you open the sunshades all the way. Then too much sun in the car and on your head.

Then the issue of the 18" Amg. The C-30 comes with 17"AMG with all season Pilot 2's (good tires). Will last you at least 2-3 times longer than the Z-rated tires that you get when you upgrade to the 18" AMG's.

When you go with the 18" AMG you get "Z" rated Conti's (not very good tires at all) Z -Rated tires will last you 12k miles if you’re lucky. Both my cars have "Z" rated one being P-Zero's and the other Kumo's. You will get 10-12k on the P-Zero's and 13-15k on the Kumo's

So IMO if you were planning on getting the panna and 18"'s on the C-300 do yourself a favor and give them up and go with the C-350.

Drive both yourself and you will see how the drive seems to feels so much different.

I went with the Steel Grey with the two-tone grey int. P2, Multi, iPod
Only thing I was not crazy about when moving to the C-350 was had to give up the the aluminum int. trim. The C-350 only comes with the Black Birdseye Maple but, in my 2005 the aluminum does scratch if you are not careful.

Anyway sorry post is so long. Just though I would share my thoughts on the two models.

Diamond Skyline

Thanks for your comparison, very well informed, I too will be comparing both models once my local dealer gets shipment of their C350.. As of yet I have only driven the C300 Sport with the 18" AMGs and while the ride was very nice, I look forward to driving the C350 Sport.. and if it is like you said regarding the wheels, the regular 17" just sound much more practical for the all season driver, not to mention economical..

MB-JIM

I can see where people who have never driven a 350 will feel the 300 is ok.
I enjoyed driving the C300 demo, but when I got back into my 06 C350, I realized there is no way I would buy a 300. The 350 gives the car a completely different character, it's one of control and it makes me smile.
My problem is that I only want the Luxury model with the standard suspension and non-staggeed wheels. The "gods" in Montvale have decided that in America we won't have that choice. Why the marketing people would not offer the 268 HP engine for the "Luxury" model is beyoond me especially when all the major competitors offer 300 HP. That puts me out of the market after owning over 40 MB's.

MBTex

Nice review. I had originally considered going with the 300 myself, but decided on the 350 for a few reasons. One was the wood trim, which I definately prefer over the aluminum, and the second was the resale value of the car. I don't doubt that MB will come out with a more powerful engine in the coming years and I think that would really kill the resale value of the 300, whereas the 350's 270 hp will at least be able to stand up a bit to the new 300 hp engine.

Well, I had my dealer looking for a 350 with the 18 inch rims, but am now seriously considering ordering with the P2 instead of the 18's. the standard AMG rims on the 350 are nice anyway, and your comments about the tires may have pushed me over the edge on that one. my car will get about 2K miles per month and i'm not interested in buying new tires every 6-12 months.

err

My wife and I also test drove BOTH c300 and c350 today. As many of you already know what are the different features between the c300 and c350, I won't go into details into it ..

However, as far as the drive goes, we test drove the c300 first. On the test drive, the c300 does seems to be heavy and sturdy . However, it feels as if we have to slam the pedal almost all the way in order to comfortably take over other cars on the freeway. Don't get me wrong, the c300 228hp is definitely decent and fast enough for most people... However when we drove the c350, the mere 40hp difference is definitely noticable.

I immediately noticed the additional c350 power right away when we drive out of the dealership lot. The car didn't seem that it handles any better than the c300, however speed wise and torque wise it is definitely great to have that extra power. I don't want to mislead people into thinking that c350 is a fast performance car. Although it is definitely an adequately powered car, its no M3 or S4 power Anyway, My wife immediately smiled when she drove the C350, unlike the c300 where she "complained" that it felt a little weak.

Nevertheless, I am surprised at how much the new c300/350 feels heavier compared to the old c-class that drove before. Unfortunately, we did not try out the 0-60, nor bring the car up to 100mph... thats not our normal driving behavior anyway

So in short, we are now thinking of getting a white c350 with pano. Thats all..... the multimedia stuffs are nice, but I feel that we can better spend the ~$2800 elsewhere in our life

So we'll just have to see what our local dealership has for us. The supply is kinda tight right now ... however we are not in a hurry and could wait till the end of the year to get what we really wanted.

Drop-a-Daimler

Nice work, good choice. I traded their 3.0L (C280) in for their 3.5L because of the motor and ride and never regretted anything. Just get the ECU reflashed and off you go! I have to admit that I was ******* the W204 but after getting in one I am liking them more and more. MB is on the right track, I just wish they would offer something in between the C350 and the C63. It's a major gap.

CarGuru

We choose our C300 over the C350 because of it’s “more than enough attributes” Between my self & my wife and our two completely contrasting personalities, I have a heavy foot she doesn’t felt the 228 hp was more than acceptable. So the competition has more and over 300 hp out there. Gas prices & places to use 300 hp are not improving any time soon. Also if MB had introduced the W204 C300 in 1995 it would be considered a ridiculously fast car and a C350 would be worthy of an AMG badge. I owned a 190 hp Nissan Maxima throughout this era and that car was considered a pretty fast car in it’s day, I bought a later Maxima in 2000 with the 222 hp motor and that car felt fast. Not sure how 6 hp more than that car makes as big of a difference as it does but my new C300 would likely not beat that car off the line, but it would easily catch it and put a car length on it before the end of the quarter mile. Honestly I could not tell a difference under normal driving between the two cars, surely it’s evident at WOT and drag racing but what civilized individual drives like that other than your teenage kid that might borrow the car.
-Ryan

PUMes

The performance of the 3.5 doesn't justify the premium over the 3.0 for me. Though the 3.5 has more torque, I believe the 3.0's power to be more than adequate.

oblu

Not all "z-rated" tires are created equal. That's not exactly what I'd base my purchasing decision on ... but if it helps you justify not getting the 18's so be it.

RLE

<<We choose our C300 over the C350 because of it’s “more than enough attributes” Between my self & my wife and our two completely contrasting personalities, I have a heavy foot she doesn’t felt the 228 hp was more than acceptable. So the competition has more and over 300 hp out there. Gas prices & places to use 300 hp are not improving any time soon...........>>

As I have posted many times, I chose the C300 over the 350 solely because of the mandatory black or gray interiors in all the Sport versions. When I'm driving I'm looking at the inside and all of the "cheap looking" criticisms of the magazine road testers has been directed at those black plastic interiors. I don't think that complaint will apply to the beige interiors, from what I've seen in the photos.

As to the 40hp difference between models, that is mainly useful (in my area) for faster freeway merging, particularly uphill. Other than that, given our heavy traffic here in Seattle, it's mostly bragging rights.

When I refuel my C320 I always reset the trip computer, taking notice of the fuel mileage for the last tank and also the average speed for that distance, usually about 250-275 miles. Keeping in mind that I do a lot of freeway driving, usually a "bit" over the posted, but also a fair amount of around town mileage and my average speed, time after time is about TAKE A BREATH 25mph.

So if I had a C63, a 997 Turbo or a Fizzari of some sort, would my average speeds go up? Don't know how, considering our level of speed enforcement and the number of cars on the roads.

One other advantage to the C300 will be slightly better fuel economy and lower insurance premiums.

I still don't like the wheels.

RLE

Certainly the 18" wheels are the best looking of the four different wheels offered on the new C. In my opinion.

But, I suggest those that want them go to tirerack.com and look at what the prices will be for replacements when new tire time arrives. Then compare that to the 17" sizes. I did and the difference (in the brand & model I would buy) is about $400. That's about $100 per corner.

And considering that all the new Cs I've seen all have Continentals on them, some may want to replace those with something decent before they are worn out. I certainly will. I have my eye on the stock 17" AMG staggered wheels on the C350. It's probably too soon to find out what the over the counter price will be for them. And of course the prices will vary all over the place depending on how much markup over retail various dealers tack on.

MBTex

The stock 17's on the 350 are nice in my opinion and very similar to the 18's that everyone wants. Sure the 18's are nicer, but not $1K nicer for me. I'd rather spend the extra cash on P2.

MB-JIM

All I can say is if you have driven a C350 for two years as I have, the 300 just won't do. If budget is a problem I would suggest leaving off some options to get the 350. It just makes the car feel so much better.

jimsterli

Let us not forget that the 6-speed manual transmission only comes with the c300. A factor in which only a handful of us may consider.

Also a good way to not let the wife drive the car.

err

Hi RLE Hi Fellow Seattlelites

I am in talk with Phil and Barrier on the new C-class. Hopefully the deal will close soon.

Nice to see fellow seattlelites citizen here. Yes Couldn't agree more with you that our traffic sucks.

CarGuru

I’m not posting in an attempt to justify purchasing our C300 as oppose to the C350, but some of you get me weak with the 228hp is just not enough or having driven a C350 for so long etc.. to each his own. Again I have owned sporty cars and raced a 170 hp Integra GS-R in SCCA Solo II events as a teenager, I’m 29 YTD. My wife & I actually went from the 222 hp Maxima SE to a 2002 VW Passat 1.8t that car was notably less powerful than the Max and about the same weight. I again even with only 180 hp available in that car never got into a situation here in Nor California where I couldn’t overtake average traffic ala Camrys, Taurus, countless Vans & SUV’s in a evasive maneuver situation or just plain old spirited driving. Same deal goes with piloting my lowly base level 2.7L 159 hp 4cyl Toyota work truck with 600+ lbs loaded in the box. I agree having driven the C350 it is a rocket, it goes like stink but the price for the engine didn’t justify us sacrificing the beautiful AMG body clad, 18” wheels and Steel Gray/ Light gray interior we liked so much. If we were going to push the $40K+ envelope we honestly would have gotten the new ’08 Volvo S80 V8. At that price point that car gives more bang for the buck, at $35K the C300/ AMG + 18” wheels is the best bang for the buck, in my book only the Acura TL come a little closer with slightly more power, and the horrors of FWD.

MBTex

I agree that the engine difference between the 300 and 350 probably isn't worth the price difference for me either. If I wanted hp I would just by another Mustang for less $$. I'm going 350 though for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the wood trim in the interior.

I was looking 300 Lux initially because of the wood interior (I just don't care for the aluminum, although many love it). I liked the look of the Sport though and the wood trim in the 350 sold me. Still that wasn't enough alone, but add that to P1 included, automatic, rear spoiler, the larger engine (although not by too much), what I believe to be a higher trade-in value if MB comes out with a larger engine, and the standard AMG rims and I was sold.

Just me though. Everyone who has the 300 Sport seems to love it and the pics of it look great. Heck, I'm sure I'd love it myself because they are essentially the same car with some different options standard.

GPI

Which one are you getting? The C300 or C350? Any good deal in Barrier?

oblu

Can you PM what you end up getting at which dealer? I've been at Barrier a couple of times and they're playing the golden idol game; not budging a $1 off msrp and they're the ones quoting .00469 for a money factor on a lease. I've heard that's Barrier's M.O. all the time though.

TEAShea

The amount of power desired is pretty subjective. Different people have differnt needs and desires in this regard. For me, I would not seriously consider a 300. In fact the 350 is barely adequate. I ordered a C350 Sport on the basis that the power is merely adequate. There are tradeoffs to everything.

TEAShea
from Nebraska

hutch300

i have mine coming into barrier hopfully by the end of the month...talk to phil petty he is the best salesman there... really a great guy...very helpful and low pressure

stealtheo

My original thread was not so much about the power difference between the C-300 and the C-350. It was just to say that the "Ride" FELT total different even though ASIDE from the engine the cars should have the same suspension and the C-350 has an addition 100lbs but yet IMO the C-350 had more of a "Muscle car" close to the ground feel to it. More like my Trans-Am ram-Air.

The other point was more for us drivers in the North (Winter)
The 18's look nice but both my current C-class have Z-Rated tires both very high end brands and sure they are great for the fist 2/3 of their life . . then consider that full life is 12k-15k depending on your driving habits.

If your going to test drive the C-300 try the C-350 also and see for yourself.
Maybe you may not agree. I gave up the Panna and the 18's. I can always buy 18's myself and then still go with high perfom all season "H" rated later

One last note.
On both my current c-class coupe and SS when attempting to switch to high perform "H" rated tires when they needed replaced not a single tire store would allow me to downgrade to "H" rated because when they pulled up what was oem (After Upgrade) it comes up as a "Z" rated tire. They said if they sold me anything other than "Z" there could be a liability issue for them.

Not a hundred percent sure but, I believe the 18's AMG are not only "Z" rated but they are summer tires only, not all season. Maybe someone can verify that.

Either way they are both nice cars. Get what you want. It's going to be yours for the next few years at least.

hiwind

A family member works for Mercedes Benz and they havn't released any programs to her on buying one yet. Does anyone know what kind of deals they are giving away to employee's? Just trying to justify the extra $$$ for the 350 if we get a great deal. My lease on my 06 E-350 sport is up in 2 months and i want to buy this time, the lease was only $348/m not bad