KiwiRobbie

I think the W204 front end looks good on the coupe, hope the fix up the back as well. To my eyes it looks a little longer and less stumpy.

I wouldn't mind getting one of these next year to compliment my W203 wagon

chilledbenz

I really thought they learned their lesson with the last C coupe. Guess not, cause here it is again in hatch form. Do people really want to buy a two door MB hatchback? The U.S. customers already had their say in this and didn't buy the last one, what makes them think slapping a new front end on an old design will make this one sell any better? I will say that the old coupe suffered from some really poor interior design though, cloth seats, plastic plastic and more plastic, ha anyone that complains that the w204 has too much cheap interior bits never drove a w203 coupe! The old coupe did serve one good function, it had a real low base price, which got me into the dealership to drive it, only to find out how bad it was and then drive a sedan and bought it the same day. From a money making stand point, the C coupe would give them a car below the CLK, but isn't the CLK already a 2 door C Class, its based on all the C's underpinnings. I hate to see cars fail, and this one looks like its in for a two model year run and then poof like the old one.

IwantA124

I have to say that your post was completely OUTRAGEOUS. I had a C230 coupe and the quality was exactly the same has the sedan. Cloth seats were an option not standard and I did have leather. The plastic interior you’re talking about was the exact same thing you had. There was absolutely no difference in quality between the coupe and the sedan. The difference was merely that one was a hatch and one wasn’t. My coupe came in very handy several times with things that I could not do with the sedan. For example, fit a Christmas tree in it, fit 4 rims and 4 tires in it. I might add that your sedan didn’t even have the pano-roof option. You say the CLK is a 2 door C class? You’re just ignorant. I wish they would bring the C coupe back to the US. You're the one who is not mercedes.

JohnCL

Thanks, now I don't need to say anything.

ChristianJan

I actually like the front as well, too bad they didn't fix the back yet

tommy

What's wrong with the back of the current c-coupe?

And if you think the back needs to be "fixed", why did you buy one in the first place?

BadAssC230k

hope they bring back the stock 'blackies' haha jk

hmm, still on the fence about this. saw a w204 today... bleh. not a fan

ChristianJan

I don't HATE the back, I'm just not a huge fan of it. And when I bought it, I liked the back, but wasn't in love with it, but I still loved the car and everything in itself. I can't find any faults in my own car?

Untertürkheim

Actually, the CLK is a 2-door C-class. Do not confuse it with the C/A 124, which was truely a 2-door E class.

This is perhaps the impetus for the CLS, which is the E-class coupé, even though it has 4 doors.

The C coupé was a good car, in many respects a CLK in a different package (with the great pano-roof). If only the new one would be built on the latest 204 platform. I imagine the reason that is not being done is that it would then be far superior to the CLK, which is still built on the 203 based chassis, and they could not knowingly make the cheaper version better.

IwantA124

I still disagree. What you're saying is that you get less of a car in a sense and pay a lot more. Your fully loaded C class is still less expensive then your base model CLK class. Just because the powerplant might be the same doesn't make it the same car. That extra 10-20 grand have to be in the car somewhere.

Stiggs

I wanna see the new CLK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Untertürkheim

You can disagree, but we are discussing facts not opinion. The CLK has always been built on the C class chassis, and has always shared a great deal of parts with the C class. It has been so ever since the introduction of the W208 CLK that was based on the W202, and is still true with the W209 being based on the previous C, W203. Not just chassis, but a great deal of the interior parts were identical, and of course the powertrain.

Like I said, it makes sense that the new C coupe will therefore use the 203 chassis, because if it were to be based on the 204, it would be a far superior car to the CLK, the current 209 essentially a 203.

aowhaus

I always liked the C-coupe, but unfortunately America wasn't warm to hatchbacks (especially upscale versions). Luckily now upscale import hatchbacks are gaining in popularity such as the Audi A3 (which I almost bought), Volvo C30, and you can even say the VW GTI/R32. In Canada the Mercedes B-class is doing fairly well.

However, putting redesigned front and rear ends on an essentially unchanged aging C-class coupe body is going against the grain of Mercedes' goal of being a progressive car maker in terms of design and target market. There's too much competition to do that. Let's hope that old body is just a clever disguise for something modern and cool for things for come.

The current and previous generation CLK's were nice on the outside but is rather cheap on the inside and I don't think the premium over the C-class sedan is justified. With the W204 I'm sure the next CLK-class will be just as nice or even nicer.

peabers

Well, actually, NO. The price of a vehicle is determined by what the consumer is willing to pay. The more perceived value a car company generates, the greater the per-vehicle profit. I hope you don't think that the S-class costs twice as much to build as the C...

So basically, you could find that extra 10-20 grand in the pockets of people like Dr. Z.

chilledbenz

Well the 2002 model I drove had horriable cloth seats, worse than what my 99 Accord had at the time. But as you mentioned, leather was an option so I didn't experience that. As for the plastic interior, you can't say it was the same as the sedan! The coupe had a whole plastic rear hatch that squeaked and rattled over every bump I hit. There was also no option of wood interior, which I was high on at the time, but have sense gotten over the whole wood look. The lack of a rear wiper on a hatchback was quite odd too. The smaller engine felt like it was working way too hard to pull its weight around and made awful nosies trying to do so. It lasted four years out of a six year cycle with low sales numbers, not saying that it was a bad car just because it didn't sell, I just think I was expecting more from a Benz. I understand that they continued to sell it in other markets, so if they do decide to bring it back to the states I hope they have made leaps and strides with it. As for your CLK comment, it helps to do a little research before you start name calling. Lol flame away boys, but thats my experience and I'm sticking to it.

KIRA

my sig is the newest and the last CLK

JimPap

KiwiRobbie,

The red car in your series, what is that?

KiwiRobbie

Jim,

That's the current model. The facelifted model will use the w204 engines and it will get the 204 interior, from what I understand the suspension of the 203 and 204 are very similar so the new Coupe should ride and handle like a 204.

More info on the new? C Coupe can be found here. http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/secret_...id=1241&page=1

ismeto

''..... is better to look at than today's stumpily truncated model.''

KiwiRobbie

I'd buy a C200 CDI and stick an AMG badge on it to **** of the badge police here.