newtonlaw

To those of you who owned (driven) a W202, 203 and 204 which one did u liked the best when the 1st time u driven/bought the car.
I owned 1 W202 and 1 W203 before and currently a W204, and i must say driving the new 2005 C230SS off the lot had the "biggest" joy! but the 204 IS the best, in terms on quality (until now) and the 203 was the worst in that department! the 202 was a solid car too, no rattles at all, bought it new in 1996!

angeloxnet

the W203 sport i had, had a nicer growl to it when i stepped on the gas, I fidn the W204 a lil more "tame", also the interior of the W203 seemed to have a better quality finish to it.

The W204's exterior is much nicer and more aggressive looking, but the drive is very similar.

pcb

I had all 3 and no question the W204 is the winner.

Quality, ride comfort, look, multi media ect..

jrct9454

As you can see from my signature, I've owned them all - 201,202,203,204. There is absolutely no question in my mind that the current car is the best, and not by a little, by a whole lot. Even the styling is starting to grow on me, which has been my only reservation up 'til now. But in terms of the way the car drives, it isn't even close - the new car is a winner.

jo17jC230

I used to drive a CL203 coupe and in comparison to the W204, I think the 204 has improved by leaps and bounds over the old one in every aspect. The styling is better, the ride is a lot smoother and quieter, better handling. I hear some people complaining about the interior, but I think its a lot nicer then the old C.

norcal5

I fully agree with your conclusion.

nil8r

My favorite is the W203, but I think I had an exceptional unit. Throw the MM in that car and I would take it in a heartbeat.

Derspeed

We had a W203 and it was really nice, but the W204 is far superior.

Mu9enx

sister has a w202, i have a w203, and cousin has a w204.

no doubt that the w204 is definitely more refined, and i think it looks a lot better, interior-wise. the powerband is definitely much nice, the throttle lag is decreased and it seems a lot more stable and corners with less body roll.

the w202 c230k seem peppier, but maybe that was my butt dyno, as i had a mammoth of a car! my c320 had a lotta torque and was very stable during high speeds. but the w204 had everything, it was nice and quick, plus it had AMG styling from the get go! i spent over 1k just to upgrade the front and rear bumpers!

although i love my car, the winner is definitely the w204 in terms of overall design.

Vader13

My W203 owned...its was a C32 though..interior was killer..
I had a C230KSS, C240MT6 also, the C300 is better than those.

blastit

this is the first benz i have owned and i have never driven the previous models. to be honest i buy cars based on the visual appeal. previous c models just did not do it for me. but when i saw the 204 i was impressed. it took all of about 3 mins at the dealers to place the order. ok i lied it was really 1 min the other 2 i spent looking for parking.

narky

I could've written that sentence above! I never thought I would ever buy a Benz... Then, a few months ago, I saw a picture of an arctic white w204 w/ pano roof while researching online to buy a new car. and two seconds later, I was decided.



It's because ever since high school I've thought that a white car with black roof would look straight badass. But everyone else thought it'd look like a cop car (i.e. corny and mildly retarded). Nobody says that about the w204 though.

Sorry, off-topic, I know.

ismeto

not accept that because I am using still W203


mathematically 3 > 2 > 1

and normally W204 > W203 >W202

tivoboy

I had the W203 and the new W204. I found the W203 to actually be QUIETER in all cases, town and highway.

But, the MM and other refinements of the W204 are indeed worthwhile, also having a new car is nice.

Robbio204

The w203 coupe was very peppy for its inline 4 at least in my opinion

ismeto

+1

akbro93704

To me, the W203 2005-2007 version beats the W204 in terms of quality and quietness. It felt like a more "sound" car. I love my W204 though.

Onizuka

I had a W202, CL203, W203 and drove/picking up a W204.
The W202 beat the rest in interior quality. CL203's interior felt really cheap while the 06+ W203's interior felt better. The W204 C300 sport I test drove felt and handled better than the 06 C230SS I am currently driving and the W202 was no comparison.

FrankW

W203 without a doubt, but it's a C32 which is top of the line, so it doesn't really compare. nappa leather, two-tone interior, full leather steering wheel, all the options available, the sound, the drive, etc. makes it all more exciting.

w204 is more of a great bargain for the package. dash material feel's about the same, but the 204 brought back the solid feel the 203 lacked. I still don't like the giant grain print on the dash and the gigantic mirror much. compare to the regular 203s however this car is a big improvement over the 203.

duboisi

Stick some sound proof mat like Dynamat to cover the bare metal around the spare wheel area and you 204 better than 203.

jstaneff

Have you done this? How did you do it? Did you just cover the wheel under the board, or did you pull down the covering on the trunk sides to put some mat on the bare fender metal?

Where did you get the Dynamat? How much (quantity, price)?

Any pix?

thanks

kremou

As I know ,i most agree about that.

I also love my car,but I think W204 facelift will have important differences than exist car.

eminnet

I totally agree.

duboisi

Did it at an ICE shop. Cost about U$120 including installation. Only cover the spare tire well. I just wanted to test if it is effective before pulling down the covering at the sides. However after covering the spare tire well, it is already noticably less road and tire noice. I will stop here as it is not worth the risk just in case installer did not do a good job putting back the side covering.
Check for nearest dealer near yr location here:

http://www.dynamat.com/store/store-car.asp

FrankW

Amazon had a good deal on dynamat. they were around $20 for a pretty big roll. I bought two package for my spare tub in the w203.