So I've got a C300 rental while my C300 is in the shop.
 

Thats right I wont bore you all to death on the details of why my car is in the shop. Long & short I probably need a new radio because my pre-sets won't hold and the dealer damaged my rear door trying to fix the rear lock pins under warranty. Car went in to get said damage replace/ fixed and they damaged the entire door card necessitating replacement now of the entire rear door panel. Anyway onto my rental C300 comparison to my C300.

My loaner is an '08 built 12/07 our car was built I think 6/07? It's not in the garage as I write, but it's a wild guess? Anyway. Both cars are C300 Sports, but the loaner has the standard 17" wheel while ours has the 18" AMG. The loaner has 4100 miles on it our car 18K. First thank I noticed is the command knob or deal in the center console that you use for the display feels heavier on the rental, more substantial and as if made of metal. The one in our car feels plasticly and light? Also the one in the rental feels like it has ball bearings or something while ours feels like it has a cheap plastic clicker.

As I motored home down the freeway I had my hand resting on the back of the pass side headrest. Why does the back of the headrest on the rental feel like that non-skid rubberized material but it's "hard textured" plastic on our car. Also the rental has black interior MB-Tex and ours has light Grey MB-Tex not sure if that makes a difference. Other visual cues the roof antenna on our car is glossy black the one on the rental is mate-black? The rental does not have P1 or satellite radio so that might be the difference??

On to the drive... The steering feels heavier on the rental, our car feels like it has too much assist by comparison? I notice the manual mode works with much more precision on the rental. Push the shifter to the + and the car upshifts, even using light pressure or being lazy. In my car I have to nearly slam the shfter to the +/- or it stays in the previous gear. For instance I can push it left or right gently then look and I'm still in 3rd gear. Push it hard and then there it goes 4th very annoying.

I never drove a base car luxury or sport or any C300/ C350 that didn't have 18" AMG wheels. If I can recommend a single stand alone option the $1K was well spent here. Our car feels so much more enthusiastic and planted on the road. I hit the apex on an on ramp in the rental that I'm used to easily entering at 60+ in my C300 sport with 18" wheels/ tires in the rental and it was all understeer with the anti-skid aids kicking in way prematurely. The verdict in the handling department, this rentals handling character is a lot more mundane feeling.

Ironically the rental feels quicker, more snappier and doesn't hunt through the gears as much as our car? On the other side when just motoring through town and parkinglots the engine has a low drone that almost sounds like a sewing machine. I don't remember hearing this in our car? Also I don't want to get on anyone that has silver but the silver and the base wheels makes me feel like I'm driving a very uninspiring car very boring and such. But I've never been a silver guy....in fact I got rid of a Civic i bought new in 2002 a year later because the silver color was so boring and didn't look any nicer when cleaned up. Anyway my point of this thread is either to point out I was expecting to not feel a big difference between the two cars, and that I think MB snuck in or changed a few parts after the initial build. Our car was purchased August 12th so it was an early build.

-Ryan

Parts are changed and or updated during production all the time. You could ask the dealer to update your transmission control unit and valve body to make the transmission shift a bit quicker and more precisely. Also have them look at the steering and COMAND controller just as precautionary.

Usually, the 17inch alloys are lighter than the 18's, so there is less unsprung weight, and the acceleration will feel livelier

Interesting observations. Did you notice if both cars are built in the same, or different, plants? (South Africa/Germany)

Sorry to hear about your bad luck

They way you describe the drive itself makes it sound like one car was in Sport mode and the other in Cruise. :word:
Maybe MB has a "special design" for their rentals :nix:



" You never walk alone "
Liverpool

I noticed the Antenna Fin thing as well when I purchased mine. The car I wanted had the matte black (or rubber) Antenna Fin, whereas a handful of other C's on the lot had the glossy, more substantial Antenna Fin.

I assumed it was the Satellite Radio (p1) option, but that was put to rest when I drove one w/o P1 and it had a glossy Fin.

Anyone else know what the difference is?

what others said plus the loaner may feel quicker due to less gear hunting is because the way people drive the loaners. The transmission/throttle are adaptive. the more aggressive you drive the more aggressive the transmission is. usually it would hold the gear longer.

also if you really want to have your engine make the most power it can, don't ever baby it thinking you will hurt it by giving it more throttle. 3-5k miles between oil change will be best.

Well, just to add a few things - I nearly burned myself on my comand controller knob after a long day in the heat of the sun... so I'm pretty sure it is metal. It feels buttery smooth as well with a very solid turn as you describe. I've got all black inside and it did seem a lot softer (less hard plastic) than the loaners I've had which were older. It sounds like they might be combatting people's arguments of "too much hard plastic" yadda yadda.

Is this true? I thought this was an AMG or S class option / feature. I was not aware that we had adaptive transmissions...
RickP

All cars with the current 7-G automatic have "adaptive" features built into the software.

I checked my knob and it's definitely made out of metal on the sides but plastic on top. Car was built in 08/07. The knob also feels like it's on ball bearings too with a subtle click.

It's all about ball bearings... 30 weight. -fletch

+1 Many people beat their loaners like a rented mule so the trans will be pretty aggressive.

I have been in a loaner C300 for over a week while they are shipping my new manual trans from Germany and I have to say I like some of the changers from 08 to 10.

The hooded gauges, instant fuel economy readings and the fact the readout stays where you had it after shut off and restart are nice. The smoother leather on the steering wheel is a nice touch also. While I like the field of view the old Dumbo ears provide, the new mirrors do offer less noise and turbulence when you have the windows down.
While I really prefer a manual transmission, I have to say this auto transmission has got to be one of the best out there(for traditional automatics anyhow). Smooth, clean shifts and willingness to kick down when needed. Although the manual shifts are a little slow, once you account for the delay, it works quite well.

:rolleyes:
Really?

Yea, I have to agree with you. Personally, they messed with the 2010 and 2011 too much. 2009 looks best IMO. The speedo cluster in the 2011 is changed even further form the 2009 cluster and it looks weird. They made each line fatter and the longer increments seem less distinguished and very busy. I also hate the new design of the mirrors, they are too low... The only thing I wish my 2009 had over my sister's 2011 is that her TPMS will physically tell her the pressure in her tires. (Why doesn't MB just issue an update for this?)

I totally agree with your last point about the TPMS. Maybe the dealer could update it for you, i will try asking next time i go. :y

Why are you doing this? Don't you realize how dangerous this is? Usually you only see rednecks in old pickups drive like this and then they would be resting their other wrist on top of the wheel.

We drive a 2009 C-350 with every available option. Recently I had a 2010 C-300 loaner and a I too noticed some of these items that I really like about the 10 vs my 09. Absolutey, the tire pressure monitor reading exact individual tire pressure is much nicer in the 10. I also liked the fact that whatever setting you had the info center in the speedo set to stays the same if you shut off then restart. Also my 18" wheel AMG setup handles MUCH better than the base car.

If there is a way to update our 09 to show actual pressures on the TPMS readout, and keep the info center display from reverting to default mileage display instead of the setting I actually want it on, then I'd love to do it. Though it is something I hate to have to do, this is worth a trip to my waste of oxygen LOCAL MB Dealership.

I drove an 08 c300 not too long ago and it felt noticeably slower and had a couple cheaper touches to it. Same options, sport and premium.

Heavy
 

My rear 18"s with Bridgestones weigh in at fifty pounds each.