illusion8055

Hello.

I am about to become the proud owner of a new W204 Benz. My old G35 manual coupe is moving to it's new owner tomorrow morning (though I will miss her... it was time to move on)

So about 2 months ago I put in an order for my White '09 C300 Sport with navi, ipod integration, and MANUAL TRANSMISSION (I seem to be the only person in North America ordering a manual C300)

The problem is I still have time to change my order....

Do I stick with the C300 and maybe get some slick wheels come summer time (I live in Quebec. Quebec=LOTS OF SNOW and LEGALLY MANDATED WINTER TIRES).

Or do I upgrade to the C350, perhaps C350 4-Matic (refer to the Quebec comment above). The biggest downside (aside from cost of course) is the loss of the manual gearbox.

I drove the C300 auto and wasn't impressed with the gear box's downshifts. It felt underwhelming coming from a 6 speed G35 coupe (whose bark always seemed louder than it's bite). Does the C350 compensate or do you get a similar feel? How GOOD is the 4-matic in a rough winter??

I also opted for the 17" twin-six spoke wheels, as we cannot get the 18's up here in Canada on the C300 (wheels I would be happy with and thus would save the cost of buying new wheels come summer). Plus the panoramic sunroof is intriguing.

What I really need to do is test drive a C350 auto, but I just wanted to get some opinions here. Plus does ANYBODY out there own the manual C300?? I couldn't find a review anywhere on how it feels.

maverickvii

I vote for the stick shift. I had the same decision and went with the 6 speed; absolutely no regrets. The 350 certainly has a little more power but in my mind it doesn't make up for the fun of driving a manual.

hmc

I own the manual. You should be able to find some review posts with "search".

I never drove a manual G35. So I can't comment but I think C300 manual is fine.

If you are a manual car guy, don't get automatic. Very simple.

illusion8055

I did try that search thing, also that thing called Google proved to a tool I could refer to as well. I did not find much info aside from listing that a manual transmission is an option.

I did drive the G35 auto and it sucked...

C300Sport

I love driving my manual although mine has gotten a little clunky with th 1-2 shift. The dealer is hopefully taking care of this tomorrow.

Geep

I would like to give you my perspective on the C300 M6 which I purchased a few months back. This replaced a 12 year old Audi A4 2.8 M5 which I quite enjoyed.
Power wise I find the C300 quite capable. The sweet spot on the Audi was 3rd gear, in comparison the C300 there is a sense that that the gear ratios are better balanced, it just seems that there are more gears available were get that same feeling. I hope this makes sense.
The clutch on the C300 I find to be perfectly weighted, the Audi had a heavy clutch which I found tiring in stop and go traffic.
Placement of the clutch, brake and gas petal on the C300 is very good and found no difference between the C300, Audi and a few BMW’s that I have driven.
The shifter on the C300 has a nice feel and shifting from one gear to another it just right. The only negative is that the throw could have been shorter, which I preferred in the Audi.
Overall, I’m quite impressed by the car, I hope this helps.

Crisqo

my vote: manual...

chilledbenz

Coming from a Japanese manual gearbox your going to be disappointed. But if you want one you have no other choice but to get the C300 as they have dropped the manual transmission from the SLK for 2009.

C300Kid

How so? I like the Benz gearbox, but I've only had European cars.

Azn_C300

maybe I'm going against the grain, but I'd suggest getting the 350 4-matic. As already stated, you'll be disappointed with the manual transmission, especially coming from a G35. To compensate, might as well get something with more power and better ability to drive in the elements in your neighborhood.

Untertürkheim

I vote to buy the C300 MT with every option you can, and use the money saved from the 350 to put the C63 LSD on the car.

The performance aspect of the LSD and manual will be great, in addition the LSD will help in the snow.

illusion8055

It's an interesting point you mention about the LSD....

How many of those recommending the manual are driving it in harsh winter conditions?? How is it in snow?? The RWD G35 was OK, but maybe partly due to the fact that the G35 6M had an LSD.

skillz1318

I have a manual tranny and I love it....I was in the same boat...C350 with auto or C300 with manual.

I am very happy I decided on the manual tranny.

Pristine

If you prefer manual over an automatic then go with manual. Otherwise you will regret it. While 4Matic is a good option to have in snow, you'll be ok without it with implying proper driving techniques and using snow tires.

Derspeed

I have a manual tranny. It's the reason I chose the 300 over the 350. Coming from a manual, and then driving the manual C300 mad the choice easy. I wanted the higher horsepower, but I drove the 350 for a few days and found the shifting in the "manual mode" of the auto tranny to be way too slow. It didn't feel as nimble or spry as the C300. I agree with Geep on two points that I have discussed previously: (1) The clutch is very smooth and light and (2) The throws are a bit too long.

Having the manual, however, makes me wish they would have located the cup holders elsewhere (or lower). It seems that anything taller than a soda can gets in the way of shifting. At first it doesn't seem like a big deal, but it gets really annoying when you have taller containers (20oz bottles) in them.

C300Sport

I picked up my 6spd C300 from the dealer today. I had been in a loaner for a few days while they had a part shipped in. I have to admit, C's character is very different between the two trans. I really enjoyed the ride home shifting for myself while the ride over, although just fine, did not put a smile on my face like the ride home.
Unless you just hate shifting (which I doubt) go for the manual!!

C300Kid

MANUAL FTW! I can't wait to get mine.

cvkatigbak

+1

Distalero

Me too. MT in this car is the way to go, but then I'm way biased towards manuals anyhow. At low speeds, and sometimes when down shifting and slowing, the throw-out bearing/fork action can be a bit harsh at times (pulls the clutch away from the fly wheel when you push the clutch pedal in) but it smooths out when you learn when to do this by listening to the revs and "feeling" them (which is a basic skill to develop with manual transmissions anyhow), and the 1st to 2nd shift needs your focus (and a little art) to make it happen smoothly, sometimes, but if you stay focused you can do it every time.

Driving a car with a MT is driving with as much coordinated driver's input as exists nowadays. It takes more than just driving with your right foot, and is a whole lot more interesting.

ggoodman

Haven't had the chance to drive the C300 6M so I won't try to comment on the shifter etc. but my daily driver is a C230 6M which has been great. Regarding the winter, I use 4 blizzaks and it has been fine in the snow including navigating a steep driveway. However,it is no match for my wife's C280 4Matic in the snow--the 4Matic car is effortless and very secure feeling. My guess is if you enjoy driving and are comfortable driving in the winter, the 6M with proper tires would be a great choice for you. If you want something a little more effortless and secure feeling in the winter the 4Matic is better.

C300Sport

Due to traction control, the LSD should give you only limited assistance if any. An open differential with traction control will effectively give you an LSD but not as much fun with traction control off...
illusion85055, let us know what you decide!

Untertürkheim

Actually, an open differential with traction control is really not the same as having an LSD at all.
The traciton control will decrease throttle and apply braking power to the spinning wheel in order to get the power down.
On the other hand the LSD would send power to both wheels first, meaning you would have to break both wheels loose in order to activate traction control.

C300Sport

From my understanding of our systems, once one rear wheel begins spinning, the brakes are applied to that wheel therefore transferring power through the open differential to the wheel with greater traction. It is certainly not as seamless as an LSD, but for most situations, traction control will keep you moving along without much fanfare.
As far as traction control with an LSD, there will be a certain amount of mechanical slippage due to the fact that you cannot run a locked differential effectively on the street. The electronics would certainly interve even with the limited slip allowed from one wheel of a vehicle with an LSD unless the software allows for fairly aggresssive driving.

Untertürkheim

The ASR portion of ESP applies braking and also reduces throttle input once an unknown (to us) amount of wheelspin is detected, but it all depends on the tolerances of the ESP/ASR vs the LSD, although I still believe that even in full-on ASR, the LSD would give an advantage.

Even so, in esp "off" (or more acurately, barely on), the LSD would be a huge advantage.

Another benefit would be that the slightly taller gearing on the LSD would give much better high-speed fuel economy and driving dynamic.

C300Sport

Excellent point, I wouldn't mind the slightly taller gearing as the torque curve on our engines really allows for it.