K-A

That just speaks volumes about the W204's interior.

kremou

I don't think is only the interior .The question is about Mercedes marketing policy.

Ιf W204 was much better than W203 why put similar technology in new design,named different,and changed them so soon ?
Ιn Europe engines start replaced by CGI -turbo,and some have also Βlue Efficiency eco technology -include many external improvements,not only nice design mirrors,but also improved aerodynamics.So there are great offers for buying exist C series with old technology,only 2 years after presented as total new model

Next time maybe look at history.Since W202,it's not secret,that C class follows everytime the new E class quality in interior or exterior standards,engines included.

EDIT : I think it's better everyone interesting buy a C class,wait always buy the facelift one.It's about to buy a really total car,similar to E class standards,because all real improvements always happened since new E class presented them each time.And that is really bad for Mercedes reputation and first release owners

RLE

And when was that, exactly? My C300 is my eighth new one and the only one without failure after failure in the warranty period. And don't try to tell me that 115s, 116s, 123s, 201s, 202s and 203s were reliable cars because I know better. Buying those cars were the reason I know everybody at my dealer so well, including the owner.

tivoboy

Man RLE, I have no idea why you would keep coming back. After about three, is that RETURNS for new vehicles, why wouldn't one simply get a different car?

ismeto

+1


owned 2005 w203 (better cl203 coupe) and tested w204


driving-handling w204 beats but inside material quality is too cheap and steering wheel is light for sport cars

kremou

W204 exterior beats W203 facelift except lights and mirrors.

As I wrote before,if compare both car with xenon lights,W203 look more separate and more powerfull (or clear) in beam than current W204.
Rear lights in W203 facelift is also more bright in the night or when car stops,using maybe some led technology.In W204 is some kind of soft pink color not suit for serious brand car for my opinion,and main break lights are weak,almost unnoticed.

There is still not solution for the problems with the first release of W204 mirrors ,and compare both new and old W204 ones,motor folding mirrors closed complete in W203 not in W204.

Glyn M Ruck

& the 204 still has an ugly @$$

RLE

Like a less than beautiful woman, you look at something else. I never did make peace with the pushed-in-face look of my W203.

After 7.5 years in the C320 and 1.5 years in the C300, taking the entire package into consideration, the W204 in the right color wins.

RLE

Your second sentence puzzles me. But, I don't mind answering. I believe, taking into consideration everything, that the German cars are the best. Despite that up until the W221 and W204, they were never as reliable as the uninformed public thought they were.

I can understand why a first time MB driver (or a leaser that just wants the latest hottest (for the moment) car) does not discover what MB ownership is all about until he's had the car a while. This I know.

For me, it's how the car goes down the road, the solid feel, the view out front and the feeling of underlying quality and safety that has earned my loyalty. And a huge part of all that is service backup because without service you have nothing.

All of my past MBs have had repeated warranty repairs which while annoying, were made fairly painless because my dealer always provided alternate transportation and I never saw a bill for a repair during that time. And by the time the warranty was over, all of the badly designed failed parts had been replaced by updated ones and the repair episodes were fewer.

As to alternate cars, which ones? Most of them are deadly dull or have their own list of problems to deal with. Besides that, thinking about recently, compare the numbers of late model MBs on the road vs the Asian label cars. The MBs, with their design continuity, can always be identified and on average are better cared for than the average Acura-type and when the Acura is five years old, it's successors have changed completely and they are nothing but old tatty cars. Try to think of the last well kept older Maxima you saw. You didn't. And there are no National groups of Nissan or Honda or Lexus owners dedicated to enthusiast owners.

But, the Mercedes and BMW and Porsche Clubs have been around for many decades. PCA, in fact, has been in existence for over fifty years and has nearly 60K members.

That's owner loyalty.

justthinking

RLE, on average, how long do you own each MB cars?? Interested to find out if you did own the car after the warranty period, did they ever give you any major problems..

Of the Asian luxury brands, I would only be interested in Infinity & Lexus..these 2 brands are a good alternative to BMW & MB, but alternative is still only alternative, not quite the same as the real thing..

BTW, I still can't stand the interior look of BMW 3-series..it simply look too old school and outdated for me..

justthinking

That's why trunk lip spoiler is a must..it draws attention away from the ugly tail light and make the rear look at least acceptable overall..

Carsy

The 204 rear reminds me of a pretty bob tail much better than the 203 squarish look & pixi tail lights.

FrankW

personally prefer the square look. the spoiler helps much better. other wise the trunk of the 204 just look weird with the slope.

Glyn M Ruck

+1

kremou

BMW 3-series interior with idrive is more pretty that C class command APS included.Also idrive is far better in functions than command .

C300Sport

You must be joking about idrive...not to mention the twin asymetric binnacle look is pretty wierd IMHO.

kremou

Ok,you don't like idrive,but BMW's idrive ergonomics design,copied by mercedes S class and audi cars later than BMW performs.Mercedes not included in command APS,advanced car functions info,than BMW do even in cheap business version of idrive. (2D maps nav included against audio 50 of W204)

In addition second edition W203's command APS includes video fuction standard (in Europe), and much easier handle than todays W204 command APS.-W204 command APS have some functions not really need for most drivers,but cost much more than W203's SE command.

Glyn M Ruck

The iDrive sucks!

FrankW

that is pretty much how every other MB will look other than the C. the idrive does have more function than MB's MM, but it still sucks to use.

FrankW

glyn, check out my c32 thread yea? need some feedback with a idle issue on the 32.

C300Sport

I actually sat in a 2010 E Class last week and like how they integrate the screen into the dash better that the C Class and the 3 Series. I agree the idrive does a lot but it is a major pain...I drove a 540 for three days late last year and it drove me crazy. I know there is a learning curve and this was one of the earlier(more complicated) versions so maybe things are a good bit better now.

Glyn M Ruck

Done Frank. Let us know how it goes - Good Luck

RLE

About 6-7 years and 75K miles. The only car I bailed out of before the warranty ended was the '85 190E, possibly the worst car I ever owned. More problems than the '01 C320, even, which was no slouch in the defect department.

The '89 190E 2.6, when well, was a great car. But, it had one of the many inline sixes that had undersized pistons installed which resulted in overlimit oil usage at about 47K miles. Most of the bad engines were the 3.0 version but my 2.6 also had the wrong pistons. At about that time, my dealer was repairing at least one of those engines per week, a nice money-maker for the shop. A calibrated oil consumption test was done before warranty expiration and found to be 800 miles per quart. The factory rep said "MB considers anything above 600 miles per quart to be normal". I said, you and I both know that these engines don't use anywhere near that much. He replied "Oh, I know that. We'll pay for the parts and 1/2 the labor." I decided that was going to be the deal so I accepted. So the job included new pistons and rod bearings and they threw in a head overhaul while it was off and it also got a new radiator when the mechanic swung a wrench into it when unbolting something on the front of the engine. My extended warranty picked up a few things also and I never saw a bill. I drove it another 10K miles and swapped it for a new '95 C280.

That's the biggest warranty repair I've had but there were dozens of others over time.

So all you people coming all unstuck over the occasional glitch don't know how good you have it.

kremou

Following everytime new E class design, probably it will be the same integrate in W204 class facelift,new climate included too.
Also new screen is 1'' bigger with more resolution,as new E class leaflet mentioned and I compare to the W204 basic screen specifications.Also Audio 50 now supports 2D maps display.

Everything need sometime to learn.Also many MM systems need regular software update to be more friendly.
In opposite Audi's MM is more friendly but not nice,I think.

TanMan350

+1^