Any1 wished the bought C350 instead of C300??
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2009 C300 Sport 4Matic, 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo
Sometimes. C300 has plenty of power for a daily driver; however, sometimes I wish I bought a C350. Then I remember the amount of snow that we have, and I feel like the 4Matic does very well in snow.
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From: Llandudno, Cape Town, South Africa
late 2009 CLK 350 Coupe Elegance, '65 Jaguar S Type wires
We have the 350 Elegance & to be honest I don't think there is anything wrong with the 300 or C280 as it sells here. In fact I think the 300 is the sweeter & more smooth of the 2 engines. Be happy - not much in it unless you are a boy racer. I'm a traditionalist & like the traditional grill. I'm more interested in the interior appointment & features.
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From: Toronto, Canada
09 C300S 4M
Just drive them both before you buy it. The 350 has more power but for me, it wasn't substantial enough to justify the cost. When I drove it, I could feel the extra power but it wasn't blowing me out of the water.
If the 350 was in the 300hp range like the BMW 335, I would have considered it, but at 268 - you can feel the extra power just not enough. Unless your stepping up to the C63, these cars don't blow away the competition in this class. Although, the styling, refinement, ride quality, and hopefully longevity is why the C is a great choice. Especially the styling, these cars are gorgeous.
It's a personal preference issue, so the only thing I can say is, drive them both before you buy and don't sell yourself short on a 300 when you really wanted the 350.
If the 350 was in the 300hp range like the BMW 335, I would have considered it, but at 268 - you can feel the extra power just not enough. Unless your stepping up to the C63, these cars don't blow away the competition in this class. Although, the styling, refinement, ride quality, and hopefully longevity is why the C is a great choice. Especially the styling, these cars are gorgeous.
It's a personal preference issue, so the only thing I can say is, drive them both before you buy and don't sell yourself short on a 300 when you really wanted the 350.
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Joined: Nov 2007
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From: UK
2021 C63S coupe
The huge difference in price between the C280/300 and C350 is not justified in my opinion and only the jump to a C63 would have made sense if outright power was my aim.
However, had the price difference being the same as 230 to 280/300 I would have bought the 350.
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2008 Steel Grey C300 Sport 6MT
I wanted the manual transmission so the C300 was my only option. I have zero regrets and the engine has plenty of power for me. If I wanted power I would get something else not a 300/350. I wanted a nice sport/luxury car.
I would test drive both however because I hear that the C300 feels faster with a manual transmission.
I would test drive both however because I hear that the C300 feels faster with a manual transmission.
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From: Ma
W204
if you do the math the 350 makes about 268 but suffers around a 16%-18% hp loss to the wheels...the 300 manual is 228 but only loses around 5% with the stick. all the sudden the difference in power to the wheels isn't that significant. add the loss of weight from the auto tranny, the enjoyment of the MT, the higher compression of the 3.0, perhaps an ECU tune +18ish HP with the money saved over the 350...they are fairly equal.
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S350 BT 4MATIC
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From: Southwest USA
Another round of ICE
I have the 6 speed, but the great thing about the 3.0 is the fairly flat torque curve...it pulls very nicely across a wide band and delivers a great power feel. I don't drive around with a stopwatch, but if I have done a good enough job being in the right gear, it always performs beautifully! With that, even if the 350 had the 6 speed, I don't think its justifiable...plus I get about 22-23 mpg in the city and 28-30 on the highway.
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'09 C350 MM
I test drove the c300 a few months before buying the c350 and I had completely written off the thought of getting the c-class after trying it. Then I went back to Mercedes months later and the dealer had me try the c350 and it was completely different for me.
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From: Chicago, IL
Mercedes Benz
I don't want to sound biased but the c350 is not a slow car. Granted there are other cars like the 335i and is350 that are faster but look to ordinary. I picked the c350 because I wanted a Mercedes, two I wanted a sport sedan that "looks" like a sport sedan. 335i is a women's car with all those curves, is350 is jap burner and to me is a fail. Plus the c350's engine is underated. I put just the renntech headers in mine and i gained around 38 horses and 40lbs of torque without a tune. Since then I have added eisenmann race exhaust with the secondary cat delete and renntech ecu. motor is has not been touched other than ecu. This car is very lively and i believe this car should have came like this from the factory and it is perfect middle between c300 and c63.
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From: Diamond Bar, CA
W206 PHEV AMG
if you do the math the 350 makes about 268 but suffers around a 16%-18% hp loss to the wheels...the 300 manual is 228 but only loses around 5% with the stick. all the sudden the difference in power to the wheels isn't that significant. add the loss of weight from the auto tranny, the enjoyment of the MT, the higher compression of the 3.0, perhaps an ECU tune +18ish HP with the money saved over the 350...they are fairly equal.
personally mine was only $35k OTD vs a C300 with P1 and auto you only save about $1-1.5k ish. Divided into payments it's like $25 extra. It wasn't worth it to get the C300 with that little in money you saved. I know eventually I'll chip tune the car which will bring the thing to around 290hp at least. As there isn't much to do for the M272 having a C300 just wasn't an option.
unless people are buying C300 for the sake of 4-matics in the US that's probably the only reason I would get the 300 OR it's a really good lease deal like $350 a month of something.
Last edited by FrankW; Jul 12, 2009 at 05:06 AM.
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From: Farm Country/SoCal
w204 - 350 N other white cars
i just bought a 2008 c350 and loving every moment of it. i didn't like the 300 that much because you couldn't feel any power to the car.. however, not too much difference between the two! i bought the c350 because i thought i didn't want to do anything to my car except leaving it stock. after 1 day of owning it, i love it sooooo much that modications to the car was a must. (man, some of u big ballers have expensive taste) especially seeing all the wonderful ideas and ride's in here. so i will be doing some rookie modifications. to make a long story short, if i can turn back time, then i would buy the 300 for myself and use the price difference and mediumly (new word guys) 
modify it which will likely improve horsepower and the appearance of the car.
modify it which will likely improve horsepower and the appearance of the car.
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Joined: Sep 2007
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From: Southeast
2008 C300 Sport, RWD, US
Back when I bought my C300 in September 2007, there was about a 4K difference between the base C300 and C350. I didn't think it was worth the difference and got the P2 package instead.
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From: North Scottsdale
06 C 350 2014 GLK350
I have driven four C300 loaners when having my car in for service. The C300 performance seems adequate but lacks that little extra response that makes the car feel good to me. Yes, I could drive all day in a C300 just as I used to do with my C320 but once you have a 350, you simply don't want to turn back. Every time I turn in the C300 loaner and head for home in my 06 C350, I start to smile and realize why I made the right decision in getting the 350
When the W204's came out, I was looking forward to getting a C350 and found out that some "marketing god" decided that I couldn't get one in the Luxury Model. I test drove the C350 Sport and realized I would not give up ride comfort to get a 350.
I'm hoping that when they do the face lift next year that they will offer a 350 or better engine in the Luxury Model.
Incidentally, I was wondering if I should go back to the E Class so I drove the new W212 E 350. It seems like an excellent car but, once again, those genius marketing gods decided that if you want the black leather interior, you can't get the burled walnut. Also, the only thing I have really missed from my last E Class was the air cooled seats. They are available on the new E Class but only on the E350.
When the W204's came out, I was looking forward to getting a C350 and found out that some "marketing god" decided that I couldn't get one in the Luxury Model. I test drove the C350 Sport and realized I would not give up ride comfort to get a 350.
I'm hoping that when they do the face lift next year that they will offer a 350 or better engine in the Luxury Model.
Incidentally, I was wondering if I should go back to the E Class so I drove the new W212 E 350. It seems like an excellent car but, once again, those genius marketing gods decided that if you want the black leather interior, you can't get the burled walnut. Also, the only thing I have really missed from my last E Class was the air cooled seats. They are available on the new E Class but only on the E350.
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Joined: Nov 2007
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From: Irvine, CA
C300 Sport, MM, P1
yea that is about the same time I bought my car (the price you pay for the getting things early). I just couldn't bare to pay $4k for an extra 40hp. If the price difference wasn't so drastic at the time, I would have been all over the 350, but right now I love my 300 so no big regrets.
