yooker

Glad we see eye to eye regarding the comments on horsepower and torque.

All I was trying to express with that comment was that this car is meant to have a flat broad torque curve with horsepower being a secondary thought. Horsepower without torque is very tiring and most of us wouldn't enjoy that.

atspring

I thought it was clear I was addressing hp initially and since the principle difference between the C300 and the C350 is the engine I thought it would be clear what made the difference between an unacceptable and an acceptable W204 was the 3.5L engine. Before I went to the dealer I knew I wanted P2 and MM, so again the only effective difference between what I didn't like (C300) and what I did like (C350) was the engine. The smaller US engine was my deal killer.

The first Mercedes I drove was a European W201 back in the mid 80s. I still remember the experience. It took all of about 30 seconds to become familiar with the car (okay, maybe I'm exagerating and it really to all of 60 seconds). I'm reaching for controls in an unfamiliar car and everything was were I naturally tried. The first time I pushed the accellerator the car pulled away smoothly at the speed I expected. The same type of thing happened with the break pedal. That car fit like a custom made glove and it was MB's entry level car. Imagine the higher end cars. I understood why people drove Mercedes and one day I was going to own a Mercedes. The W204 is my first Mercedes. Some day I may get an E or an S, but right now whenever I'm around my C I feel like a teenager.

Sch-wing!

23wt

more juice to the 350 engine

Peabody

The break in speech should have been under 4,000 rpm, and not over 100 MPH.

Also, 215 kph will still get you passed on the autobahn. I've been passed while doing 255 kph.

C300Kid

OK..I'm almost at a full year of ownership so I'm now qualified to state my opinions:

1. The steering..I've grown to accept it, barely, but I still think it sucks. There's no feel to it whatsoever.

2. The seats..after driving 19,000 miles in the first year..I've realized the seats need updating. They're too hard and WAY lacking in side support. I fly around the seat every time i take an aggressive turn..it sucks.

3. The interior..I love the simple design, but the plastics should be a little softer in a car in this class. They're as hard as a rock.

That's really it..everything else is great.

atspring

The manual the factory provided said no more than 2/3rds of rev limit (works out to about 4,400 based on 6,700 redline), no hard down-shifts, and vary the speed. If the manual says stay under a specific speed for the first 1,000 miles, I missed it. Anyway, no harm since we stayed under 80 for the first 1,500 miles.

Actually I was surprised somebody didn't rocket by me at 215. There are certainly cars and drivers up it. Incidently, Mercedes are top speed limited based on the factory installed tires. For North American market cars the limit is 215