AMGTTV8

Anyone else think that Mercedes needs to change their positions with their baseline engines?

Seriously, this is the only department (in my eyes) that they are losing in...

The 300 and 350 engines are both weak for what they should be.

And I know you can go tune them and whatnot but I'm talking from a factory and brand perspective...

I'm sorry, the engines simply don't cut the mustard.

Hell, even FORD is running 330hp engines in their v6 cars nowadays..

I feel humiliated.

The transmission was a good step forward, but Mercedes has come to a screaching halt in terms of making the bulk of their sales better..I certainly don't like being underpowered when I'm paying a premium - even IF my car isn't an AMG, relative performance should be better than the average competitor across all manufacturers, even if they are outside the specific market segment in which they trully compete.

Sorry for the rant but it is frustrating!

qwqwerertyty

agreed. thats the one thing that keeps bugging me..

C300Sport

My thoughts are they decided that quality and reliabitity needed to come first...for a change from recent years. With this in mind, the 3.0 and 3.5 are pretty well tried and true and have been part of the reason these cars are now recommended by the likes of Consumer Reports, etc. If they have spent this time "perfecting" powerful, efficient, and reliable replacements, I say time well spent...
But yes, I wish I had another 50HP too!!

AMGTTV8

and i hate this damn innovation lag between the US and almost all other markets...

we make up such a dense portion of their sales - and for what....no 4-matic STILL on the 350, and no direct injection, even on the new e-classes...

WHAT IN THE GOOD LORD'S NAME IS THAT?

I don't understand the message that they are trying to send to the marketplace as a whole, but more importantly to their current and prospective customers....WE AREN'T IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO RECEIVE THE TRUE INNOVATION IN A TIMELY FASHION - that's what I hear..

They may claim that they are unloading their inventories of ready-made engines on us, but I say hold them until warranty claims are made on existing cars...they do have to be able to create parts for 7 yrs after production of a model - i think theirs enough to satiate that demand.

I could go on forever but it just doesn't make any sense.

AMGTTV8

dually noted - they should be able to do both at once though...

put it in the glk for trial runs so to speak, and then move them down the line as they become truly reliable...just like all of our cars share pretty much all major components currently to increase reliability..

BenTrovato

It bugs you, and the rest of us, but we still bought the car! lol

Look at their slogan - Engineered like no other car in the world or unlike any other. BMW's? The Ultimate Driving Experience or Machine.

MB is going to make you feel like you are in an extraordinary vehicle, BMW is going to make you feel like your driving experience is unlike any other and in my opinion they both deliver on what they say.

However, the current c class is outstanding and a lot of us feel the only place it falls short is in the power rating. As far as business goes, MB hit the jackpot; they are dominating this segment with the slowest car*, & that is a tremendous achievement! This segment has never been about having the best car, it has been about delivering a product that most people will like and find value in. IMO they don't need the better powerplant of the group and they're holding that as the trump card for when BMW/Audi finds a way to eat into the current c class sales.

*I don't really know if it's the slowest car, but it's definitely not the fastest.

AMGTTV8

true - didn't think of it that way but it makes sense

still with you though in that i want more power!

BenTrovato

lol you and me both! time to hit the upgrades

Sincity

Don't forget the base W203 was a C230 Kompressor here in the US. The 300 is a much better alternative than a blown four-banger.

AMGTTV8

yeah...even worse

i hate that the modding gets you nowhere fast in these things...

joshg1001

MB needs to work on power and fuel efficiency. the IS350 makes 40 more horsepower, gets 1 mpg better than the C class, and does it with 1 less gear.

AMGTTV8

that's a from lexus....

zietche's face must sting

Reed19x

Mercedes = luxury
BMW = driving/modding/power

I think they designed the C class to be a baby S Class...i.e. luxurious. I've got no problems with the power, but then again I'm going with a VIP style build

nyca

When the new CAFE kicks in, you'll be lucky to get a V6 of any kind in a car like this. The next 3 series is going to be centered around 4 cylinder power.

These cars are going to have to get alot lighter, and I fear that weight reduction will come out of the safety margin in them.

qwqwerertyty

interesting and ya i guess this makes sense.
However, remember that the making of the C class video where they said they introduced the the new sport version with AMG inspired bodykit and CLK inspired grille to appeal to a younger and sportier market? Well, the appearance worked. on me at least. but in terms of performance, they do need a little more than that to really have a chance in this segment of the market.
Thats my obsevation thru many of my friends and even the forums.

remember though, MBs in the US cost half as much as most places in the rest of the world. theres no free lunch

AMGTTV8

with ya on all of these...

MB300AMG

Well lets take a step back and look at the Audi S4, which produces 333hp and 325lb of torque (I believe, tho my figures may be off by a slight bit) and it still gets 18/27 on the EPA cycle. Sure it has a supercharger but its still a 3.0L V6. Hence why I mentioned the S4 in the other thread I put up.

If Audi can do that, why can't Mercedes? I see no excuse really.

WE WANT MORE POWER!!! Oh and that ugly LED **** should go away. Seriously.

soldier2304

IDK where you guys are getting with this posts... If you were looking for a FAST car why not just get an EVO or STI and just mod the **** out of it? You bought a mercedes benz for luxury and safety. This is what is all about, even the AMG models are STILL pretty much luxury and safety with a much bigger engine nothing else. Has nothing to do with BMW and thats what i like about Mercedes-Benz.

MB300AMG

Yeah but the thing is you're sitting pretty in a C63 AMG because you can afford it at that price point, and that's awesome I love your car.

We all have entry-level cars for whatever reasons, whether we can afford them or not, insurance etc etc. Not all of us want to mod our cars (and do anything to affect our warranty for that matter).

Considering Toyotas of all cars are sitting on bigger engines for the price and that we are buying a car from one of the Big 3 German manufacturers, we would like them to be competitive from a performance standpoint aswell as all the other factors regardless of whatever reasons why we bought our cars.

Sure we could buy an Evo etc, but we like our Mercedes-Benz cars but would like more power, since they do have a racing heritage and their AMGs are known as hotrods. If AMG body styling can trickle down into the entry-level cars why can't some of the performance?

mac911

I don't know how much mercedes considers power for the more base consumer models. I mean, I was just in Europe and the 3 liter and 3.5 liter version of these cars would be very rare in that most of much smaller engines. After all, most S classes I saw in Europe had the 3.5 liter V6.

Do we really need so much power?

Ok, I like the power too. My SLK is not so bad with the 300 HP sport motor, but the C300 might still be my favorite car.

It's just a beautiful, solid car. The power of the c300 pretty much matches the 328i too, and that would be the most direct competitor. Of course, the C350 is more behind competitors.

Nevertheless, I think they are pretty good engines and that our cars move along fast enough. After all, go a few years back, and they sound much better.

I do still wonder if there will be a new generation of the V6s anytime soon. I'm not so sure. We might see them get into the turbo ing or something.

MB300AMG

Good points. That's the other side of the debate that I think about too because all my friends in europe drive small hatchbacks with even smaller engines.

Frankly I hope Mercedes goes into supercharging again rather than doing turbocharging like everyone else.

Robbio204

I agree that the C350 should have more power. It is the main reason why people choose it ; besides if it were for looks P1/P2 can be easily chosen on a C300 at the dealer and eBay can make up for the other minor differences (spoiler/rims/brakes).The 40 hp difference isnt much, or at least in-line with its competitors (of which I consider the 300 hp Bmw 335i). I dont think the power be should or will be at 382 hp V8 because MB probably figures it would take away from E Class and C63 sales (although not very prevalent). Also, it devalues higher-end models, like E550, CLS550, S550, and CL550, which all have this engine and a much more expensive. Let's say a hypothetical C550 was marketed at $50-55,000, just higher than the C350 and lower than C63. It is still at least 40% less than any other 550 model.

Having a 300 HP V6 engine in the SLK350 seems like a tease, but it is possibly a step forward. Maybe MB is using this to research the engine and see how it works out, especially since the SLK is awaiting a remodeling.

Robbio204

AMG models having bigger engines in MB models is true, but no matter what, a consumer will consider his/her options and need something for comparison. Overall performance always involves a car's engine.

Are there any high-end luxury cars that have poor performance?