benzlvr2500

Hey guys, I found out that the 2010 C classes can be equipped with the "Dynamic Handling Package" that supposedly has speed sensitive steering, a button to control the suspension, and paddle shifters. For those of you that have it, is it worth the money? Is it enough to give the C class the "extra edge" that it lacked in the 08-09 models? Please, if you can, give me your REVIEWS on it...like difference with/without it.

Glyn M Ruck

The "Advanced Agility Control" as it sells in this country is IMHO magic. It's been available from day 1 on the W204 here. It improves the car's dynamics & control in the twisty stuff quite considerably. More like a BMW. It gives you the best of both worlds. Comfort for normal use & better dynamics, turn-in, toughtness etc when you want to have some fun.

Paddle shifters are a matter of taste. I like them - many don't. Here you did not have to take the paddle shifters. They are optional.

I_Love_MB

Hey Glyn, I have Speed sensitive steering & Paddle shifters. Steering is great but not sure about paddle shifters. They feel kinda slow when I change gears using them. Because of that I stopped using them and use full Auto. Do you have any info how I can make them respond quicker?

JimPap

I don't think it'll give you any edge on speed....how could it?

I do wish I could soften the suspension on demand.

About how much are they asking for this option.

qwqwerertyty

by the way i've always been wondering, for our cars without the adjustable suspension option, does the stock ride feel more like the sport setting or normal setting? or is it somewhere in between?
does anyone happen to know?

C350TEXAN

I just bought an 10' C350 with this option. Although I havent really pushed it yet because it has less than 1000 miles on it still, when I put the car into sport mode it does seem to be a little bit quicker and handle the curves better. The car becomes more responsive and the ride seems to be firmer. This is just my initial impression as I really haven't gotten after it yet. But based on this impression, I would definitely add the option again.

Glyn M Ruck

The stock Lux or Elegance ride feels like the "normal" setting. Remember the stock dampers have mechanical variability dependent on road surface.

Glyn M Ruck

It won't make any difference to top speed per se but timed from one end of a mountain pass to the other you will see the difference with enthusiastic driving. It provides a lot more confidence attacking a corner & reduces the dialled in understeer. The car is less inclined to want to push it's nose out.

Glyn M Ruck

The only way is to have the TCU remapped by someone that really knows what they are doing. Benz map lag into everything from throttle to aircon. It would be nice to be able to switch in some different shift profiles but it's not a Ferrari.

JJW

I have this option on my 08 C220CDI Sport and it is the reason I bought the car over a bmw M-sport/ Audi S-line. The button use's a different ECU Map, stiffens the steering and the ride goes from comfortable to planted like in my opinion a Go Kart. If you are driving the car with passengers and ask them to see if they can feel the difference, it instantly gets a surprise as the car suddenly really picks up all of the road imperfections increasing grip.

I don't buy new cars that often as I feel if you are buying a German car it is designed to last longer than most of its european counterparts! So I really did my research and then narrowed it to three cars:

Audi A4 S Line TDI 2.0,

BMW 320D M Sport

Mercedes C220 CDI Sport

On test driving all 3 I found the Audi had crashy suspension, the Bmw had very Crashy Suspension (felt like welded shocks to subframe) but the Mercedes truly has the best of both. I you feel like taking that roundabout sharper you can press the button and really power through the corners, but when your just commuting home on the Dual carriageway then you keep it in comfort mode.

It has 170hp as standard but I'm hoping to remap the ECU next year, the only question I have is whether you can seperately remap the Sport button?

Regards

Jonathon

AhJai

I think you should to get it... this button is magic!

Gear changes become more agressive, steering response tightens, suspension firms up... And there is a manual mode for paddle shift. But to be honest, paddle shift is not quick enough and it seems to me leaving it in automatic is better. Paddle shifts on my 335i is much more fun. Nevertheless, the on-demand shift to quicker steering and firmer suspension is good enough to spend the money to get it. But if you plan to drop your car, I guess you need to find out more as not a lot of people know if normal lowering springs work on our "sports agility" suspensions. Goodluck!

qwqwerertyty

that button even looks adrenalin-sexy

so do you still have a C<--->S button next to the gear lever or does the sport button just does its job?

qwqwerertyty

so our "sports" version will be kind of in between normal and sport setting, right?

C350TEXAN

Instead of the c/s button, the package has an "m" button in it's place. The "m" button changes the shifting to the paddles.

mr inkredibul

Can someone in the US tell me what options the "Driver Adjustable Suspension" allows you to control and how it feels on the difference settings in regards to comfort and acceleration, body roll, etc? It seems that the Euro version previous to 2010 is different and doesn't have ALL of the options the 2010 version does.

Glyn M Ruck

Purely from a damping & spring rate perspective - Yes.

Geoff000

I have a C350 CDi with the Advanced Agility Control. Around town I don't push the sport button often. Definitely on certain roads it makes a big difference, particularly on twisty roads. It noticeably changes the steering, gear change patterns and firms up the ride. I like the paddles as it tends to give your more control over the car. I would recommend it as an option. I find when the car is in normal mode can be rather soft, so it is nice to have the flexibility. Go for it!

akbro93704

what type of shocks do the advanced agility package ones have? are they purely mechanical?

qwqwerertyty

thanks for solving my question

OP: i think you should get it. personally i would definitely enjoy having this package very much. but again the only worry is if you plan to lower it

Glyn M Ruck

No - they are active.

MB300AMG

This may be a stupid question, but why isn't this offered on 4matics?

I'm assuming i'm gonna get an answer regarding raised suspension or something. But I figured i'd ask anyway.

Glyn M Ruck

I have no idea - sorry!

benzlvr2500

hmm good to hear positive replies on this thing...when i get a c class ill definitely pick this option

benzlvr2500

I do have a question though. Since the "C/S" button by the gear lever is replaced by "M," when NOT using the sport button/paddle shifters, does the transmission and suspension go into comfort/ "C" mode? Or does the transmission go to "C" or "S" and the suspension go to normal or midway?

duboisi

"C" mode you get soft suspension, "S" mode you get firm suspension, there is nothing in between. When u start the car, it always starts with "C".
I remember reading an article, they use somekind of road holding index of 1 to 5 to illustrate the "C/S" setting. 1 being softest and 5 being firmest. Avantgarde (or Sport) is rated at 4. "C" is rated at 2 and "S" is rated at 5. There is no mentioning on Elegence (or Lux) in the rating. So this should give you some indication.