Hello All,
in the market to purchase C250 2014 model, and would like to get some insights regarding what to look for and what are the major issues??
the major question for this thread is the following:
Considering that I'm a car enthusiast I do appreciate a good driver car, which will give me great feeling when getting into a corner or overtaking and drive.
is the W204 C250 2014 a good driver car? will it give you a great feeling behind the wheel ??

 

I don't know where you are or what cars are available, or what you are comparing it with, but I am also a car enthusiast and feel the C250 1.8L at 200hp is marginal for a 3500 lb car. I have a 2014 C350 with 304hp and feel that I wouldn't want less.

If you are worried about gas prices, then I'm sure the C250 will get better mileage. My C350 gets 20 mpg city and recently got 33 mpg highway, steady at 70 mph.

 

Also, my C350 is the Sport model. It handles very well and is very comfortable.

 

I test drove C250 Luxury, C300 4-matic, and a friend’s C350 before buying the 2013 C250.
All of JettaRed’s comments are valid.
But in my opinion the C250 is close second. The Sport model should be even closer. The C250 is the lightest of the 3 and has the best front/rear weight distribution. It corners quite well and goes smoothly from understeer to oversteer in corners with throttle. With the gear ratios that MB has chosen it is quick, if not especially fast. The 1.8 L engine will wrap up very quickly on down shift. The advertised 0-100 km time is around 6.5 seconds.
The C250 is very sensitive to tires. I suggest taking off the squishy Continentals and going to nothing less than Michelin PSAS4. At some sacrifice to ride quality, Yokohama V405 (AS) or V105 (summer) tires will give sharper, knife edge feel.
My C250 averages 25 mpg city and 34 mpg highway.
You must find one to drive to know if it is what you like.
Some 1.8 L M271 engines have experienced early cam phaser failures. In the US & Canada there is an extended warranty. I cannot say for other countries. If maintenance records show these have been replaced, all should be fine. If not, a warranty would be a good idea.

 

Our C250 (it's a coupe) mirrors Piggy's MPG figures. The fuel numbers on the Interstate are actually very impressive.

As for fun to drive (It's my wife's car - all I do is drive it 5 miles to a Chevron where RON 91 is close to $7.00/gallon) it's more sporty than my VW Jetta.

YMMV.



Ez

 

The bottom line is what Odd Piggy said: You need to drive the car and see if you like it.

 

I have an 09' C300 Sport with the 6 Speed manual transmission. It can definitely be an enthusiast car. I've taken it on Tail of the Dragon multiple times and it didn't have any issue keeping up to my best friend's 2020 WRX STI. The handling is very balanced, I had my resonated replaced with an x-pipe and it sounds really good. Aside from this, W204 is one of the best looking C-Class generations, boxy with fender flares, but still modern.

When it comes to steering feel however, there isn't much feel. You don't get the same resistance and feeling through the wheel as you do in my brother's e46 or my friend's wrx sti. However, the steering is very sharp and it corners better than people expect.

This generation of C-Class is so dynamic in that it can be fun and sporty, but it is also comfortable. I've gone on multiple road trips and the C-Class class has a comfortable ride and great speakers.
This is a great touring car, so if you want more feel and connection through the wheel and suspension, this isn't necessarily the best car for that. However, if you want a car with sharp steering and balanced (and planted) handling that is still comfortable and has everything else you need in a car, then W204 C-Class is a great contender.

 

My only real criticism is that at low speeds it can be very reluctant to change down a gear when needing to accelerate (C250 1.8 ) which sometimes leaves you in a dangerous position.

 

???
1-Select Sport mode which keeps the RPMs up around 2000
2-Reset the TCM
3-Downshift manually by pulling the shift lever to the left.

 

Thanks Yes tried all those but still catches me out for example approaching a roundabout slowing thinking I can do this but car is closeish foot down and nothing, takes about 2-3 secs to change down and by then they are all over you...... :-) :-(

 

That's why left foot braking was invented to force the change down or you can try the gear shift.

 

2-3 seconds is too long. 300 milliseconds should be the maximum for a downshift going from coast to light acceleration. Have you had the transmission scanned for codes? Only a few transmission codes will turn on the check engine light. There could be a sticky solenoid or something like that lurking in there.