Does anyone have experience with the type of suspension in the C450, "AMG Adaptive sport suspension", and how it will compare to the AIRMATIC in the C400? Will the comfort setting on the AMG suspension be as soft or comfortable as AIRMATIC?

Let me finish that sentence for you. The truth.....is that you're a fcking moron. In terms of your educated opinions on everything other than your precious AMG's.....well they're fcked too. The opinions, not the cars. I'm actually quite a sophisticated kind of guy and have enjoyed "most" everyone on the W205 forums. In all honesty though you're nothing more than a slimy, insecure troll. Apologies for the harsh language, figured I had to go down to your level for you to understand.

It'll be better and more adjustable, ala the C63. V V V V PLUS, the car will have more HP and Torque, different brakes and suspension and some interior changes too. Its much more than just a slight price increase and a few small AMG badges on the front fenders:

http://www.mbusa.com/vcm/MB/DigitalA...ATIC-FINAL.pdf

I'll bet that your buddies over at Weistec in OC CA would beg to differ and would love to get their hands on a 3.0 V6. All of those things you list are something that they can "easily" change /mod and you know that. 'Ive seen what they did with the M113 and M156, so I am fully expecting the same from them (and others) for the "lowly 3.0 V6."

Don't forget too Jim, this car (C450) will play well in markets other than the USA, where the litres (engine size) are vital to road taxes/registration etc. Its not one size fits all when it comes to cars.

That's surprising. I assumed the adaptive AMG sport suspension would be firmer and sportier in comfort mode that AIRMATIC in a C300/400. Are you saying that even the C63 in comfort mode will be as soft as AIRMATIC set to comfort?"

No it will not, it will be firm. From what I have read, the comfort mode in the C63 is still somewhat firm.

Unfortunately, after this year you will not be able to get a smooth and more powerful W205. However, I think the amount of w205 V6 buyers that take the Airmatic is so low that MB will not lose any customers.

When I bought the C400 with AIRMATIC, I was looking for a fast, powerful, quiet smooth riding car. I was not concerned about maximum grip and high speed sports car handling. I would love to have the power of the C450, but not at the expense of ride comfort.

Apparently there's an individual setting that you can make as soft as you'd like . There's a total if 5 which includes " individual."

As to power,, another 35 HP and more torque is Huge for a car this size. A lil tune from Weistec or EC and you're well over 400 HP. It looks like a C63 with AWD. I'd say a winner all around.

Jrcart, I think the c450 is meant to plug the AWD gap in the AMG range. MB have dropped the Sport bit and now call the c450 the c450 AMG 4MATIC.

The C450 is a C400 with a Tune. So if you want the exact same power as the C450 then all you have to do is get C400 tuned.
The C450 and the C400 will top out at the same power.... Because it's the same Engine.

This is true from what I have read. But the c450 will have other parts that will probably make it a better handling car with that extra power.


Nonetheless it is exciting times for MB.

Just to add to the previous post, MB seem to have dropped the Sport bit and are marketing the c450 as an "AMG 4MATIC". It is the AWD drive AMG for those that want AWD.

My post was in response to Benz400 who was asking about a more powerful W205 without the harsh suspension of an AMG.
The C400 has that option while the C450 will not. I don't believe the C450 will offer Airmatic as an option.

Not every customer wants feel every bump on the road.

I don't know about anyone else but my initial thought was this car was made to be insurance friendly almost AMG car. For the buyer who wants the "sport" model Mercedes without the added cost of owning a real AMG model. It's like the best of both worlds in my mind.

I dont know why peope are so angry either. Seems like a bunch of you owners are mad because your C63 doesnt LOOK so different and you dont get your status anymore....lame. You should care more about how it drives rather than how it looks. Anyone who has owned an AMG model knows no matter what you do to a non-amg model, it will NEVER give you the actual experience. If you really truly want people to wow at you fork up the big bucks for a SLS

I feel like the good ol days of the thumbs up and acknowledging another car guy in a nice ride is gone. Everyone is more concerned that they are the center of attention and everyone is looking at you! haha WRONG!

The driver of a C450 AMG 4MATIC can select his or her tailor-made suspension setup at the push of a button. The range spans from balanced long-distance comfort to maximum sportiness

http://www.mbusa.com/vcm/MB/DigitalA...ATIC-FINAL.pdf

I think we all know that... Its the same as the C63.
It is not Airmatic.

Why wouldn't the c450 come with airmatic as an option?

It's based off the C63's suspension but it's not the same one.

I was originally hoping that the car would have Airmatic as well but from what I've read about the c63 suspension is superior. Having driven an R8 for 3 years I can live with a similar suspension setup. I suspect that the suspension on the C450 is likely to be softer than the R8 and has more options to adjust the ride quality.

I've heard that the airmatic is extremely expensive to repair when things go wrong. Anyone able to comment on how expensive parts/repairs will be with the suspension it will use?

WARNING: Everything I'm about to report is third party hear-say. I don't own an airmatic, but I've been asking a lot of questions about them recently because of my interest in the C400 and now C450......

My dealer warned me about the airmatic if I intend to own the car longer than the warranty period. He said the airmatic is nice, but when the warranty expires, sell the car and run for the hills.

My mechanic who owns a good size shop that caters to exotics and high-end European cars, said something even worse about troubleshooting. He said it's not "only" about expensive parts wearing out, he's seen bad reactions in cold weather where a valve will stick, leaving one corner of the car lower than the rest. Then, when he goes to troubleshoot it, there's nothing wrong. Once that happens, it becomes more and more frequent until it's overhauled. That would make me crazy.

Hey guys I have a couple questions, hopefully I can get some of your insights on.

1. Do you guys know if we can select a different grill for the C450 rather than the diamond one?


2. I just bought a C400 and I am plenty happy with it. Tbh for me personally the only thing the C450 provides me more than the C400 is the:
a) Better Exhaust
b) Better Brakes
c) Some AMG badges - Which, may not be truly AMG built, but it offers a little bit of extra gratification seeing that AMG badge and knowing you got slightly more HP lol. But tbh the difference in HP even is so insignificant in the grand scheme of things because it will maybe shave off a couple 0. something seconds. Were not all racers here, I doubt the average consumer would even notice the 0.something second difference.


That being said, I can still easily switch out from my C400 lease to a C450. Do you guys recommend that and feel like its big enough of a jump from C400 to C450 to go through that hassle?


3. Could someone sum up the differences between the C400 and C450 for me please? Im a noob who just got into the Mercedes world lol. I used to push a Ninja and a Scion FRS just before this.

The biggest difference in my mind is the re-engineered suspension. All the magazine reviews you'll find on the C400 say it doesn't feel balanced or confident in handling situations when you start to toss it around. The C450 on the other hand (so far) is getting glowing reviews about handling, but as you know, there aren't many of those reviews yet.

I think the debate about tunability between the C63/CLA45 AMGs and the C450 is moot. Judging from people who show interest in C450, they are not going to tune their C450 engine. It will be plenty fast enough, with 4matic and AMG badge to provide drivability and pride, without the risk.

An aftermarket tune pushing this V6 (without AMG reinforcement) over 400 hp will be outside of their comfort zone, for most of them at least.

As far as the question why the C63 RWD is more fun to drive than 4matic (RWD), it is not just about engine.

If you want to toss the car around, break the rear end loose, you want a RWD. But most drivers, and that includes even a greater proportion of the C450 drivers, are not going to drive too much above speed limits, much less trying to break any part of their car loose.

Way ahead of you man. The C450 has lower compression rings and pistons than W204 or W205 C63's and the CLA45. The C450 is already "tweaked", it is a C400 motor with some extra timing anf fuel. Tuners will squeez less power out of it than ture AMG vehicle. The turbos ont he C450 are smaller than those on a CLA45. If you are expecting to make 500 HP out of a C450 you're going to be very let down I'm affraid. The ONLY props I will give the C450 is that is is 4-matic, it will be quick 0-60 but after that it's going to fall on it's face.