wsc

Hi guys, I've been a lurker and finally going down the Merc route from BMW. Love the look of the new C Class Coupe.

I live in A UK city, hardly drive, only 4K miles a year so not fussed about economy.

I am looking for best performer & fun to drive and most sporty ride - and on lease both are the same price.
On paper C300 is 0-60 6s and 245bhp
Vs C250d is 0-60 6.7s and 205bhp

So C300 makes sense. But reviews online which are quite limited suggest going for diesel? Which one would better fit my criteria?

hans007

i cant imagine a diesel being as fun to drive as a gasoline car. if you only drive 4k miles a year, well the economy barely matters so get the gas car.

bdajeha

I made the same choice recently, ended up chosing the C300.
One of my major factors was that I've had like 5 diesels in a row, and was looking for something new.

As I see it, the diesel has the fuel economy and the new gearbox.
The petrol has better performance, and a nicer sound with the AMG exhaust option.
I'm hoping the petrol one will corner better also, being lighter. (I like corners...)

As I understand it the C300 gets the new gearbox next winter, if you want to wait for that.

megaoctane

is it the new 9G tronic?
Any other engines in C getting this?

bdajeha

Yes, the 9G.
I was only interested in the C300, but I assume the others that have 7G now gets it also.
Note that this was for the Coupé, I don't know about sedan/estate.

megaoctane

I hope the C180 and C200 also gets this as the 9G is better than the 7G in reducing fuel consumption.

MattC300Coupe

I recently chose between C250 and C300 coupe too! I do around 12k miles per year and decided to go with the C300.

I tested both models. C250 had the 9G box. C300 had the 7G box.

The performance is not a massive difference - certainly not during normal driving. The C250 feels like it pulls a bit stronger and more readily when overtaking at 50+ mph - this is most probably the extra torque. When doing the same with the C300, it's revving harder and feels a bit more strained initially. For traffic light Grand Prix, the C300 is definitely quicker off the mark! It definitely feels like a 6second car. The driving modes make a difference to the throttle sensitivity, gear changes, suspension and exhaust note!! In sport+, it really does sound the part!! And the throttle is very sensitive - I would say a bit too sensitive to the point that it's really really difficult to drive smoothly.

C250 is definitely more noisy from inside the cabin. The diesel clatter even when warmed up is quite noticeable. C300 is much more hushed inside and out. The 2L 4 pot petrol does sound a little rough when cold but when warmed up its smooth - not when compared to a 6 cylinder petrol, but it's far quieter than the diesel. I would definitely say that the 2L BMW diesel engines feel more refined and quieter than the merc.

I did notice that the 9G box changed more smoothly but it's not yet available on C300. 4matic is also on its way.

Anything else? I'm happy to try to answer from my experience (of 1 week) in my C300 Coupe.

ManiacGT

City driving, low miles = DPF issues. Diesel = noisy.

Exactly why I went petrol. Yes mpg is worse but car was cheaper, is smoother, quieter and no horror of DPF regen or worse, blockage due to short trips.

Gn1us

Hey, thanks for the info! I’m currently going through the same thing and it’s driving me insane! Just drove the c300 today and the c250d a week ago and pretty much agree with everything you say and couldn’t have put it better! I was edging towards the C300 but the minimal difference in performance made me think twice. Of course the C300 is quieter and so sounds better (in sport+ only) but im thinking I can pretty much drive the C250d on sport+ all the time.

My commute to work is a 73 mile round trip but I don’t drive in every day, what kind of MPG are you getting? The airmatic feels sweet by the way but I don’t mind a bumpier ride to save the £900.


Bodrul

MattC300Coupe

I've now had my car for about 4 months and I've put on around 4K miles. I've really got to know the car well.

I also commute too but not everyday. When I take mostly motorways inc M25, I cover approx 50miles one way, I normally average around 33mpg. On the same journey when I've been really trying, I've got 38mpg. I can take a different route that often takes longer but is only about 28miles but takes me through the city with lots of stop start traffic and I normally get around 25-28mpg.

How does my mpg compare with someone with a C250d? I expect the mpg to be better but not by miles. So unless I'm doing 15k miles a year or more, I don't think I'm really going to notice the cost savings.

I've got the airmatic and it's great! The ride is still quite stiff (I'm on run flat 19s). The ride must be pretty awful without the airmatic.

DBOC205

I've had my diesel for over one and a half years and it's the first diesel sedan I've owned. Overall I'm very happy with that choice.

Although I never got to drive the high output petrol (i.e. C300) I did compare it to the C250 petrol variant at the time, which is the same engine slightly de-tuned. It would be a close call between either car.

The OM651 with 500 Nm of torque in the C250d is however a great high performance diesel engine. The monstrous torque is just fantastic for suburban and mid-speed highway driving. The variable twin stage turbo ensures you have maximum torque at very low RPM and thanks to the many gears you'll find yourself within the peak torque curve in most driving circumstances.

Due to the added weight and some minor initial turbo lag, there's a short delay getting off the line fast - i.e. it doesn't jump out of the gates like the petrol can. Having said that it's certainly no slouch off the line either - lift the throttle to around 1200 prior to launch and the rear wheels have no chance of hanging onto traction. Once it's moving or coming out of corners at low RPM the car really wants to accelerate a lot harder than the petrol because of that early boost in torque. It's no wonder they won the Pikes Peak Hill climb last year with it. I haven't seen comparison figures but 40-80 km/h or 60-100 mid-speed acceleration times will probably see the diesel come out on top because of that instant torque punch.

The petrol will seem more aggressive and rev out to give you a more sporty engine feel (and sound), which the diesel won't but the performance between the two is ultimately very close. At high speed the petrol will be far more sporty to drive because the power is in the upper rev range, whereas with the diesel more joy is found in the lower revs.

They are both fun vehicles to drive - Consider that either variant is only 2 seconds off the pace of a C63 in a sprint to 100 and you really can't complain given they are 4 cylinder cars with a 2l displacement. The big negative IMO with the diesel is the uninspired engine noise. You can't get away from the fact your're driving something that sounds like a tractor. It's not as quiet as a luxury car should be.

I know you said economy didn't matter but it's nice to be able to dial back to Comfort mode and cruise on the highway sipping less than 5 liters of diesel, knowing you have 1000km range.

Definitely spend time driving both engines. There's pro's and con's with each and the decision on which to get will always vary between different owners.