petvan

So just swapped out my c450 after a few years for a new 2019 C43.

It was a last minute decision but so far working out - I only have 1300km on the car so not yet driving it like I stole it though I admit it has been in sport+ a few times.

Some impressions in no order

1. Dynamic Modes WAY more dynamic. My C450 went into S+ mode as soon as it turned it on and never came out. It was an easy driver at all times. The C43 in sport+ mode can be a bit obtrusive at low speed, tooling around driving. Downshifts on the rev match give you a noticeable bump, rev's seem to stay higher, and generally you feel this mode being more athletic than the 450. The 450 in sport+ was awesome, but this one seems a bit more angry? That, and comfort is actually pretty quick and drivable and I find myself preferring when getting groceries / dropping the kids off. Don't get me wrong, S+ on the C43 I like a lot better just was surprised how significant the change is across transmission programming, ride quality etc.

2. Exhaust burps. The 450 I could just let off on the accelerator and stimulate some predictable burps but the C43 doesn't respond the same way, and rather seems to crackle at different times, but is maybe more authentic? I'm not a car engineer so probably missing the tech bits here, but my small time in S+ on the new one feels a bit different so far in this respect. That said, it's flat out noisier in general and sounds awesome.

3. Tech Gauges. These are cool, but I think I may crash and can't seem to find a layout I like at all times. I tend to gravitate toward the classic layout as I like the blue coloring but putting the radio in the middle is too noisy - channel names in XM are too busy, and if you do all AMG/performance settings on the locations you end up with overlap in data. I tend to like the tach with the tire pressure/temp and engine/oil temps the best, but what to put in the middle? Boost+ HP / torc but then I'm distracted.. Ugh.. first world problems. Sometimes I think the normal gauges and fewer options would cause me less stress.

4. Info system LAG. Not sure if it's just me, but when you fire the car up, and try to shoot commands at it via voice, its dead slow. Spends forever on the waiting for voice screen. Not sure if this is lag to the phone, connected car lag etc, but its noticeable. Even the general performance of the system seems slow initially - channel changes etc.

5. Cabin noise - C450 had some rattle around the center speaker, C43 is a rock inside. Very happy.

6. Track pack is way cool, again I'm going to crash via distraction and mapping the kids school to my house as a race track leads nowhere good.

7. Maybe the steering wheel is a tad busy too - so many different ways to do the same thing, and that switch on the left which does volume on the right only does cruise on the left I think - this is miss for me as its far easier to manipulate than any of the other buttons and how often are you in cruise?

All that said, loving it so far and getting ready to rip around a bit more now that it's pretty broken in.

Cheers,

Pete

Joey604

Hey Pete,

Canadian driver here in the Vancouver area. Just wanted to share my similar experiences. At the end of April, I too swapped my 2016 C450 for a new 2019 C43.

I’m still putting the car through its paces as I’ve yet to even rack up 1000km, but I’ll share my first thoughts.



1. Dynamic modes: Agree, at low speeds Sport+ in the C43 is a bit cumbersome for the 9-speed to control. At more aggressive accelerations and speeds the new car feels much stronger and responsive. Although the C43 Sport+ feels more refined and polished, I still prefer Sport+ in the C450. It just felt more raw and connected.

Comfort mode feels more comfortable. Suspension feels more refined and smoother. Still, gears 1-3 don’t feel very smooth for “comfort”, for me at least.

I’m eager to try the new Slippery mode as I used to have a Snow mode on a Lexus IS and I found it very helpful.

2. Gearbox: The gear ratios are a lot different as expected with the 9-speed gearbox over the 7-speed, but I thought Mercedes would’ve refined them smoother, especially in the first 3. The 7-speed was more predictable and maybe I’ve gotten used to its timing (although adjustment going from 5 to 7-speed wasn’t that hard).

3. The cars weight feels shifted and reacts differently. Not in a bad way at all, but for me it feels a bit muted compared to the C450.

4. Exhaust burps: I miss the 450 burps! It was very predictable and controllable in the 450. I noticed I have to push the rpm’s into the 5000 range to produce a good audible burp/crackle in the new car. I guess the 450 needs to hold 1st and 2nd gear longer at higher rpms as opposed to how the 43 has more range and can shift higher earlier. Still, for now I prefer the old *braps!

5. Tech Gauges are cool. I prefer analog gauges but opted for the technology package because why not? It’s part of the new generation anyway. I mostly use the Supersport only because it lets me have 2 adjustable screens. While Classic and Sport gauges also have 2 adjustable areas, I must sacrifice my tachometer to utilize them, so that’s a negative for me.

6. Cabin noise: Yup, C450 had rattles around the center speaker area. The C43 has an odd rattle on my passenger side somewhere at medium speeds. Need to get it checked out.

7. Steering Wheel: I was really looking forward to this steering wheel. It has a cool factor for me but looks like its functionality isn’t as useful. It’s a bit larger than I want. The C450 had the cruise controls in an awkwardly hidden place behind the wheel and now, although now very accessible on the wheel, it’s too accessible…like it gets in the way. I don’t use cruise often, but maybe for many others it’s a bonus.

8. The rear view and 360 cameras have a wider angle of view. I’m not a fan. Sure, I can see more, but it also gets even more distorted on the sides. Harder to anticipate how close something is. I love now that when you come close an object, the 360 camera view automatically pops up for you to see the proximity. Very helpful as I used to always manually turn on the camera to check when I’m in doubt. The camera button now shares the same button as the parking assist, not sure how I feel about that.

I miss ye ol’ 450, but I love the new 43. Still breaking in the engine and can’t wait to give it a good rip.