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Test Drove a 2016 C450 AMG, is it the car for me??
I have a 2011 C300 (W204) 6-speed manual with dynamic handling package that has been hit and is now most likely totaled, so I'm trying to find a replacement car quickly. It was my first Mercedes, and I am trying to stick with the brand. It seems like C450s are about $25k these days so I decided to give one a go since they are pretty common and not hard to find for sale. I test drove a 2016 C450 AMG with about 50k miles on it this afternoon.
I am having trouble figuring out whether the car is for me or not. First of all, I was hoping a twin-turbo V6 would not be so laggy. I was disappointed on that front. It seems like at low RPMs there isn't the near-instant torque like you might find on a V8 or even a supercharged engine. I was also surprised how quiet the engine was from inside. I wouldn't have known it was anything more than a turbo-4 from the sound. That is, until you start playing with the paddles. Then holy smokes, the POP POP POP makes you feel like a boy racer. Obviously the C450 is way faster than my W204. But I've had other fast cars before that could give the C450 a run for its money.
Compared to my W204, I was surprised how the interior materials seemed just a little cheaper in quality. This car I test drove had the Designo saddle brown interior leather, which was nice, but kinda cheesy. The headliner was buzzing constantly somewhere over rough roads, and overall there were just a few interior creaks that my W204 didn't have despite being 5 years older and with 50k more miles on it. I was hoping the stereotype of "new cars aren't built as well anymore" wasn't the case with this car, but it seems like that may be. I just don't have the patience to be going all over the car banging on the headliner trying to find buzzing sounds these days. This car did not have a sunroof so I don't know if that makes it more likely to happen.
Coming from a manual transmission, the paddle shifting features are very important. After using them on this car for about 10 minutes, I think they are acceptable, but not great. The downshifts aren't quite as snappy as they could be. Alfa Giulia and Jaguar (at least prior to 2013-ish) had quicker and more authoritative paddle shifting from my past experience. For me downshifting when approaching a curve is just as important as the upshifts and that is where the transmission seemed to falter a little bit. But I love all the different settings you can have on the transmission, and was definitely using the "M" mode. What a nice feature!
Appearance wise the car is spot on! It had those 5 star wheels and polar white exterior. Really sharp looking in person. I prefer a white car (my W204 was white) because I park outside in the sun and I find that white is extremely low maintenance.
With all of these items considered, I think I would really enjoy the car for the price. That is, except for the AWD. IMO the AWD totally hinders this car from being something really exceptional. I have never owned an AWD performance vehicle, and I'm not familiar with the dynamics of going for a spirited drive in one. But it just seemed like turn-in was so bad, either due to the weight of the AWD system or inertia or something. Has anyone else gone from RWD performance cars to the C450 AMG and experienced the same discomfort? I mean even when going at low speeds, say 30 mph, steering left and right aggressively just makes it feel like the steering is really slow and the car is fighting me. Even my W204, which is not known for particularly nimble handling, seems much more playful in that way. I did test drive an AWD Alfa Giulia once and I didn't get the same feeling of awkwardness, but I believe I was told that the Alfa system behaves like RWD until traction is needed in the front. Is the Mercedes system fixed at 67% rear/33% front torque full time?
So is it the car for me??? I appreciate any advice you can give!
Maybe 9 speed transmission on c43 would be better for you instead. Or perhaps another c450. I haven't experienced any turbo lag, maybe because c43 comes with tiny turbos.
That's a good point on the run flat tires. I hadn't thought of that. That would also explain the road noise. Also I didn't realize but this car has 18" wheels so the sidewalls are larger than the 19" optional wheels.
I guess I'd have to test drive again on the turbo lag. It's more of a general complaint about modern cars. I am not a fan of smaller engine displacement made up for with turbos. But that's where the auto industry is these days for fuel economy and perhaps weight savings.
I read your comments about this car and wonder why is this guy asking if this car is for him? Quite obviously it is not for you as you have zero love and passion for it. How about your try a C43 or a C63 or C63s. I noticed you dont like the pops and bangs sound. In this case should you be looking for a non AMG car? People like myself are paying money to get the crazy aggressive sexy sound of an AMG C450 on their cars. I have the feeling that this car is not your cup of tea.
I may have been confusing, I do like the sound of the pops and that it can be controlled. My main concerns are that it doesn't seem that nimble and has a lot of road noise but those both seem to be a result of the run flat tires. What is do different about the C43? My budget is under 30k and realistically I want to spend about 25k so the C450 is in that range.
I love your country. AMG C450 for 25 K. Where I live a C180 is at 35-40 K. Aren't you lucky 😂. C43 is the new generation of a C 450. Also V6 Bi turbo. Am not sure about their prices in the US. Take the run flat out and enjoy the true pure beautiful sound of an AMG for 25 K. That is a Bargain.
In case you haven't heard we are dealing with a major pandemic that is wrecking our economy and nobody is buying cars right now. The one I test drove is listed at 29k and had 50k miles on it. There is another I am going to test drive with 67k miles that is listed at $23k. A bargain for sure
In case you haven't heard we are dealing with a major pandemic that is wrecking our economy and nobody is buying cars right now. The one I test drove is listed at 29k and had 50k miles on it. There is another I am going to test drive with 67k miles that is listed at $23k. A bargain for sure
This pandemic wrecked all economies still your prices are lower then ours. I am glad you identified it as a Bargain.
What country are you in? It appears that all US C450s are made in the USA and I wonder if that affects the quality at all, or if the ones in your country were made in Germany. FWIW my W204 was built in South Africa.
So the one I was going to look at already sold. They had chopped the price way down to like $21,900 and I guess it sold the same day (they'd had it for 2 months). They did have a 2017 C43 AMG on the lot and I did sit in it. I think I am sold on getting either one of these but I will more likely end up with a C450 AMG just because of cost concerns. It's just too sexy!!
One interesting is both the C450 and the C43 I sat in had key-go entry, but not push button starts. Is this normal??? It seems so odd for a Mercedes. I don't see keyless start as an option in the brochure. But, I'd rather have this configuration than the other way around (I had a Honda Accord with no proximity key entry but it had a push button start) because at least they keys are in the ignition and out of the was. Is there a way to add the push button? I saw a video online but thought it was a joke:
So the one I was going to look at already sold. They had chopped the price way down to like $21,900 and I guess it sold the same day (they'd had it for 2 months). They did have a 2017 C43 AMG on the lot and I did sit in it. I think I am sold on getting either one of these but I will more likely end up with a C450 AMG just because of cost concerns. It's just too sexy!!
One interesting is both the C450 and the C43 I sat in had key-go entry, but not push button starts. Is this normal??? It seems so odd for a Mercedes. I don't see keyless start as an option in the brochure. But, I'd rather have this configuration than the other way around (I had a Honda Accord with no proximity key entry but it had a push button start) because at least they keys are in the ignition and out of the was. Is there a way to add the push button? I saw a video online but thought it was a joke:
What country are you in? It appears that all US C450s are made in the USA and I wonder if that affects the quality at all, or if the ones in your country were made in Germany. FWIW my W204 was built in South Africa.
Beirut, Lebanon. Dealer only imports from Germany.
Haha, wait, so the video is real? I just want to make sure that these vehicles do indeed have push button starts. As far as I know it was standard equipment on the C450 and the C43 AMG so that's why I was confused when I didn't see it on either vehicle.
I have a RWD performance sedan (Q50 Red Sport 400) and an AWD performance sedan (C400) and I much prefer AWD. I, too, thought I'd be losing out on something, that why I ordered the Q50 in RWD. However, the Mercedes 4Matic is so heavily RWD biased that it is the best of both worlds.
Thanks, that helps. From what I gather, it sounds like the funkiness in the handling I experienced was due to the run flat tires. I will probably end up using non-run flat and having a can of goo in the trunk and an inflator, and/or getting AAA.
I am actually having trouble finding 2016 C450s, the 2017 C43s are much more common. I presume this is because the 2017s are now coming off lease, and the 2016s probably came off lease months ago. Not sure if I should wait another few weeks and see if Covid sinks the C43 prices enough that I can afford one, or if I should just keep my eye out for 2016s. With COVID, flying somewhere to drive a car home doesn't seem like an option, and I'm not one to buy a car sight unseen unless I can return it (like I can with some online car dealers).
One interesting is both the C450 and the C43 I sat in had key-go entry, but not push button starts. Is this normal??? It seems so odd for a Mercedes. I don't see keyless start as an option in the brochure.
My C450 didn't come with the push button in the keyhole - purchased from Vroom. I bought the button from a local MB dealership, inserted and it worked.
Best wishes with your purchase, no complaints with mine. Although I have the panoramic sunroof which I enjoy, also HUD is a good touch - not an essential and wouldn't pay more for it since it vanishes due to wearing polarized sunglasses. Daily driver and also JB4 tuned. She's a dream to drive. I have Bridgestone run-flats since I'm in real estate and find myself out in BFE showing homes on occasion.
Damn that's a sick looking ride. I had my eye on a "coming soon" C450 on Vroom, checking it multiple times a day, and as soon as it went live with photos it already said purchase pending. Very frustrating!! It was listed at $28k and had maybe 45k miles on it and looked fully loaded and mint.
For what it's worth, I have a C400 and will be looking at a C450 for it's replacement whenever I'm ready to get rid of it. The W205 platform has it's share of common problems, but none of them are showstoppers. They're great all around cars and values.
I think items #1 and #3 could be a PITA. Too bad apparently these were not resolved by the 2016 model year?
There is one C450 I'm looking at that doesn't have a sunroof, believe it or not! Maybe I should reconsider it??
When you say door handle LED you mean the interior handle? I had to take apart my W204 door panel and it was not easy.
From what I've heard, the C450 guys still have rattling interiors. You can take it apart and apply felt tape where necessary to reduce/eliminate the rattles/creaks. I enjoy my pano roof just for the looks, not the function. If you don't care about function, I'd consider the car without pano and maybe just wrap the roof gloss black? And by door handle LED, I mean on the outside of the car, LEDs illuminate behind the handle. It's a cheap part, but you have to take the whole door panel and window assembly apart to get to it. I just disabled mine in the Command menu after 3 out of 4 failed
07-10-2020, 10:25 PM
