I've had the privilege of driving a C350 while the C32 is in the shop for end of warranty repairs (nothing big, like the seat heater etc). No trans issues, IC pump etc, those all checked out OK!!


Anyway, the C350 is a very nice car. Not nearly as quick as the c32, even with its 7 speed tranny. Its also worse on gas than the C32 by about 2 MPG. I guess there is something to say for supercharging then!! The C350 tires are awful, slipping and sliding away on each turn. Other than that, the 08 model I drove is pretty quick, quiet on the highway and has a nice stereo. A decent daily driver, BUT for over $40 K, there's a lot of alternatives on the market.

Glenn

 

Thanks for the review. They certainly do look pretty sweet.

 

worse on gas mileage than a C32? Odd.

 

Although I haven't tested the C350 fuel consumption personally because I never owned one, I've heard that same comment more than once

 

maybe the W204's are different (same engine, same gearing) but my W203 gets 20/33 real world.

 

I’ve seen e1000’s fuel consumption threads.

At $4.21 today for a gallon of CA’s reconstituted 91 octane, I’m almost tempted to trade some horsepower for better mileage.

Almost.

 

Did it have the 18" AMGs with CSC 3 tires?

 

There are alternatives I'm glad to say. $3.78 for a gallon of 93 octane in Florida.

 

$3.69 in Boston for 93 octane. Seems high to me though...I've been paying $3.45 for the last few months

 

I paid $3.99 in Nor Cal

Gas prices is going to get worse

 

+1. There is no way a C32 gets near these numbers. The best I've seen and really trying is 27.4 mpg.

C350s (W203s or W204s) are better fuel efficient, period.

 

$4.21 is a lot. damn.

A lot of this is also going to depend on how the car is driven, warm up, etc etc. For example, you get in your car and head to the dealership like usual, cruising. Then you pickup the loaner and wring it out since you're in something different it's naturally going to get terrible gas mileage

 

NO, not odd , since the electromechanical clutch on the supercharger only engages on demand and the 3.2 is actually pretty fuel efficient in and of itself. Oh, did I mention that the C32 was quicker and GOT better fuel mileage!!


Glenn

 

Actually, NO, I didnt wring out the C350. I used the cruise a LOT and was quite light on the gas. I had the car for a week, so for ME, the comparison was fair. The 08 C class is a nice car. Just wish it had the oomph of the C32 (and it does with the C63). Only problem is, that C63 is going to hurt at the gas pumps when 93 Octane (or even 91) is over $4.00 per gallon like its starting to get here in Chicagoland.

Glenn

 

when i had a c280 4matic loaner last year i averaged 16.7 mpg mostly highway!

I also had one trip (canada) where the trip computer had an average speed of 103 for 68 miles and 13.5 mpg.

those numbers do not mean it's a mpg loss vs. my C43... lol

i am looking forward to driving one of the 350s- and i too want to know what wheels and tires were on hte one you got... i'm assuming crappy "base" ones?

 

the 3.5 l engine will get a bump in power later in 2008 to 305hp. comp inc to 11.7 and diff intake , exhaust.

 

 

recently i'm seeing many used car prices where the V8's are priced almost the same as the 6's, esp for the E500/E350 and the BMW 545i/530i models. the thought is that many drivers think they're close enough that they're willing to trade off the 4-6 mpg difference.
Patrick

 

Just filled my $4.29/gallon yday on my 95 E320 cabriolet. strange, but the gas mileage on that car is around 14-16mpg, worse than the similar engine 2000 E320(although it has 5sp transmission vs. 4), and actually worse than 02 S55 AMG V8(16-17mpg).
Patrick

 

Ppl in the US have it good. I paid $5.30 per gallon for 94 octane up in Vancouver Canada today. Of course we have liters up here, $1.40/L.

 

i have a clk350, and its suppose to get the same mileage as the C350......best i've seen was 28 highway, but i'm on the highway for 80 mile stretch, 26.5 is usually very common

 

the supercharger engages under load and anytime above 2900rpm. most of us have only bested 23mpg on the freeway and 17.5-18mpg on average combined with the city driving. this is no where efficient even compared to the regular 320 which combined can average 22-23mpg.

still hurting at the gas pump...

 

Actually you people on the other side (US & Canada) of the big pond (Atlantic) have it really good, it seems.

Here in Finland (EU) the 95 octane (cheapest) fuel currently costs about 1.51 euros per liter so that's about USD 2.40 per liter and thus about USD 9.08 per US gallon!!! I won't even go into our crazy car taxation, but for example a new S65 AMG is 418.000 euros, so that's about USD 660.000. I think Denmark (and probably Norway) is in the same league... It's pretty obvious that the government hates cars (or loves to tax/punish their owners) here!

P.S. Our speeding tickets have no limits and are based on your income, so for a ridiculous 20km/h overspeed a corporate executive etc. can get a speeding ticket of for example 170.000 euros or USD 272.000. Even the international media were interested in one example case:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3477285.stm

So quit complaining, please!

 

Very true, i wasjust in the EU and the prices of cars and gas is very high but you do make a lot more over there and having 30 days off a yr isnt too shabby either

not sure if the vacation time applies for where you are but in germany and spain it's 30days a yr.

 

Word.

However 349bhp is so much more fun than 218bhp