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Interesting. I usually like co change cars every 3 years or so, but this one, I've kept for a while. I'll probably keep this one until my late twenties, get grad school out of the way, and move to something else. I really want a Maserati Granturismo...
I really can't tell if ur joking about the Maserati or not but..... please don't get that car
I was delightfully suprised after spending two weeks in London driving the 205 C63 and also tracked it on the MB World track. I was so happy at the end of the trip to be more excited to get back into my P31 '13 sedan. Thought the 205s tranny would blow the 204s away the second I got on the track but it really did not! Shifts seemed as if they were coming from the same transmissons and with the M177 the downshifts never made my adrenaline skyrocket and fingertips sweat and twitch like all the emotion the M156 creates and engulfs you in. Have been obsessed with AMG DTM racing since I was five and how I initially got into Mercedes and why I spent my pre-teens working my *** off to buy what other than a '96 C36 at 16 years old and adding a 190E 2.3-16 at 17 which I still own. I just love small masculine four door German muscle cars. The 204 reminds me of my 202s, masculine and some what boxy looks making it the ultimate mobster looking ride while the 205 reminds me of the worst generation; W203, curvey rounded looks and lack of soul. Hope the 206 goes back towards the 202 roots and is once again the most gorgeous sedan on the road. Kevin; seems you and I have reached the same conclusion with the C63 Black Series. After owning two 204s and still wanting more, the Black would be the ultimate car to check ALL the boxes for me. If the deal with my widebody goes through on the P31 I will be ecstatic though.
Interesting. I usually like co change cars every 3 years or so, but this one, I've kept for a while. I'll probably keep this one until my late twenties, get grad school out of the way, and move to something else. I really want a Maserati Granturismo...
I just wanted to chime in because I do own both of the cars you mentioned and I love both cars you mentioned. I’ve had the Maserati longer than I’ve owned the C63.
If I had to live with one of the two I would pick the C63. I only say that because it is newer and easier to drive fast and maneuver around in traffic.
They are both awesome cars and I’m super blessed to own both at the same time. One can’t compare the two since they are two completely different cars that serve to competely different purposes for me as the driver. So I don’t make this post too long I’ll just mention two things I like and dislikes about each vehicle.
The c63 is a damn near perfect car. My favorite thing about is the usability of the M156 engine, it just makes so much power especially with the eurocharge v7 Tune. The noise is second to none in my opinion. I also love how communicative the steering feel is and how the suspension and chassis talks to me letting me know exactly what’s going on at high speeds. I dislike it’s extremely tiny backseat and the Alcantara steering wheel Mercedes makes you take in order to get the development pack. Also the command screen is weirdly smaller than the pre face lift cars.
The Maserati Granturismo S is one of the sexiest cars ever made. The looks are timeless. The exhaust sound is unique to Maserati and of course it’s engine is hand made by Ferrari in Modena. The things I dislike about it is the size of the car make it very hard to place on the road and it’s major blind spots created by the beautiful pininfarina body work. I also hate the delicate interior, Ferrari/Maserati plastics interior surfaces are all coated in a soft paint that scratches way too easily. The Bose sound system is mediocre and the only thing that I hate about the drivability is the quickness of the steering rack is kind of ridiculous. If you sneeze you could easily find yourself in the next lane or in a ditch, it’s that sensitive.
Gearbox is ACTUALLY slow, interior looks like it was designed by cavemen (shocked even in 2017 they didn't do anything to change at least the infotainment system until 2018 the face-lift model came out), quality and reliability is very very Italian, Not really powerful, steering feels very vague, brake pedal is the weirdest I've ever experienced where there is no initial brake at all and when you depress all the way down you stop abruptly, especially difficult at low speeds to drive smoothly. It looks good and sounds good and has a supercar presence.
I was delightfully suprised after spending two weeks in London driving the 205 C63 and also tracked it on the MB World track. I was so happy at the end of the trip to be more excited to get back into my P31 '13 sedan. Thought the 205s tranny would blow the 204s away the second I got on the track but it really did not! Shifts seemed as if they were coming from the same transmissons and with the M177 the downshifts never made my adrenaline skyrocket and fingertips sweat and twitch like all the emotion the M156 creates and engulfs you in. Have been obsessed with AMG DTM racing since I was five and how I initially got into Mercedes and why I spent my pre-teens working my *** off to buy what other than a '96 C36 at 16 years old and adding a 190E 2.3-16 at 17 which I still own. I just love small masculine four door German muscle cars. The 204 reminds me of my 202s, masculine and some what boxy looks making it the ultimate mobster looking ride while the 205 reminds me of the worst generation; W203, curvey rounded looks and lack of soul. Hope the 206 goes back towards the 202 roots and is once again the most gorgeous sedan on the road. Kevin; seems you and I have reached the same conclusion with the C63 Black Series. After owning two 204s and still wanting more, the Black would be the ultimate car to check ALL the boxes for me. If the deal with my widebody goes through on the P31 I will be ecstatic though.
Haha glad to see so many people here passionate about the 204s. However, I'd advise you not to spend the money on a wide body as there are too many examples and cases that destroy the car or destroys your bank account. You will end up spending way more money and time building it than you ever anticipated at the same time you will not get ur money back selling it or even less than what a stock example goes for. My buddy did a BS conversion on his 204 edition 1 coupe and only sold it for just 30k+ a few years ago. The amount of additions they added on to the black series and the rarity of it IMO makes it worth double the price they are worth now. Save up and get a real black series and maybe in a couple years they will be worth more than what you paid for especially seeing how the 205s are I don't think the 205 BS will be more desirable down the line.
I just wanted to chime in because I do own both of the cars you mentioned and I love both cars you mentioned. I’ve had the Maserati longer than I’ve owned the C63.
If I had to live with one of the two I would pick the C63. I only say that because it is newer and easier to drive fast and maneuver around in traffic.
They are both awesome cars and I’m super blessed to own both at the same time. One can’t compare the two since they are two completely different cars that serve to competely different purposes for me as the driver. So I don’t make this post too long I’ll just mention two things I like and dislikes about each vehicle.
The c63 is a damn near perfect car. My favorite thing about is the usability of the M156 engine, it just makes so much power especially with the eurocharge v7 Tune. The noise is second to none in my opinion. I also love how communicative the steering feel is and how the suspension and chassis talks to me letting me know exactly what’s going on at high speeds. I dislike it’s extremely tiny backseat and the Alcantara steering wheel Mercedes makes you take in order to get the development pack. Also the command screen is weirdly smaller than the pre face lift cars.
The Maserati Granturismo S is one of the sexiest cars ever made. The looks are timeless. The exhaust sound is unique to Maserati and of course it’s engine is hand made by Ferrari in Modena. The things I dislike about it is the size of the car make it very hard to place on the road and it’s major blind spots created by the beautiful pininfarina body work. I also hate the delicate interior, Ferrari/Maserati plastics interior surfaces are all coated in a soft paint that scratches way too easily. The Bose sound system is mediocre and the only thing that I hate about the drivability is the quickness of the steering rack is kind of ridiculous. If you sneeze you could easily find yourself in the next lane or in a ditch, it’s that sensitive.
I understand the GT for what it is and what its meant to do. It's relatively comfortable and quiet when you want it to be but gives you an awesome rumble in sport mode. However, as a modern car it just lacks in so many ways. Gearbox is undoubtedly slow, acceleration isn't very exciting and interior electronics are ancient. That infotainment system I'd rather have a CD player there lol. Reliability I'm sure you will know better than me but never heard one that really lasted without having issues of all sorts. My biggest gripe was the brake pedal and how there is no bite at all until you get almost near the bottom. It's a bit dangerous sometimes and makes me look like I don't know how to drive especially at low speeds. But to each their own maybe the flaws of this car will one day be why people love them so much. The design and sound is definitely iconic but I'd take a lot of other cars over this haha
I understand the GT for what it is and what its meant to do. It's relatively comfortable and quiet when you want it to be but gives you an awesome rumble in sport mode. However, as a modern car it just lacks in so many ways. Gearbox is undoubtedly slow, acceleration isn't very exciting and interior electronics are ancient. That infotainment system I'd rather have a CD player there lol.
Reliability I'm sure you will know better than me but never heard one that really lasted without having issues of all sorts. My biggest gripe was the brake pedal and how there is no bite at all until you get almost near the bottom. It's a bit dangerous sometimes and makes me look like I don't know how to drive especially at low speeds. But to each their own maybe the flaws of this car will one day be why people love them so much. The design and sound is definitely iconic but I'd take a lot of other cars over this haha
I agree pretty everything you just said. There are plenty of quirks that may bring some to the point of not wanting to own one.
Before I purchased the Granturismo S I was driving a 2007 E60 650i coupé. I like big coupe’s with fairly big engines. I was really stuck on getting into a new M6 coupe. But decided even though it was faster and had more tech did that make it a better car for me as the owner? I found the M6 to be a incredible car. But at the end of the day it was just another fast German coupe. And I wasn’t looking forward to taking a huge depreciation dip in 4-5 years.
I ultimately settled on a very rare 1 of 300 cars, 2009 Granturismo S with the F1 gearbox straight out of the magnificent 599 GTB. It looks pretty much like a normal GT-S. But it drives completely different. The F1 automated manual rear mounted transaxle shifts in 100ms which is faster than the dual clutch in the Nissan GT-R. The car has rear weight bias like the 911 so 47% front 53% rear. The rear bias setup makes for a well balanced chassis that puts power down well and puts nearly a g down in lateral acceleration like a much smaller E92 M3 can. It sounds slightly different too because of the way the gear box changes gears. Less parasitic drivetrain loss because of the lack of a torque converter. Reliability has been actually better then I expected. I got it with 7k miles one owner.
I wouldn’t be so excited about the normal 4.2l GT or even the newer common ZF automatic GT-S. But having a sexy car with a Ferrari engine and transmission made me choose it over everything I could afford at the time.
I would personally only trade it in for a Ferrari F12. This car was limited to one MY in the U.S. the Europeans got it in ‘09 and a hard core version in ‘12 called the MC Stradale with the gearbox from the 599 GTO carbon racing buckets seats and 120 pounds less weight. (not the same one we received here in the U.S. which had a ZF automatic and wasn’t mechanically different from the normal S models). It’s not perfect but there are few cars that are. Once again I would choose a C63 over this if had to choose just one car. But since I had the ability to take ownership of both I didn’t have to decide. surprising lil fact. It’s cheaper to insure the Maserati over the C63 same policy.
Haha glad to see so many people here passionate about the 204s. However, I'd advise you not to spend the money on a wide body as there are too many examples and cases that destroy the car or destroys your bank account. You will end up spending way more money and time building it than you ever anticipated at the same time you will not get ur money back selling it or even less than what a stock example goes for. My buddy did a BS conversion on his 204 edition 1 coupe and only sold it for just 30k+ a few years ago. The amount of additions they added on to the black series and the rarity of it IMO makes it worth double the price they are worth now. Save up and get a real black series and maybe in a couple years they will be worth more than what you paid for especially seeing how the 205s are I don't think the 205 BS will be more desirable down the line.
Well unfortunately my girlfriend backed into the C63s rear quarter panel so I have to repaint it already. Not a fan of BS kits, just getting more rubber to be able to fit in the rear while its under the knife anyways. Otherwise I would just sell my current HREs for some new forged ones and save for a BS.
I just wanted to chime in because I do own both of the cars you mentioned and I love both cars you mentioned. I’ve had the Maserati longer than I’ve owned the C63.
If I had to live with one of the two I would pick the C63. I only say that because it is newer and easier to drive fast and maneuver around in traffic.
They are both awesome cars and I’m super blessed to own both at the same time. One can’t compare the two since they are two completely different cars that serve to competely different purposes for me as the driver. So I don’t make this post too long I’ll just mention two things I like and dislikes about each vehicle.
The c63 is a damn near perfect car. My favorite thing about is the usability of the M156 engine, it just makes so much power especially with the eurocharge v7 Tune. The noise is second to none in my opinion. I also love how communicative the steering feel is and how the suspension and chassis talks to me letting me know exactly what’s going on at high speeds. I dislike it’s extremely tiny backseat and the Alcantara steering wheel Mercedes makes you take in order to get the development pack. Also the command screen is weirdly smaller than the pre face lift cars.
The Maserati Granturismo S is one of the sexiest cars ever made. The looks are timeless. The exhaust sound is unique to Maserati and of course it’s engine is hand made by Ferrari in Modena. The things I dislike about it is the size of the car make it very hard to place on the road and it’s major blind spots created by the beautiful pininfarina body work. I also hate the delicate interior, Ferrari/Maserati plastics interior surfaces are all coated in a soft paint that scratches way too easily. The Bose sound system is mediocre and the only thing that I hate about the drivability is the quickness of the steering rack is kind of ridiculous. If you sneeze you could easily find yourself in the next lane or in a ditch, it’s that sensitive.
Wow - thanks for those insights. I know it's a very different car than a C63, but I don't mind my next car being more of a GT car. I won't kid myself or anyone around me, while I have a "high performance" car, it's used 90% of the time to and from the office with the occasional northern California backroad drives. I'm sure the Maserati will do just fine in those aspects.
Originally Posted by Kevin Tu
Gearbox is ACTUALLY slow, interior looks like it was designed by cavemen (shocked even in 2017 they didn't do anything to change at least the infotainment system until 2018 the face-lift model came out), quality and reliability is very very Italian, Not really powerful, steering feels very vague, brake pedal is the weirdest I've ever experienced where there is no initial brake at all and when you depress all the way down you stop abruptly, especially difficult at low speeds to drive smoothly. It looks good and sounds good and has a supercar presence.
Interior looks like it was designed by a caveman? To each is own I guess, but I quite like it.
Gearbox is ACTUALLY slow, interior looks like it was designed by cavemen (shocked even in 2017 they didn't do anything to change at least the infotainment system until 2018 the face-lift model came out), quality and reliability is very very Italian, Not really powerful, steering feels very vague, brake pedal is the weirdest I've ever experienced where there is no initial brake at all and when you depress all the way down you stop abruptly, especially difficult at low speeds to drive smoothly. It looks good and sounds good and has a supercar presence.
Once again I agree with Kevin mostly. But I’m sure many of us are aware of the financial troubles FCA are dealing with right now. Maserati and Alfa are not selling very many cars especially in the United States. Maserati has recently went bonkers on trying to offer unbelievable affordable lease specials on their Ghibli and Quattroporte models. This has lead to the Ghibli having possibly the worst depreciation the car industry has ever seen. The Quattroporte isn’t very competitive with many of the full-size competitors let alone the S-class. My point really comes to the company is starving it’s design and engineering departments because it’s not making enough money to support launching new product. Maserati has had financials whoa’s for decades. I actually like the interior of the Granturismo, I think it’s aged gracefully for a 10 year design. The car does have a weird brake feel, but you get use to it. I think steering is very communicative, but way too sensitive to small adjustments. Regarding the gearbox, yes it’s no PDK or MDCT or DSG. But it’s certainly adequate and faster shifting than many transmission that Mercedes has put out themselves over the years. I had the luxury of tracking a standard SLS AMG around a circuit recently and the Maserati GT ZF 6spd would put that dual clutch gearbox to shame. But as I return to my point no car is perfect and all cars especially Italian cars have their little quirks. But this shouldn’t detour people from buying them or shunning them. They are special cars and they may not win races or have the latest gadgets. But darn it, when you go for a mid night cruise and hear that beautiful exhast all those lil quicks go away and you say to yourself I’m glad I own a Maserati GT.
second w204 c63 after owning w205 c63s and a gle c63 and glc 63s. Yes, there is something about this whole car we all fall in love with. Agre withe sound and feel is what gets us.
Haha. Didn't think someone would still see this post. For those of you that still see this and car I did shortly after making this post finally get the ultimate W204 C63. THE BLACK SERIES. Here are some photos.
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