Nice C450! Is that a Designo color?

 

Yeah, but smooth as a nun's....

 

It's so cool how those designo colors look totally different depending on the light.

 

In any light, that little 4 is still a lumpy turd, even with a 90 per cent discount.

 

Wait...you're not a fan of the T4 in the C300?! When were you planning on telling us?

 

Ha, ha. Well, diversity makes the world twirl.

 

Of course a 6 cylinder runs smoother than a 4 cylinder engine but tell me, what's wrong with the 4 cylinder engine?

 

My only issues with the 4cyl are that it's not as efficient as it could be and it makes an awful noise. Rattly, tinny at cold and warbly when warm. Other than that I find it the smoothest 4cyl I've even encountered and despite the slow turbo spool up its got plenty of punch certainly around town. At idle you hardly know its running. Its actually smoother at idle than my 6cyl BMW N54, though can't compete anywhere else.

The transmission though... well you all know my thoughts on that pile of excrement. I've had many auto's and this is by far the worst.

 

I have my car for 21 months now and had no serious problems with it.
I can understand the frustration when you are one of the people getting a poor quality gearbox and not getting the service you expect from MB in such a case.
The service i get from my dealer has been good enough so far.
It is hard to judge a brand on a couple of bad experiences​, but i do understand that your vision on it is totally different than mine.

 

I greatly appreciate everyone's candor insight and humor. Thanks for the GREAT replies to my post.

I like the old school Mercedes grill and stand-up hood ornament on the C300 4MATIC Luxury Package. It drove just as great as the base C300 4MATIC sedan and the C300 4MATIC sedan with the Sport Package that I test drove. I also test drove C300 4MATIC coupes with and without the Sport Package - which also drove great. I loved them all.

My BMW 428xi has been flawless and without a single issue over the past two years. It has only been in for service twice for two scheduled oil changes and scope checks. It's still tight and rattle free. Keep in mind that I only average around 7,500 miles/year on it. It currently has less than 15,000 miles on the clock. I'm not an aggressive driver but am spirited. The rural environment that I drive in affords me plenty of opportunities to open it up on twisty desolate two lane country roads.

One noticeable and huge advantage to me that the Mercedes C300 has over the BMW 3/4 Series is Crosswind Assist. My BMW is a handful in strong crosswinds and requires considerable attention and steering inputs to stay centered in its lane. The day that I test drove the base Mercedes C300 4MATIC coupe and sedan was considerably windy - 30 mph winds with 50+ mph wind gusts. Both Mercedes models were completely unfazed and downright relaxing to drive. It was as if the heavy winds had stopped completely. Unexpectedly, this one feature made a huge impact on me.

Over the years, the German cars that I've had are an Audi 5000, the BMW 428xi, and in another lifetime long ago - a Merkur XR4ti. I figured why not try a Mercedes. The W205's are very positively reviewed. I would lease another BMW 3/4 but my lease expires before the redesigned 3 series is released in 2019? and I don't want to commit to a lease payment on an older generation car. I was considering buying my BMW when the lease expires but the horror stories of blown up engines and the DO NOT BUY warning from Consumer Reports on 2015 BMW 4 Series has put that idea to rest unfortunately.

If I do decide to lease the C300 4MATIC, it will only be for three years. If it proves to be troublesome, then most likely I'll go back to leasing another BMW.

Mercedes? BMW? What a fortunate conundrum to be facing!

 

Damning with faint praise....

 

You probably haven't sat inside a new BMW.....It's gone downhill.

 

Not reading the whole thread, as this sums up exactly what I was going to say.

I say as far as the 4 cylinder versions of these platforms, the BMW edges out the Merc ever so slightly. Especially with the Msport pkg. But I'm quite biased as I very much dislike the c300.

 

Oh, cry the beloved country, and where to begin....

 

I've never had the BMW 4. I had the Audi 4 in a 2012 A5 that seemed like a nice engine at the time. The 300 feels similar to me. I think the issue with the Benz is the gearbox. It's impossible to wind it smoothly up the gears. Maybe it's better with the 9 spd.

I didn't buy the C as anything resembling a performance sedan (if I was looking for one it'd have been the 450).

 

TORQUE!!!

Or lack thereof in this context.

I've driven strung out turbo 4 cylinders for years and years. I always thought it was the best of both worlds as you get big power up top and great mileage down low. But after driving this thing for the last year, I realize I was kidding myself. I was missing torque. The feel of having usable power in almost any RPM in almost every gear at anytime is unbeatable.... But it's not for everyone or always necessary. 4 bangers get the job done at the end of the day.

 

Yeah, power-on-demand is intoxicating. I had an 05 GTO with an LS2 and a manual six speed. 400 hp and 400 lb/ft of torque, plus the V8 soundtrack. I enjoyed the crap out of that car. Not the best built thing in the world or the best looking but a lot of car for $28k brand new.

 

Exactly.

The 4 banger in my old 2015 C300 was light-years smoother and quieter than the 4 cylinder in my wife's old 2014 328i. The injectors in the BMW were so loud, on a cold morning her car sounded like a diesel.

In addition, the ECO start with the Mercedes engine was smoother at startup than the BMW, but at least the BMW gave you the option to shut it off permanently.

 

Every BMW I've ever sat in smells like wet farts

 

Maybe you should rinse out your delicates more often?

 

I hate when things smell like monkey butt.

 

My boss literally just bought a '15 Dinan tuned M6GC and I rode in it for the first time today. Did not smell like wet farts in the slightest.

It did have a peculiar smell to it though. Not bad; but peculiar indeed..

 

I believe the new m264 4 cylinder will be a huge step up from the current m274

 

Lots of 4 cylinder haters here for sure. I have been around cars all my life, mostly American muscle then later VW oil cars and MINIs. I have no issues with the performance of the 2.0 in my car. I think it is quite torquey for a 2 litre, add the Dinan piggyback and your pushing 300 torques! All this and the car gets better economy than my R53 Mini.

 

By the time my lease is up the m264 will be in its 2nd year and should have the kinks that the m274 had worked out.