Piperkid

Am I the only one that thinks the C300 Coupe is just another generic car with little personality? (feel like I am driving a nice rental car)
I had an SLK which some jerk in a pickup truck totaled while it was parked. Car had a lot of personality and was a real sports car.
Bought the 300 as a replacement and continue to tell myself that I will get to like it after a while - but not yet.
Really considering taking it back and getting another SL,SLC.

equetefue

It's all about point of views. I personally always thought the SLK and now SLC were intended towards a softer look and thus female demographic. Really never stood out to me.

John Robbins

Ditch the 300 and get a 400, 450 or c43

mis3

I just saw the 2008 SLC in a MB showroom earlier this week.

Was there a mid-cycle change? The car looks different and I prefer the look last year.

Piperkid

The issue isn't power, the coupe bodystyle is just too generic and boring. Moving to a C43 just wont do it for me.
Need to ditch the back seat and get another real sports car .

mis3

I myself love the body style of the C Coupe. I actually prefer the C Coupenthan the new E Coupe.

I plan to buy a C Coupe to replace my CLK320. I bought the CLK 13 years ago new and after 230k miles, the car still looks and rides great. I may keep this new car for another 10 years.

mo11

If you can take it back, go ahead and do so.
Maybe its just me, but I don't know what you mean by a "real" sports car... And by "generic", do you mean anything but, a 2-seater convertible?
I think a c-coupe is a sports car. Why would they use it for DTM if it wasn't?
I know personality goes a long way, but your old slk would have had to be one charmin' little slk. I mean, it'd have to be 10x more charming than a DTM. You know what i'm sayin'?
Do you want some bacon?

Biggreenogg

Really liked my SLK350, but I thought it more cruiser than sports car. My C43 is more fun to drive except for that convertible thing.

l3it3r

Completey agree

Mike5215

I actually get what he's saying. The C300 in any form is a nice transportation appliance but hard to fall in love with. It's nice to drive but not a lot of fun.

I thought it was because it's a 2.0 4 cylinder but over the summer I took a rented 430 convertible on a road trip, and that car, top up or down, is really fun and engaging to drive when you feel like tossing it around, and a relaxed cruiser when you don't. It definitely endeared itself in a way my C300 has not.

The C450 has tons of personality, and is also fun to drive hard, but nobody will ever accuse it of being "relaxed". It goes to eleven and stays at eleven.

The C400 is probably the perfect middle ground. I'm intrigued by the BMW 440 though. Something about being able to get an inline 6 and a manual 6 speed in a coupe. Definitely need to drive one of those when it's time to turn in the C.

This week I'm driving a "true" sports coupe, my kid's FR-S, and as romantic as it sounds having a light, low slung, high revving, howling NA 4 with a taut suspension and a stick shift, it gets old in a hurry. Lots of personality though.

mis3

Funny you talked about the FRS. I just drove a 2017 Civic Coupe for 2 days this week and I truly enjoyed the car. The car has only 174 HP but is smaller and 700 LB lighter than the C Coupe. This is an amazing car, looks good and performs well which costs less than half of the C Coupe.

This Civic Coupe is more than capable to be a daily commute with a little fun driving it.

Mike5215

Yeah. Probably has a better stereo and CarPlay too. We have a 1999 Civic EX coupe that my kids all learned to drive on and is now my elderly mom's car. She loves it. Reliable as hell and everything on it still works.

I think with Mercedes we probably project more exclusivity and elegance on them than they actually warrant, especially the current crop. Obviously a $60,000 C is more refined than a $30,000 Civic. The real question is whether the C is 100% more refined. It should be since it costs 100% as much.

mis3

Ths is it. I was surprised on how refined is the Civic. It certainly does not have the solid and centred feel as my CLK. The ride of the Civic is very different than a MB, it feels light and nimble. As per my friend, the gas mileage is great and like a typical Honda, it is reliable.

I made a typo in my previous post. I drove the Civic sedan not the coupe. I will go for a test drive of a coupe this week. BTW, Honda has discontinued the Accord Coupe.

robairex

Common sense is the C300 is an introductory luxury car. It competes favorably with the Audi A4, BMW 330i, Infiniti Q50, etc. If you had a choice between a Honda Accord at 30K+ or a reasonably equipped base C300 for under 35K, which would you choose? If you bought a C300 expecting something more, then you likely bought the wrong car.

mis3

If the price difference is about 15%, it is a no brainer.

I did the builds for both C300 coupe and Civic Coupe, With tax and dealer fees, the prices are $70K CAN and $33K CAN respectively. Of course, there are a few options like Parktronic, 4matic is not abailable in the Civic Coupe.

In Canada, on top of the $2,700 PDI, there is an administration fee of $350. For the Civic, the only fee is the $1,700 PDI.

I admit this is an outrageous comparison and I am probably comparing apple and orange. All I am saying is the Civic Coupe is surprising competent and the gap (luxury and economy models) is closing. I am looking for a new car to replace my CLK320, while the C Coupe is the natural first choice, I am starting to look into other options.

Mike5215

I'm not sure what the C300 is. It's too slow to be a sports sedan, and way too stiff and jittery (with the 7 speed) to be a luxury sedan. It's handsome and has a very pretty interior. It would be easier to appreciate the interior if it didn't creak so much.

I used to lump the C/3 Series/A4 in the same group of small German Sports sedans with T4s. But after driving a 430i (330 coupe) the Bimmer's drive train and handling dynamics are so much better. Hands down the smoothest T4 I've driven. Better ride quality and quieter by 5dbs in the cabin at 80 mph. Really fun to drive hard.

The interior isn't as nice, but the rest of the car is so good on the road it's an afterthought.