dvdt

So today I dropped off the E to get a bunch of little crap taken care of. New pads, new driveshaft carrier bearing, trans flush, rear diff flush and new IC pump.

The dealer gave me a C300 4matic as a loaner. I noticed all of the following on the way home.

*Waaay quicker steering rack with seemingly little body roll. Less than the E anyway!

*Waaaaaaaaaay better stereo! Is the w211 stereo pretty awful, or does the C just have a great one?

*Waaaaaaaaaaaaaay better feeling brakes. Getting rid of the electro brakes was a very good decision indeed.

That is about it I guess. My car feels like an absolute TANK compared to the C, and now I wish the E felt as nimble on its feet. I bet those C63 AMGs are fun as hell!


Feel free to chime in with opinions!

ArmoE55

Drive a C63 and you'll be selling the E55 tomorrow.

I think my time with E will run out soon. Those 2013 C63s are awfully tempting and a blast to drive!

AMGPower55

My family owns a 2011 C250, IMO the stereo of the E is much better, the Harmon Kardon one that is.
The C250 is SLOW SLOW SLOW!!!
The brakes on the C class are a little too touchy for my liking personally, however I've seen that others prefer those brakes.
The steering definitely feels lighter than the E but I tend to overlook that naturally as the E is larger and heavier.
The C has a much better screen and nav system than the E does, but that is understandable as the E design is 10+ years old.
I overlook the tiny things that have to do with the technology as my E has everything the C class has except with more power
Also as my E is a 2006 it has the ipod connectivity, where the C has bluetooth, it just makes it a little harder to change songs and interact with the ipod than the C class does.
But the C class and it's lack of horsepower, cheaper feel, IMO sub par stereo does nothing for me personally.
One thing I can effectively say is that it gets 2 1/2 times the MPG's but who counts those anyways?

dchl21

i got both.... well my girl drives the c63 90% of the time.




it really depends what you want.... if you are a full out racer ... go with c63 it handles well.


as for me ... im more drag n cruise like a boss ....so e55 is great.

dchl21

btw .... I feel like my E55 stereo is better than the c63 ...


and you cant really compare the two... they are just so different..

BagMan

Slightly off topic, but I just spent 5 days in 2014 E350 loaner with 3,000 miles on it. While the car looks great and the technology is better than a w211, I couldn't wait to get my car back.

It's not really fair to compare an AMG car to non-AMG, but I'll do it anyway.

Nitpicks first:
-The new E feels more like a slightly bigger C-class. The cars are too similar.
-MB-Tex is awful on the seats and door panels
-The dashboard material seems lower quality than w211
-Steering wheel feels like plastic. Paddle shifters feel cheap also. Too light and too small. -Steering wheel buttons are cheap plastic
-Engine feels really weak. No low end torque. Sounds bad too.
-Internet connection is so slow, it is unusable

Things I like:
-Interior layout is nice. Feels more spacious than a W211
-Center vents, clock and controls remind me of a W221 S class
-Ambient lighting is nice
-LCD screens are nice and clear - main screen could be larger
-Navigation is good and easy to use
-COMAND knob is nicely implemented and the weight feels good
-Bluetooth is great. Both audio streaming and call quality
-Harmon Kardon sounds really good. The W211 is very close though.
-No shifter on the center console. It's a better use of space helping the car feel bigger
-HIDs are excellent

Other Observations:
-Rides like an E class. Suspension feels very similar to my E320 = Soft
-Everyone who saw it said they liked it
-The interior looks and feels cheap in the daylight, but seems much better at night when I can't see the MB tex.

However, if the car was an E63, most of my nitpicks would be gone

patrick_y

They didn't make a 2011 C250 for the US Market. 2012? Or C300?

patrick_y

While we're on the topic of rental/loaner cars... Here's My rental car/service loaner Diary...

The 204 is overall a very good car.

But I recently had a 2012 E92 BMW 328i coupe and I loved that car so much I didn't even want to give it back. Great automatic transmission. Superbly smooth and linear powerband from the engine. Faster paddle shifter response on the 328i than the C250 coupe I had. The BMW 328i was also superbly balanced which contributed to its even better handling and road holding. The steering on the 328i coupe was superb as well, great weight, a tad bit high on the vibrations but not overly high, great communication, excellent accuracy, and a fast ratio. The 2012 BMW 328i coupe (RWD not AWD) is the best car I've driven outside of something that's from Porsche or another esoteric brand. The one problem with the 328i coupe was the tires were a tad bit thin (18 inch wheels) and being run-flats they certainly were a bit harsh in ride feeling and I think they might be likely emitting more noise on the highway.

Then I drove a 2011 E90 328i x-Drive AWD sedan and found it very different with the 328i RWD coupe. Very different steering (steering was heavy but feel was all gone, just felt like I was turning a heavy steering wheel with no feel). And very different suspension (AWD models only come with normal suspension where as RWD models can be had with a sports suspension).

Then I drove a 2013 F30 328i sedan. Good car, in fact overall a great car, but that electric power steering really kills the car's fun when compared to the 2012 E92 328i coupe.

The steering isn't terribly precise on the 204 chassis cars, unless you're in the C63. On the C250 Coupe rental I had, accurately placing the car in the turn was a little difficult on a highway to highway ramp. The C250 and C350 sedan and coupe have relatively slow steering ratios. The steering is light in feel and doesn't communicate a whole lot to the driver. Great steering wheel though. Thick and meaty.

I haven't driven the C300, but considering it's a 4-Matic car, and that awd usually reduces steering feel when compared to rwd, I would imagine the C300 steering feel to be even less communicative than the C250. Please note, I'm not stating the C300 has poor steering feel, I'm just stating it's not likely to be as good.

Allow me to make a quick comparison to the W203. The W203 chassis, particularly in 2005 with the DIRECT Control (precursor to AGILITY Control) steering had a fairly communicative steering rack with very heavy steering feel and an even faster ratio. The W203 wasn't a bad car either, but in the US, sport models were very firmly sprung, very European, and not as refined considering American tastes. Subsequently, it was revised for 2006 and 2007 with suspension improvements and a lighter steering feel. Another great point about the W203 chassis was the fact that the sport models came with fixed brake calipers (from Brembo) in the front. The Achilles heal to the W203 chassis was the suspension (too firm) and the body rigidity on the top was imperfect. The W204 makes huge improvements in the body rigidity area.

The W204 really is a great car. And I'd be really satisfied to own one. But wow, driving that 328i coupe from BMW was more than satisfying, it was eye opening.

dvdt

"I haven't driven the C300, but considering it's a 4-Matic car, and that awd usually reduces steering feel when compared to rwd, I would imagine the C300 steering feel to be even less communicative than the C250. Please note, I'm not stating the C300 has poor steering feel, I'm just stating it's not likely to be as good. "

Yea, the ratio is quicker than the E55 but its overboosted and devoid of any road feel. I would love to have the actual steering wheel installed into the E though!

AMGPower55

Must have been my mistake, sorry 2012*!

patrick_y

It is a fantastic steering wheel. Thick, nice leather. Even flat bottomed on the example I drove.

patrick_y

I actually rather like the C250 sedan. I can understand it's slow compared to your E55, but I imagine it's sufficient for daily use. Seemed okay for me in my environment, but I definitely noticed some turbo lag on all the examples I've driven, very annoying and I had to keep the car in a lower gear to mitigate this turbo lag and increase responsiveness. So I would agree it's slow, but if in the right gear, one can certainly make it work very well. I've had a few (probably 4 or 5) of them as rentals so I have some experience, but I don't have one in my household, so I defer to your experience.

AMGPower55

I actually agree completely with your statement. As a daily it is more than sufficient for what it was made for, economy. The turbo lag is what I was referring to as part of the slow comment, it can be extremely frustrating as it tends to take 1-2 seconds to go anywhere. As a daily it is a good car that achieves what it was intended to do, while still maintaining a nice feel and superior quality to other "daily drivers". I can enjoy the car for 2-3 days before I start wishing I was still driving the E. Great incite though, as most, if not all, of what you have said I completely agree with!

Quicksilv3r

I agree entirely. Well put.

Sir-Boost-a-Lot

iTrader: (1)

I've driven both and loved the way the C63 felt in regards to agility but it's too small both outside and inside.

moosejaw

I'm 5'8 and I can put the seat all the way back in a c63 and still drive the car
Wayyyyy too small inside

AKnight55

5'8 lollllllllllll