[Majikthese42]

You may want to check out the new W204's back seat if you occasionally want to carry someone who has legs back there.

[E90330iS]

Going from a BMW to MB would drive you crazy unless if you are 50.

[GregL]

Originally Posted by E90330iS

Going from a BMW to MB would drive you crazy unless if you are 50.

It just crossed my mind, I wonder if Honda drivers say the same to Toyota drivers...

[John 070]

I think at some point one has to learn to live with the decisions they make. The OP has a E92 coupe, and has decided that it's a mistake, and wants to figure out a way to upgrade. Even if this car was delivered in Sept. 06, it's not even a year old. What's to say that 12 mos. after getting a 335, it doesn't become a mistake again? Personally, even if I were a neurosurgeon or CEO of the NYSE, I can't see getting a 40k+ car and replacing it less than a year later. It's not the 40k, it's the pattern which may repeat if the thinking is not nipped at the bud. my .02.

[RichReg]

Originally Posted by E90RWC

I just can't get over the fact that the engine is lacking power.

That's going to change in a few months when they bring over the CLS 350 engine from Europe that has 292 hp.

I'm certainly not one to choose a C-Class over a 3 Series, and I'm sure it won't be as fast as a 335, but the gap in acceleration will be much smaller than it is now.

[OBI_agent]

Originally Posted by mantisG35

i saw one last night. i looks HUGE. I thought it was a S class at first hehe

it looks good, but i dont see a person in 20's or 30's driving one.

Oh man, me too! I thought it was a S class but when, it took a left turn in front of me, I saw the C badge and the small body

[BzsBimmer]

Originally Posted by BzsBimmer

I'm going to go take a look at one but as for being cheaper, I don't think that's entirely true. Load up a current C class and one from BMW and it's only about 1-2K more for the BMW but if you factor in the fact that the new C class pricing is not public yet, but supposed to be a little higher, the BMW probably will come out on top or at least even.

My mother in law wants a new Merc but she wants her headrest to tilt forward a bit. Something that Merc does not offer and had been a BMW feature for quite some time. In any case, I had her drive the 335 up to Reno and back and she wants a BMW now

Well went to MB today and not bad... I have to retract my previous statement about pricing.
A loaded up C350 will be about 42K.... I'll probably end up ordering one up for my mother in law

[epiphone3]

Originally Posted by GregL

Do you realize that the previous generation (R129) SL600 V12 Mercedes has a 0-60 time of 5.9 seconds? Sheesh, these days cars are getting so fast that it's seriously warping people's concept of speed.

I 100% agree with you!

I am sick of people saying cars "suck" because they "only" do 0-60 in 5.7 sec. Only a few years ago, people were revelling in the E46 330i doing 0-60 in 5.9 seconds and amazed by the awesome power. Now, people are warped and think that a car is slow if it doesn't do 0-60 in less than 5 seconds... get a grip people! By the way, the 7.2 seconds that Mercedes quotes for the C300 0-60 time is a fairly conservative estimate, just like what BMW does. Its probably going to come in around 6.5-6.7 seconds when someone like Car & Driver tests it... VERY RESPECTABLE AND NOT SLOW>\

On another note, anyone have comments on how the 6-speed manual Tranny in the C300 works?

[TMNT]

My 1993 Ford Probe GT with 164hp and 156 lb/ft of torque did 7.1 in 0-60 and 15.1 in the 1/4 stock.

That was a 14 year old car....I'm not impressed with a 7.2 0-60 in a 2008 MERCEDES

[55]

Originally Posted by epiphone3

I 100% agree with you!



On another note, anyone have comments on how the 6-speed manual Tranny in the C300 works?

Please, did somebody try manual?

[epiphone3]

Originally Posted by TMNT

My 1993 Ford Probe GT with 164hp and 156 lb/ft of torque did 7.1 in 0-60 and 15.1 in the 1/4 stock.

That was a 14 year old car....I'm not impressed with a 7.2 0-60 in a 2008 MERCEDES

I guess a '93 Ford Probe is a better car than 2008 Mercedes... its all about 0-60 times!

[epiphone3]

Originally Posted by 55

Please, did somebody try manual?

Yeah this is still a burning question for me...

1. How is the manual tranny in the C300?
2. How is the interior space compared to the E90?

[GregL]

Originally Posted by TMNT

My 1993 Ford Probe GT with 164hp and 156 lb/ft of torque did 7.1 in 0-60 and 15.1 in the 1/4 stock.

That was a 14 year old car....I'm not impressed with a 7.2 0-60 in a 2008 MERCEDES

But your Ford Probe only weighed 2800lb.

[JonMartinsGirl]

I can respect both a C and a 335 but personal I've experinced both and I must say if you are looking for power get a 335. A C class is a nice car no doubt but it is slower. Personaly I'd choose the new CL 63 AMG over a C, now that's real power right there, anything AMG is powerful. Hell I'd even drive an AMG E class over a C. Not knockin the car but if you are looking for something powerful get the 335 hands down. Wonderful car I love it!

[gmund1948]

About like the 335, you can actually push the car to its limits, which were a whole lot less than the 3 series

The automatic is GRANDMAS dream, especially in non sport mode

I test drove Euro spec cars and was very underwelmed
as were the German press Autobild, etc.

I like MBs but this car looks like the Accord, and is very nervous
and twitchey in a fast sweeping corner or a roundabout for that matter.

Cannot get over my wife saying OK lets take It (the Mercedes) back I get the 335 and you wait for your M thing to come out it

[Master Deep]

I think it looks awesome and great attention to detail. But it just needs power and it would be perfect.

C63 anyone... Faster than the E92 M3.

[Alchem]

Originally Posted by Master Deep

I think it looks awesome and great attention to detail. But it just needs power and it would be perfect.

C63 anyone... Faster than the E92 M3.

There are a lot of cars faster than the e92 M3 buddy. Only a fool would buy one b/c its "the fastest".

Not to mention the fact that the C63 is gonna push $70k+

[Master Deep]

Well we have no pricing on either yet. I didn't mean it like that. But I mean the c-class looks awesome. Better than the E90 IMO. But it doesn't drive like a BMW and its slower. So adding power and tweaking the suspension a bit (yes AMG is actually working on suspensions on the new AMG cars to at least be somewhat competitive to the M cars.) should make it at least a little better. But yea, RS4 is like $73k w/ options and that is just ridiculous IMO. So we'll see. The Benz was cheaper than the E46 M3 last time. So we'll see what happens...

[Alchem]

Originally Posted by Master Deep

Well we have no pricing on either yet. I didn't mean it like that. But I mean the c-class looks awesome. Better than the E90 IMO. But it doesn't drive like a BMW and its slower. So adding power and tweaking the suspension a bit (yes AMG is actually working on suspensions on the new AMG cars to at least be somewhat competitive to the M cars.) should make it at least a little better. But yea, RS4 is like $73k w/ options and that is just ridiculous IMO. So we'll see. The Benz was cheaper than the E46 M3 last time. So we'll see what happens...

Right, C63 is being positioned in the RS4 class. That V8 is not a cheap engine. It is from the E63, S63. Look for a base price of around $63-$65k.

The extrior does look pretty good, but the interior is cheap plastic.

[omerfar23]

I have driven the C300 and I thought it was a very nice car. The car offers alot for the money. The car looks sweet, interior is well thought out, navigation system is brilliant (though it is not touch-screen why?). You get a lot of stuff standard compared to BMW (i.e.. power seats, std sport suspension) and there are lot neat options available (panorama roof, AMG wheels). Though it is slower than a 328 it does not feel like it, just like V6 Honda doesn't feel any faster than a 328i trust me. HP and 0-60 times are sometime misleading. Car dynamic, design and weight distribution make a good amount of difference in how a car feels on the road.

When C300 sport is compared with 335i I think BMW is better all around but it costs a lot more. 335i has better handling. I always underestimated this until I actually drove similar car in 3 series class found other cars to be totally dull. 335i interior feel a lot better than the MB though MB cockpit feels a lot spacious. If you are interested in gizmos MB has better navi and all the other toys are equivalent. MB disappointed me because of how it felt while driving. I did not enjoy the car but I appreciated it. After owning few cars I want to own a car that I enjoy and entertains also. But I think the C300/c350 is definitely designed for an older crowd or people who are brand whores do not car for driving experience.

I would say that C300/C350 looks give the car a larger presence than 335/328 (lets admit it not a lot of people notice BMW 335/328 on the road). After driving the MB C300 I know why most MB customer are women or older men (no offense). Seriously I think MB average owner age is north of 50. But anyway I would get the 328i over C300 and 335i is not even a question.

Most importantly, I can't tell what to do except go actually test drive the car.

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by Alchem

Right, C63 is being positioned in the RS4 class. That V8 is not a cheap engine. It is from the E63, S63. Look for a base price of around $63-$65k.

The extrior does look pretty good, but the interior is cheap plastic.

My guess is that the C63 and E90 M3 (which is also in the "RS4 class") will be within a couple thousand of each other. When you are talking $60k+ car, a couple grand in difference in MSRP will not really be a factor in the buying decision.

Also, no V8 is "cheap", but there is so much margin built into these cars that you could put a spare engine in the trunk and still make money. Remember, the cars will be priced where the market demands (or allows) them to be, not using some function of the production costs.

[Safety2213]

I didn't drive the C however sat in it at the dealership. I think it looks great however the inside felt a bit cheap compared to the BMW and much lower end compared to an E class. It was a C300 Sport so I will reserve judgement until I see a few more examples of the C350 and luxury versions. Surprisingly, I found the car's interior smaller than the BMW's 3 series - especially the headroom. I am tall (6'2") and find that I only had about an inch of headroom compared to 2 - 3 in my e92 and slightly more in the e90. While I thought this might be a result of newer seats or seating position, I checked www.MBUSA.com and discovered that the headroom is listed as 37.1 inches while BMW lists the headroom for the e90 at 38.5 and 38.4 for the e92. For shorter people this isn't really an issue however it would be a deal breaker for me. I am sure that the C is a great car and we will see them in huge numbers on the streets, I personally would purchase a used 5 series or used E Class for the same price and get a lot more car.