I was surprised at how eager the rear end was to whip around when the tires had had enough, but in more temperate driving, the feeling was one of crisp responsiveness, with good feedback. All these factors contribute to crisper handling, if not awesome lateral adhesion. The tester had the sport package, which increases wheel diameter to 16 inches and reduces the profile to 55, while using higher-rate springs and revalved shocks along with beefier traction bars front and rear. The C280 normally sits on adequate 205/60/15 Continental tir light-alloy wheels are standard. The seats typically feel underpadded at first blush, but get better and better as the miles pile up. The 10-way power driver’s seat could be tailored for a perfect fit, and I found a position of comfort an inch or two forward of the rearmost stops. Up front, all is well, even for well-padded folks. The rear bench – with an option package – folds to expand the 13-c.f. The rear door openings are narrow and require some agility. The rear was rather snug in the fore-and-aft direction and headroom was at a premium, too. Mercedes does not indulge in wishful thinking, but rather markets it as a four-place car, a particularly good idea when there’s a rear-drive driveline hump to account for. Interior volume is 88 cubic feet, putting the C in compact territory. one might be willing to take a chance on the blower. The V-6 might have a slight edge in longevity, but for a $4K difference. The Kompressor’s torque curve peaks lower and stays flat longer, offering perhaps a better subjective feel, especially with an automatic, but the V-6 is smoother and quieter, and seems to want to keep climbing the rpm scale forever. Base price is $35,950 and output is remarkably close to the Kompressor’s: 194 hp and 195 foot-pounds, both figures within the margin for production variances. You don’t have to be one of those dull-normals on Millionaire to guess 6 cylinders, 2.8 liters. Better blastoffs – never a priority for German cars – could be had with a manual transmission, but all C-Class cars come only with a (superb) 5-speed automatic. That’s impressive output for a tidy little engine, capable of propelling the car from 0-60 in a little over 8 seconds, according to the factory, a claim that seems plausible, given the 3,250 pounds of mass. The air pump and premium fuel conspire to produce 185 hp and 200 foot-pounds of torque. The deduced 2.3 liters is distributed among four cylinders – now hold on a sec – which take abnormally large gulps of gas thanks to a supercharger, whence the series derives its formal designation: C230 Kompressor. The base model (starts at $31,750) is the C230. What remain are two series differentiated less by what they do than how they do it. The hotrodded C43 AMG variant, with its fire-breathing 8-cylinder engine, has been dropped from the books. Remarkable advances in engineering and manufacturing have occurred since the last major revision, however, and I’m eager to see how M-B engineers have embraced them. And there’s room for updating the chassis, too, although even in its senescence, it’s better than most. The current crop of Cs, while not so wannabe-looking as the prior generation of “Baby Benzes,” do look a bit like a cheaped-down version of the real thing. following a seven-year run, a revamped version will be out this fall, and I’m betting it will be more than incrementally better – it certainly LOOKS better. It’s a true Mercedes, with all the favorable connotations that implies, but the C-Class is coming to the end of the line. The bottom line on the sticker of the one I tested was $38,195, about 50 percent more than the current average transaction price of all new cars and trucks sold in the U.S. This humblest of Benzes, with just a smattering of options, still costs what 10 serviceable clunkers would, or perhaps one and a half very nice new compact cars. But it still must be held to a very high standard, considering not only the historic associations of the three-pointed star it wears, but also the price. It’s not in the same league as the midsize E-Class sedan, and wouldn’t get the time of day from its snooty cousin, the magnificent S-Class. The Mercedes-Benz C-Class is the smallest of the esteemed marque’s U.S.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |