Larry96815

I agree. As an owner of 2 MBs and 3 Lexus, the MB is more expensive to maintain. With that said if I could have gotten the MB C350 Sport I wanted last January I still would have bought it. I love my IS 350 F Sport and am not sorry I bought it but it was not my first choice.

Hermes

Is it just me or does anyone else find the layout in this car horrendous. It looks like they installed a tablet right in the middle of the dash, I think this is just a disaster. Not a fan.

Larry96815

I am so old (school) that I wouldn't care if all the manufacturers did away with the screens. I still reach down to the **** to change radio volume! Just a 50 year habit I guess.

Aloha,
Larry

PS For what it is worth I spend about 10 hours a day on a computer.

tea

the screen is growing on me. the rest of the interior is just absolutely gorgeous and makes up for the screen

IS1911

Hermes,

I'm with you. Now if MB had an actual iPad interface in the car then the "tacked on" look could be forgiven. If the screen could be turned toward the driver or passenger (which it can't) then this design also might have been forgiven. I just don't understand why they chose to go in this direction.

In addition after having many Merc's in my family over the last couple of decades and observing the reliability drop off sharply as technology was added I won't be buying one anytime soon. There was a time when Merc's were built like a brick ****house. They still use superior materials, especially the carpeting but they are SERIOUS reliability issues, especially when the car gets beyond 2-3 years old and they are WICKED expensive to repair when something does go wrong. My dad's last Merc was a '99 E430. Once the warrantee ran out his repair bills were between $1500-4000 each time. His dealer was Globe Motorcars in Caldwell, NJ which is one of the largest dealers in the New York area.

For those of us that live in cities where the money is and people by the most Merc's just take a look at the number of them stranded on the side of the road. In my neck of the woods you see stranded late model Merc's more than any other later model cars. To me the "privilege" of looking out the window at the 3-point star is not worth the trouble or the expense.

kmanpete24

Is it just me or is the interior of the Merc looks very plastic. I am not digging the AC vents and the screen.

cupofjoe

I was in my friend's C400 today. We both picked up our cars within a couple of days of each other, so we're both checking out the other's car. The exterior and interior really looks high class. But you are right, there is a lot of plastic. Being the first model year, there are some minor build issues. The driver door had some creaking, and the plastic around the wood trim of the center console clicked if you tapped on it.

The engine is, without a doubt, fast. It will get you from 0 to ticketed very quickly. There's no routing of the sound into the cabin, so its very quiet. We easily drove along at 85 without realizing it. But to me, the smaller displacement twin turbo feels lacking. There is a noticeable, but manageable amount of turbo lag, especially in the low RPMs.

The seats are not nearly as comfortable as the IS. Theres almost no side support, and the lumbar support was actually more painful than comfortable. The new nav system was difficult. The menu goes away after a few seconds. I must have changed through like 10 songs, just trying to get the media menu up on the screen. Between the 2 of us, it took 20 minutes to try to save a radio preset. I think the new controller can be really intuitive, but there is first a steep learning curve. The screen seems much larger in person; it is very detailed, and easy to see from all angles.

But the biggest drawback: the run flat tires. They were excessively noisy over road imperfections, and really made the car harsher than expected over large bumps. From my previous experience, they also don't grip as well.

As we both drove down a multi-lane road, I was passed by the c400 (wasn't trying to test speed). It looks great stationary, but when it passes you on the road, it still looks like a "baby benz". And for some reason, that makes it less impressive to me.

salvadorik

iTrader: (1)

This guy in my opinion gives very honest and detailed reviews on cars. Here is his take on new C300 4MATIC.

richardamp

The vents, etc. are not plastic, it's aluminum (per MB's website). That's what makes this car so great...they use metal where most other cars use plastic.

GregCanada

You should get her to look at a GS350 f sport... the interiors are beautiful in them, they are larger, solid, and same drivetrain as the IS.

Hermes

That does't mean that those vents are horrendous, at least in my opinion. I think the dash is just styled very poorly

JT4

There is no denying that the new C is a good looking car. However, the "tablet" styled screen on the dash looks like it was stuck on and lMO looks like an afterthought.. After two MB products, I'm happy to have my wife back in a Lexus

microsurf

The reason they did this is because they wanted to screen to be close to the driver, if they built the dash around it, the dash would be huge and imposing. This design allows the interior space to be larger. It's been growing on me.

damtachoa

BMW and Mercedes are the most expensive to maintain. They're good only the first four years. That's why BMW and Mercedes are for those who want to lease. For cash buy with long terms driving, Lexus is the best choice.

IS1911

I completely agree and that's exactly why I went with Lexus. My dad and uncle drove Mercedes for decades. My uncle always leased and usually got out of his leases early. My dad bought and after the warrantee ran out his repair bills were always between $2000-$4000 every time the car was brought in. If you have a late model Mercedes you really can't bring it to an independent mechanic. They don't have access to the same diagnostic tools or training as the dealer.