I was over at the Lexus dealership in the Southbay (crappy dealer BTW) to pick up some replacement Lexus wheel caps because they broke three of them just rotating the tires on the RX

I also picked up the '06 GS brochure...the sales guy's haven't even seen it yet and didn't know they even had brochures...I had to brief them on it....geez.

Anyway, the MB dealer was next door so I took a little stroll over there to check out the C55 AMG. Of course the sales guy wanted me to buy it that second...lol. Other than trying to get me to buy it every 10 minutes, he let me check the entire car out and asked if I wanted a test drive

The interior is nice...a bit more narrow than the GS, and the rear seating is not much different then the GS (since I have to put my seat all the back anyways...there isn't much room for anyone to sit behind me). The leather seating is soft and rather nice...the electronics don't appear to be overly complicated (the 7.1 surround system is standard)...headroom was about the same as the GS...almost touching.

The '05 C55 comes with new eShift paddles that was borrowed from the SL55...but still has the option to manually shift from the shifter...which I though was kind of stupid and redundant...especially since you have to actually push an extra button next to the shifter to enable the eShift function...you just can't shift into M and use the paddles.

Anyway, I started up the engine and all I can say is ...it was music to the ears...great V8 sound and you could feel the power without even touching the accelerator. The dual tipped dual exhaust notes sound great...just start one up and you will see/hear what I mean. Try NOT to smile when you do this

Well I drove slowly out of the dealership and warned the sales guy to make sure he was willing to drive with me

Once out of the lot I punched the accelerator and immediately the ESP (same as the Lexus VSC) was fighting to control the car from leaving quite a bit of rubber on the pavement...

You feel like you have a rocket attached to your back...the torque is so predominant! Anyway, we got on a deserted street and I floored it...this thing can move! I was doing 80 in no time...oh and the manual shift function starts at 1st gear, with second taking you to over 60MPH...and the eShift lets you down shift at high revs...

The suspension is waaaaaaaayyyyy tighter then a stock GS...I would say that it is equal to putting some Tein Flex on a GS...very firm, but comfortable. The steering is very responsive and quite a bit heavier then the GS. The new 18 rims are nice but something I would probably change...the braking is great since they are 4-pot front/2-pot rears.

Overall, this is a great car...very fun!

When we got back to the lot, the sales guy said "you wanna take this one home"...I laughed at him and said no way...not after I just drove it

The sticker on these cars start at $51K without bi-xenon...I laughed at the sales guy and stated why would ANYONE not want bi-xenon and why would AMG ever NOT include it as standard equipment? If you add Nav, etc... to the car your looking at $60K MSRP and they are not dealing at all.

This is just a little too pricey for this car...I think $50K w/ all options is more in line with the C-Class.

What was funny is that all the sales guy's came out and remarked how nice my GS looked and wanted to know how much I would sell it for, etc...LOL.

I also got to sit in a used 911 because I wanted to see if I fit...unfortunately I won't be getting a 911 anytime soon since I would need to lose my knee caps if I wanted to shift gears...too bad

Overall, I would recommend you guys take a test drive in this car...definitely fun!

 

great write up.

 

I am going to try out the S4 next...along with the EVO and possibly the STI

I was also thinking that if I purchased a car like this I would immediately do two things: Change the suspension to Bilstein PSS9 coilovers/drop the car and inch or two and change the wheels to 19's...I think that would make the car a bit more attractive and definitely more fun in the curves...

 

...also I forgot to mention that I went over to the Infiniti dealer to look at the G35C. Talk about one of the worst dealers possible...I had to tell them about the car that's when I finally got them to notice that I was the ONLY person in the dealership that was NOT an employee!

Too bad the G35C no longer comes with the Brembo option They did increase the horsepower by 10 in the 6MT version and offer 19" forged wheels (they don't look too bad either)...the interior is also improved upon...no more dominant plastica...real aluminum...'bout time!

I think it would be fun second car...but not my primary choice.

 

wow that nice man! it's great that the guy let you drive the c55. i love the idea of the v8!