The new C63 AMG is looking better & better to me

 

i agree with that completely .... its not worth the money .. the interior is not near as up to par with lexus ... and the neither is that " sport " engine they stick in ... ive seen more luxurious hondas ... all your doing is paying for the name

 

Okay, I drove a C350 today at the dealership. Very. Disappointing.

Let me forward this by saying that my mom has an SLK 350 with sports suspension. Now, that car is fun. Good power from the 268 hp V6 engine, which is just ridiculous for such a small car. Power is almost brutal. Even better, the handling is fantastic. Light when you need it to be, heavy when the pace and the corners pick up, and it transmits road rumble just right. It's no Boxster, but it is still a lot of fun.

Let me further forward this post by saying that now my IS350 is in the shop, I am currently driving a 2000 Honda Accord. It actually has a pretty reasonable amount of body roll, but the steering is too light, does not have seem to have any feedback whatsoever, and gives no confidence in the twisties as the loads don't ramp up at all; very hard to find precision in that machine. Obviously, it's an Accord. But, just pointing it out.

I point it out because, as I drove the C350 today, it was more Accord than SLK350. It simply was NOT FUN. The power is nothing like that of the SLK, and that's to be expected. Same amount of horsepower, heavier car. The pickup is acceptable for any reasonable human being; really, are you going to use all that power on the road? But since the C350 must be compared to the 335i and the IS350, in that sense, it is almost anemic.

The steering: it felt like I was driving an Accord, not a Mercedes. No feedback from the steering wheel whatsoever. The salesman took me on a twisty backroad, and I'm sorry to say, but the too-light steering effort combined with a total lack of feedback made the car very hard to drive sportingly. Shame, because the suspension of the car is really very good; no body roll, and not too harsh. Very good combination of tautness and comfort. Just shame about the steering.

And finally, the aesthetics. The car looks good in person. I really do love the outside. The inside... not so much. The plastic is grainy, and like every Mercedes, the materials you touch, rest your arms on, and sit in are just too hard. The armrests are made of harder material than even the SLK. And, probably because the dealer I went to lathered every surface with that shiny oily stuff, everything LOOKED incredibly plasticky. Compared with the Lexus or even the newly-improved interior of the E90, it just doesn't begin to stack up in texture and feel.

Any good points? Lots of room to be found, front, back and trunk. I love the panoramic sunroof... just LOVE it. And, as I said before, it looks fantastic coming down the road. It just looks big, heavy, fast and mean. Shame it doesn't drive that way.

 

Unless the new C class is significantly heaver than the old one, the C350 can't be THAT slow. All the compro tests I've seen have it only slightly behind the IS350.

 

Automobile (sept 07 issue) had a comparison between the new CTS, 335i, and the C350 sport..

here are some quotes on the C350..

 

Initially, I thought this car was going to suck, but I kinda dig it now. My only complaint is that they should have a model around $45K-$50K that comes with a 5-liter V8 but is more luxury-oriented than sport-oriented and positioned accordingly between the top-level 6-cylinder model and the AMG.

Also, the interior can't be any worse than the 2007 ES350. Lexus has hit a new low with that car.

 

Perhaps the C350 is fast, it just isn't brutal in the way it lays down its power like the IS or the SLK, so it just doesn't feel as fast.

The Automobile review reflects my driving experience. The chassis and suspension were brilliant, but like I said, the steering just isn't as communicative as others. Obviously, I wasn't on a racetrack, and don't claim to be a handling reviewer, so the impressions I got on the windy road I drove the car might be wrong.

 

i said that when i first saw the pictures, but its not actually that bad. Ive had it as a loaner car three times, and i didnt want to give the car back.

 

I kinda like the ES's interior too, abit not thinking at some parts like the chrome shifter edge, which blinded my eyes... But over all, it's huge interior space that got me for a shock, I've always been around in my friend's IS350, I feel a bit cramped as the dash is so close and such... when he got the loaner ES350, power's not there, but it's fairly comfy although I was blinded... lol

My brother have a 330xi, which should be a good comparsion to the C350, the BMW's better in almost everything when it comes to driving, but comfort, well, I've driven it for almost 10 hours straight last week, the seat needs the Lexus ventilation, otherwise, it's great... suspension's a bit hard for normal driving I'd say, but when you throw it some corners, everything becomes perfect.

 

I think Mercedes might pull a stunner and introduce maybe the C550 for 2009. I don't think they have a V6 over 300 hp so the 380 hp from the 5.5 V8 will suffice. They might detune it to around 350 hp, which will put it right between C350 and the new C63. It probably will cost more than the 335i but it might be justifiable with the new V8.

 

The C63 has wider front fenders and a more aggressive fascia.
The run-of-the-mill C300 and C350 don't look quite like this.

Apparently, the "regular" (non-C63) AMG body kit is a no-cost option now.
Hard to believe, but apparently true!

The car does look better in person. The front of the hood is a bit upright
due to the newer European pedestrian crash regulations. It looks a little
weird from some frontal three-quarter angles, but overall the car is
pretty slick. If the styling is any indication, it should make a dent in
3-series sales...