C-Class (W205) [Official] Mercedes-Benz C-Class (W205)

[Betty Swollocks]

A fellow Dallas area Benz fan, great!

M

Check throughandthrough's posts. It's Kilcrohane.

 

[DJRaze99]

 

[Betty Swollocks]

I've just picked up this C 220 BlueTEC for the weekend, the first time I'll be driving the new W205 C-Class. I'll be doing a 2,000km road trip over the next few days. I'll let you know what I think of it, but first impressions are that the ride is very comfortable, and for a relatively standard model, it feels premium. The touch-input device for the nav etc. takes some getting used to though.

This maybe the first car I've driven that will achieve over 60mpg (4.7 l/100km) on my standard test, if the first 30km are anything to go by.

 

[DJRaze99]

Great colour, clearly is picking lines of this car out

 

[Zafiro]

the wheels looks so tiny, 16"?

 

[lukeswiss]

The W205 is now built in the US.

Isn't that just for the US market ?

 

[Monster]

Isn't that just for the US market ?

I think so, the Australian market get their W205 from South Africa.

 

[W201]

Surprising to see the cluster doesn't show 330kph (thus the last interval is not 30, but 20km; and the S63 has 330).

 

[lukeswiss]

I think so, the Australian market get their W205 from South Africa.

Makes sense, they both have the steering wheels on the same side....

 

[Betty Swollocks]

the wheels looks so tiny, 16"?

17"

It has the Avantgarde trim package.

 

[Rolf]

I've just picked up this C 220 BlueTEC for the weekend, the first time I'll be driving the new W205 C-Class. I'll be doing a 2,000km road trip over the next few days. I'll let you know what I think of it, but first impressions are that the ride is very comfortable, and for a relatively standard model, it feels premium. The touch-input device for the nav etc. takes some getting used to though.

This maybe the first car I've driven that will achieve over 60mpg (4.7 l/100km) on my standard test, if the first 30km are anything to go by.

Nice car, it looks good in that colour, but the wheels look smallish. How do you rate the engine and gearbox? Is it as noisy as mags say it is and the gearbox jerky or slow reacting?

 

[Mick Briesgau]

I've just picked up this C 220 BlueTEC for the weekend, the first time I'll be driving the new W205 C-Class. I'll be doing a 2,000km road trip over the next few days. I'll let you know what I think of it, but first impressions are that the ride is very comfortable, and for a relatively standard model, it feels premium. The touch-input device for the nav etc. takes some getting used to though.

This maybe the first car I've driven that will achieve over 60mpg (4.7 l/100km) on my standard test, if the first 30km are anything to go by.

I'm curious what mpg you'll be achieving. This particular car from Sixt?

 

[Betty Swollocks]

Nice car, it looks good in that colour, but the wheels look smallish. How do you rate the engine and gearbox? Is it as noisy as mags say it is and the gearbox jerky or slow reacting?

I haven't really driven it enough yet. I'll be leaving the Netherlands tonight at around 2130 and driving overnight to the North of England. I did think it was quite noisy at first, yes, but not excessively so. The 520d Gran Turismo I had a few weeks ago was much louder even.

If it was my car I would order it with bigger wheels, but they don't look too bad. Maybe it's the photo. The beauty of only borrowing a car is that you can enjoy a smooth and comfortable ride as they inevitably don't have the big rims specified.

I'm curious what mpg you'll be achieving. This particular car from Sixt?

It is from Sixt, yes.

The best mpg I've seen in the last few years was in a BMW 118d (F20), but that didn't quite reach 60 mpg (4.7 l/100km). I suspect this C 220 BlueTEC is my best chance yet of cracking the 60 mpg barrier over my test route.

I need to update my "Fuel Consumption" thread with lots of cars that I've driven in the last few months. I'll try and find the time.

http://www.germancarforum.com/community/threads/the-fuel-consumption-thread.49066/

 

[-=Hot|Ice=-]

Not a fan of the faux Carbon Fiber trim inside the gauge cluster, but I'm excited. I'm ordering my C63 AMG S with the AMG Performance Seats and AMG Performance Exhaust. Will 100% be getting the Carbon Exterior Package.

 

[Amat46]

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[Mick Briesgau]

It is from Sixt, yes.

The best mpg I've seen in the last few years was in a BMW 118d (F20), but that didn't quite reach 60 mpg (4.7 l/100km). I suspect this C 220 BlueTEC is my best chance yet of cracking the 60 mpg barrier over my test route.

I need to update my "Fuel Consumption" thread with lots of cars that I've driven in the last few months. I'll try and find the time.

http://www.germancarforum.com/community/threads/the-fuel-consumption-thread.49066/

Don't want to push, Betty, but can you already say something on fuel consumption over last weekend?

 

[Betty Swollocks]

Don't want to push, Betty, but can you already say something on fuel consumption over last weekend?

Hi Mick! Don't worry about pushing me. It's nice to know I can contribute something useful to other forum members.

Well, I am going to make a more detailed post at some point, either today or tomorrow, on both the fuel consumption and the new C-Class in general. I am on stand-by with work right now and until nine this evening, so if I don't get called in I should have plenty of time.

BUT, to give you a little teaser........

I didn't break the 60 mpg (4.7 l/100 km) barrier as I'd hoped. I used my usual test route which I like to compare the cars I drive, and the conditions met my strict criteria for a valid test, but it was a little disappointing if I'm honest.

I'll collate all the data and post the exact figure soon.

 

[Mick Briesgau]

Hi Mick! Don't worry about pushing me. It's nice to know I can contribute something useful to other forum members.

Well, I am going to make a more detailed post at some point, either today or tomorrow, on both the fuel consumption and the new C-Class in general. I am on stand-by with work right now and until nine this evening, so if I don't get called in I should have plenty of time.

BUT, to give you a little teaser........

I didn't break the 60 mpg (4.7 l/100 km) barrier as I'd hoped. I used my usual test route which I like to compare the cars I drive, and the conditions met my strict criteria for a valid test, but it was a little disappointing if I'm honest.

I'll collate all the data and post the exact figure soon.

Pity you didn't brake the 60 mpg mark.

Okay, I'll read it when posted. Thanks!

 

[Rolf]

Hi Mick! Don't worry about pushing me. It's nice to know I can contribute something useful to other forum members.

Well, I am going to make a more detailed post at some point, either today or tomorrow, on both the fuel consumption and the new C-Class in general. I am on stand-by with work right now and until nine this evening, so if I don't get called in I should have plenty of time.

BUT, to give you a little teaser........

I didn't break the 60 mpg (4.7 l/100 km) barrier as I'd hoped. I used my usual test route which I like to compare the cars I drive, and the conditions met my strict criteria for a valid test, but it was a little disappointing if I'm honest.

I'll collate all the data and post the exact figure soon.

I will certainly be interested to know what your thoughts are on this car and how you rate it against the 3 series

 

[Betty Swollocks]

So, here I my (humble) thoughts after driving the new C-Class for 2,007km (1,247 miles) over 36 hours last weekend.
I’m not a professional car reviewer, and neither is the C 220 BlueTEC the sort of car for which power slides and on the limit handling have any relevance, so I shall refrain from talking about those aspects of the drive. Besides which, I didn’t get the back end out once anyway.

The model I drove was the ‘Avantgarde’ trim, which brings a few sporty elements to the table such as slightly bigger (17”), wheels, the sport grill, part-cloth/leather sports seats, a different interior trim, and a few other choice features. Other options fitted to the car included the cheaper-than-Comand Becker Map Pilot sat-nav, ambient lighting and cruise control.
I do like the exterior design of the new C-Class. It’s certainly one of the best looking of the MB models. As for the interior, in this rather standard version, it is truly magnificent to look at. Such a nice design, and the quality is definitely best in class. I wouldn’t say it’s massively ahead of the 3 Series, but it’s clearly, to my eyes at least, the best between the two. The Audi A4, which is admittedly old, doesn’t come close. I would quite happily describe the C-Class as being almost as good as the S-Class in terms of its interior. There are moments when sat in the driver’s seat and looking across towards the passenger door handle, that you could be forgiven for thinking you’re in an S-Class. It really is THAT good. At night the ambient lights (choice of three colours – Solar (orange), polar (blue), natural (white)) give a nice warm feeling, and the desire to drive until the fuel runs dry. The sat-nav system, despite being the cheaper of the two options, is perfectly acceptable, albeit a bit naff looking in terms of the map. I did have a bit of trouble getting the perfect driving position, and if I’m honest, I never truly found a setting I was completely happy with. My iPod was easy to connect to the car, with the standard Apple cable doing the job nicely and connecting to the USB port in the arm rest. After doing that I was able to access the full contents of the iPod easily using the car’s central display, or the display in the instrument binnacle.

Driving along the French coast near Dunkerque.

So, moving on to the drive. In a nutshell, it was clearly RWD, perfectly competent at taking fast sweeping bends, such as the one I use regularly joining the Brussels ring road, whilst also being comfortable. The steering wheel was nice and thick (part of the Avantgarde trim I suspect) and felt good in the hand. Performance from the now quite old OM651 4-pot twin-turbo was brisk enough. 170hp and 1,570kg is more than adequate. The engine was noisy on start-up, and was fairly vocal on acceleration, but at a 120km/h cruise (1,700rpm) it was inaudible. The 7-speed 7G-Tronic Plus auto seemed capable most of the time. The only exception was when I accelerated into a gap in lane three on the motorway and it didn’t know which gear to choose.
I was impressed with the W205.
However, there are some negatives. First of all, the standard collision warning system kept giving false alerts, not just sensing other cars far too early, but suddenly screaming into life when passing an overgrown bush by the side of the road, or even when there was literally nothing at all near the car. It was very annoying being startled by a loud “beep!!” for no apparent reason, combined with a flashing red triangle in the instrument display. Yes, it is possible to disable the system, but only via a cumbersome delve into the options menu using the steering wheel buttons, AND, it reinitialises every time you start the car again. So you’re left with a choice of either putting up with it, or having to go into the menus to turn it off. It’s the same story with the standard Attention Assist system.
The second issue, and this one is even more disappointing, was a very prominent “rattle” from the driver’s door area where the door meets the A-pillar, near the air vent. I didn’t notice it at first due to having music on, but once turned off it was extremely annoying. I tried everything to identify where the noise was coming from, but to no avail. I suspect it may have been coming from the speaker. It was bad enough that had it been my own car, I would have been straight to the dealers Monday morning to complain. It’s not good enough on a Mercedes-Benz, and certainly not one only three months old and with 9,000 km on the odometer.
So, overall I was very pleased with the W205 C 220 BlueTEC. The fuel economy was good, if not as good as expected. The interior a lovely place to spend time. And the drive perfectly acceptable for a car of this class. Would I buy one. Yes. Only if the 3 Series didn’t exist though.



* I will add the fuel consumption data later when I'm at home and have the exact figures to hand.