cawimmer430

Reviewer: Christian A. Wimmer
Weather Conditions: Light rain and humid
Photo Shoot Location: Mühldorf am Inn, Germany


2007 Mercedes-Benz C200 Kompressor (W204)

I was up at the local Mercedes-Benz dealership hoping to drive the Dodge Nitro and Chrysler 300C CRD but both those cars were out for a testdrive. Luckily they had a base Obsidianblack C200 Kompressor Classic with the 6-speed manual transmission on the lot. Of course I wanted to try out that baby, especially because Mercedes supposedly improved the 6-speed.



The thing you immediately notice about the Classic trim is how plain it looks, especially in black. The Elegance and Avantgarde versions look so much more premium and expensive, while Classic simply looks cheap. This has always been the case with Mercedes, so I feel. The inside was actually quite nice, except for the wood, which I found to dark and depressing. Material wise, it's the same soft leathery type of material found in the Elegance and Avantgarde versions. Basically, the interior was well made and felt solid. The weakspot was again the center console, but the panel gaps were so small and this I suppose reassured me.

I found the C-Class to offer a lot of interior space upfront. The rear is a different story, especially if you're tall and big. Smaller people will fit in without problems, but this car is really nothing for a tall family. Either way, the driving position was nice and the interior ergonomics were superb. Everything within reach. I did find the radio volume placements on the steering wheel to be a bit off and they should have been where the cellphone operation buttons (hang up / call) were. Other than that, the ergonomics were top. The seats were comfortable, but the side support could have been better. I assume this was the case because this was a Classic trim car.



The engine is a 1.8-l supercharged 4-cylinder with 183-horsepower and it worked quite nicely with the 6-speed manual. The motor is generally quiet and very refined for a 4-cylinder engine. Vibrations? Couldn't feel any, except at low speed in 1st gear, where the car seemed a bit "jerky" when you accelerated. Noise wise, it wasn't loud either, not even on the outside. The engine response was good, especially considering this was a forced inducted motor. I tapped the pedal and the car responded on cue. Power wise, the 1.8-l motor is not as anemic as it sounds. Sure, the name "C200 Kompressor" sounds weak, but this wasn't the case at all. With 183-horsepower on tap it was more than adequately powered. First gear featured very short gear ratios, so that you had to quickshift into second gear. Here the car really pulled nicely with fluid acceleration and a sporty engine note to accompany it. Sort of addicting to be honest. I wouldn't call the C200 Kompressor blisterringly fast, but it wasn't a slouch either. Based on the way it felt, this car probably rocked to 100 km/h in the low 8 second range (MB claims 8.6 seconds).



The 6-speed manual transmission was absolute rubbish. Junk. Garbage. 1st and 2nd gear were ok, but the shifts into 3rd all the way into 6th gear lacked smoothness and precision. Shifting from 2nd into 3rd gear actually felt like you were going from 2nd into 5th gear! Needless to say this made speedshifting from 2nd gear into 3rd impossible. I missed the 5-speed automatic. Back at the dealership, I confided my dissapointment in the manual to the salesman who agreed with me and explained that an automatic is the default choice for most Mercedes'. In fact, the local dealer has NOT sold a single W204 C-Class with a manual! They've sold about 20 so far, and they were all automatics (and most of them were C220 CDI's).



Handling was decent, but the C200 Kompressor Classic clearly felt inferior to the C220 CDI Avantgarde I drove a few months ago. Whereas the C220 CDI Avantgarde had a direct steering response and sportier suspension, the C200 Kompressor in Classic trim felt much softer. The suspension was clearly comfort oriented and did an excellent job at that. It was quiet and smooth and the comfort was top notch due to suspension doing a great job of absorbing rough roads and the occupants not feeling much. The steering feel was pretty responsive, but lacked the directness of the Avantgarde model. Nevertheless, it responded quickly enough to input enabling me to drive the car in a sporty fashion. I did miss the road feel I felt through the steering system of the Avantgarde C220 CDI, which was absent here. Overall, the car didn't feel sporty, really. It could cope with sporty driving, quite well I should add, but it didn't quite inspire the confidence that the Avantgarde W204 gave you. I suppose this is irrelevant for a Classic trim level car because if you wanted sport, you would have gone for the Avantgarde trim.



The infamous wind noises were not so bad. I turned off the radio and airconditioning and drove on the Bundestrasse 12 where I could legally drive 100 km/h (120 km/h max and pay a 50 Euro fine...). At 100 km/h, you could hear a slight whistling sound near the driver side mirror. It wasn't very loud, but audible nonetheless. I took the car up to 120 km/h on a long empty stretch and the wind noises didn't increase much. It's more around 140 km/h where the wind noises increase, and the strangely calm down at higher speeds (guess it has something to do with high-speed airflow etc.). It has to be said that the interior did a very good job of keeping outside noises where they belong: outside. The cabin sound isolation is impressive. I don't think it's as extreme as Lexus, but it does a very good job of keeping most unwanted noises out and at the same time still allows you to hear the growl of the Kompressor 4-cylinder motor.



I drove the car for about an hour and thoroughly enjoyed it. Despite the trashy manual transmission, it was still a fun car but I felt an automatic would seal the deal, and Elegance or Avantgarde trim. This particular C200 Kompressor Classic cost 35,438.20 Euros by the way (base C200K costs 29,780 Euros). Here's the optional equipment included in the car: Radio Audio 20 CD, heated seats (front only), luggage compartment extension (Durchlademöglichkeit), leather steering wheel, rainsensor, comfort-steering wheel and a child seat detection system.



Overall, an enjoyable and capable car - except better in Elegance and Avantgarde trim. I'd pay more for a more premium looking trim level just so my car will look visually more pleasing and sportier.



End of Review

ree

Thanks for this review...it's the old story - you really have to go for an automatic transmission, when you're buying a Mercedes Limousine...

BMW_Dude

Great review as always Christian!

One question, do all C classes come with command, or is it like with the 3er where you only get I-Drive with sat nav? I was just wondering because I've only seen pictures of the C class interior with the command knob.

cawimmer430

Thanks.

COMAND is a cost-option on all C-Classes in Europe AFAIK, perhaps not on the C63 AMG but I don't know this yet. Have to read up on that car.

I didn't try the COMAND knob here, but I assme it's "useless" on a car without COMAND. I'll need to check up on this, not quite sure.

Benzboi_inoz

Thanks as always Christian for a great review, and also for some great photos!

A couple of quick queries if I may, out of interest.

Having driven both a C200 Kompressor, and the C220 CDI, which did you feel offered the better driving experience from a powertrain/engine point of view - assuming they were both autos?

Also given the different suspension tune between the Classic/Elegance and the Avantgarde models, which did you feel offered the better balance between comfort and sport?

That is to say whilst the Classic/Elegance setup is softer and more comfy than the Avantgarde, do you feel it gave away too much sporty feel in doing so?

Conversly, whilst giving a more sporty feel, was the ride in the Avantgarde a little too, well, hard, or bouncy/lively for the gains in sportiness over the Classic/Avantgarde.

Basically I want sportiness, but I dont want to achieve it at the cost of long term, long distance touring comfort over indifferent roads - I want a car that has a better ride than a 3 series Bimmer for example.

Re your comments about sound levels, it is interesting with the Edmunds reviews, that they do actually measure with a SPL meter, and the top 3 Germans and Lexus are all competitive re the A4, 3 series, C Class & IS250/350 Lexus. OK, there a few Db difference, but basically of small degrees rather than large differences - usually in favour of the Lexus.

Have you driven an IS250/350? I'd be interested to read of a review of yours of one of those vehicles to see what you thought of it, given your ability to put into words some incisive and insightful thoughts re motor vehicles, and in a fair and relatively unbiased manner.

I'd love to see Merc cover the engine in plastic shrouding as does Lexus. Not as appealing from an mechanical point of view, but a helluva lot easier to keep clean!

Kudos for a great review, and thanks so much for sharing...

Best Regards

John...

Centurion

Perfectly written review as usual. So you think the manual gearbox is rubbish, well that not a good thing . I hope the facelifted model comes with proper gearbox.

cawimmer430

Thanks.

Sadly, the 6-speed wasn't that great. For some reason the best Mercedes manuals I've experienced were the 5-speed manuals from the A and B-Classes. These are quite enjoyable, fairly direct and refined the way a manual should be. The 6-speed found in the C-Class, E-Class and SLK / CLK-Classes on the other hand is junk.

monster

People can really buy a basic MB in Germany ! I thought stuff like rain sensor abd Radio Audio 20 CD will come standard in something like a C200k.

The C200k classic doesn't look to bad in the photos. It doesn't look as cheap as the W203 classic versions, maybe because it has the chrome window surrounds.

Silverado

Also the W203 came with pie-dish plastic hub caps .

cawimmer430

Hi John,

Apologies for not responding earlier. My sister phoned me up to pick her up at the trainstation.

Hard to answer since the C200 Kompressor is a gasoline powered car and was mated to a manual while the C220 CDI is a diesel mated to an automatic. I guess in engine response, the victory goes to the C200 Kompressor and this is because of the manual transmission. The C220 CDI 5-spd A/T had a slight delay before responding. I've also experienced this delay on C200 Kompressors (W203) with the 5-speed automatic. On the higher end models like the C320 CDI with the 7Gtronic, there's virtually no delay in engine response.

However, in order to answer your question, I would personally suggest that the C220 CDI is the better drive. It drives more "comfortably". The C200 Kompressor ain't bad at all, but the engine is a bit noisy and at higher speeds struggles a bit. The C220 CDI on the other has massive torque reserves, feels more relaxed and packs a more powerful punch. It would be my choice and with an automatic transmission as well.


Very easy to answer. Avantgarde all the way. Sporty yet comfortable. The Classic version feels softer and therefore a tad more comfy, but the Avantgarde version offers more sport and handling and a comfort quality that is just as good. A perfect balance in other words.


I didn't drive the Elegance version yet, so I don't want to comment on how it could drive yet. The Classic version on the other hand offered predictable handling and generally still was easy to drive and control - it just felt much "softer" overall meaning more comfortable and less sporty than the Avantgarde model. So yes, I did feel that the Classic model was too soft. Arguably, it still handled very nice, better than expected but the steering wasn't as direct (though very responsive) and the road feel wasn't as good.


Not at all. And this is surprising. The Avantgarde C220 CDI I drove had a pretty sturdy suspension that surprisingly offered a near perfect balance between sport and comfort. It wasn't hard or uncomfortable at all. More like soft when you drove normally, yet sturdy when you switched to sporty driving. In order to believe me, one really has to drive this car and experience it themselves. Of course, when I talk "sporty", I mean sporty for Mercedes standards.


In that case the Avantgarde version is your car. It's both sporty and comfortable - perfect for long family drives. Our W211 2002 Mercedes E320 Avantgarde is sporty and also quite comfortable. I've driven Elegance W211 E-Classes as well and they're much softer and less sporty. For you, John, Avantgarde is the trim level to choose then.


The cabin did a good job of keeping most exterior noises out, I can't stress that enough. I do know that Lexus is almost fanatical about total isolation from the outside world. Audi, BMW and Mercedes aren't as crazy about this as Lexus and I don't think Audi, BMW or Mercedes customers really care about something so extreme the way Lexus does it.


I wish I could drive a Lexus to see how they feel etc., but no, I have not driven any Lexus. I have however checked them out at a Lexus show and while they're fine cars, I do find some aspects of them to be completely overrated such as interiors. Also, the IS and GS were very cramped on the inside. I always wonder why people don't complain about this?


They do this with their V6 and higher up engines, but their 4-cylinder engines are typically "exposed" if I can put it that way.