NarutoRamen

Reviewer: Raman Banwait
Location: San Francisco, California
Date: August 4, 2007

2008 Mercedes Benz C350 Sport

Event:
Today was the day of the C-Drive event for Mercedes-Benz in San Francisco. My time was 1:30pm. So I got there by 1:15pm and they had complementary Valet service. YAY! For those of you who've been to San Francisco, it's a pain in the ass to find parking unless you want to pay $10-20 to part your car. I went inside, signed my waiver of liability form, signed my self in, got a wrist band and then went on my way to the main room. As soon as I walk into the room, there it was. The C350 Sport was sitting there witch such a beautiful paint job. I don't know what the right color is but it's like gray/gold-ish. Just gorgeous.


Exterior:
Wow. That is all I can say after looking at the C350 Sport with my own eyes. The AMG designed body-kit is a must have for this car. The normal C-class looks very good indeed but the Sport kit just brings out the aggressive lines of this car. The design of this car is great. A person I met at the event and I were discussing the design of the C-class and the 3er. We were outside looking at someone's 3er on street and a C-class that was on show. While looking at both cars we both agreed that the edgy looking design of the C-class makes the 3er look bubbly and disproportioned. Of course, that is just 2 people's opinion. The back from some angles does look a bit odd, but overall this is a beautiful car. Some might call this a "baby S-class", but that's not a bad thing.
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Interior:
While the pics might have you believe that the interior is very plasticky and lacks luxury, that is false. In reality, the interior was better than what I was expecting. Thanks to the pictures I too thought it was plasticky, but after sitting in it and fiddling with the controls and looking at the Maple Birdseye Trim (if I remember correctly) was genuinely luxurious. Don't get me wrong, it's no S-Class, but for the segment it's in, I would say it's very good. Personally, I would say the interior felt better than the A4 and the 3er. Ergonomically, it was really, really good. Of course, that's not a surprise. The plastics in the car felt just right and not cheap. The interior quality was great and dare I say on par with AUDI. Everything in the car fit just right.
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The Drive:
The drive was supposed to go like this: There is a lead car and then about 5-6 cars behind the lead car. We were supposed to follow the lead car on a pre-determined course. Of course, if you get held back by a red light then the lead car will keep on going but they will eventually stop to let all the cars catch up. Also, the car was rigged with 1 way radio that the lead car was transmitting. He was telling us the directions just in case someone gets lost. Lucky for me, I got stuck behind a red light. So I listened to where they were heading and that allowed me to SPEED to my hearts desire to catch up to them.

Engine:
The C350 engine sounded awesome under acceleration. Not at the M3 or AMG level but way better than most non sports cars. The exhaust howl doesn't beat the sound of the VQ series of Nissan engines (G35, 350z) but it sounds better than the 330i engine. Take not, I have not driven the 335i yet so I can't compare those. The engine is torquey but it just takes a second for the 7speed to catch up to what you want it to do. Once, the transmission shifts into the right gear then the thing just tosses you back. Really good acceleration, reminds me of my E36 M3.
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Handling:
I was surprised at how well poised this car is in sharp turn-ins. Hell at some points the car felt more confident than I did. It was just asking to be pushed but I had to keep it with-in limits because I was driving in a heavly populated area with tons of pot holes in San Fransisco. Even then at the places I got a chance, I pushed it as hard as I could. The car obliged my every idiotic moves. At one point I even got the back end to kick out. Of course, that didn't last to long thanks to the techno wizardry of the Traction control! Honestly, The car was almost as good if not as good as the 3er in handling. Of course, the comfort is totally different ball game.

Comfort:
The car was very comfy. The seats were no S-class seats but they were really comfy. Also, the suspension is awesome. The adaptive dampening works quite well, even in sport mode! In sport mode, I was able to push the car on crappy, pothole filled roads without even thinking about my back or ass. It wasn't until I got back in my own car, was on the highway (which was fairly smooth) that I realized how much my car's (Acura TSX) seat suck and comfort level suck. I give MB a big thumbs up on making this car very sporty yet still keep the comfort level most people expect out of a Mercedes.

Brakes:
As stupid as I was to keep on stepping on the accelerator ever chance I got, the brakes were good enough to keep my dumbass in check. There was a point where I was gonig quite fast and didn't see this minature stoplight because it was hidden behind a tree. I jammed on the brakes and the car stopped well before I was expecting it to stop and without any drama at all. It was almost as if the car was F__king with me. Too smooth, I say. This is a good thing of course, because this way at least I know that I or my loved ones will be safe in a situation that requires them to brake hard. Good job MB.
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Transmission:
Buttery smooth. Most of the time I didn't even know the damn thing was even shifting. The only time you could feel the shifts are under hard acceleration. The down shifts are perfect and no drama at all. Of course, in couple instances the car did take a second or two to figure out that I wanted to speed when I jammed on the gas.

Overall:
My overall expression of this car is a good one. This car is worth every penny that MB say it is. This car was better than expected and makes the outgoing c-class look and feel like a Kia. The outgoing C was a decent looking but bad performing car. The only time it looked good was with an AMG sport kit or the actual AMG itself, other than that it was a poor car and not worth the money IMO. The new one however looks good with or without the AMG kit and performs really well. So would I suggest this car over it's competitors? That is a definite yes. If money isn't a problem then the C is a great car. It offers great quality, style and comfort. In numbers it might not be as fast as the 335 but that is such a minuscule difference that on the streets it doesn't even matter. Should the current gen C-class owners update? Hell yes. Don't even bother to think about this one, this is a no brainer.

**Note: Wimmer, I borrowed your layout style for my post. I hope you don't mind.

More Pics + Videos...Enjoy I do have hi-res if anyone wants them.

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Command Screen


Drive begins


Acceleration1


Acceleration2


Final Verdict

tccp

Thanks for a good and through review. The car looks as beautiful as it sounds. I was surprised with the interior review. Happy to hear that it's not plasticky. Makes me want to go and buy the C350. But until then, I can only fantasize!

etlomotey

An Excellent review.

Like I said in my review back in June, when I first saw and drove the car IRL, Judgement is best reserved until you see and drive it.

Pictures do it no justice, I can only wonder what impression the C63 will give IRL.

Did you also find the brakes ultra sharp? You do however get used to it very quickly. Roll on September

NarutoRamen

Thanks! Yeah, it definitely is a good car. The whole plastic comment gets thrown out once you actually sit in the car. Just the way the interior is designed makes it look too plasticky in the pictures but once you sit in it then you realize: "hmm...it's not bad afterall" Also, the engine isn't deafeningly loud but it's loud enough to serve its purpose. Engine lets you know you're in a nice and fast car and lets the outsiders know you mean business.

NarutoRamen

Thanks! I did read it. I do agree, the pictures make the interior look horrid compared to what it truly is. I'm not saying it's gorgeous but it is better than it's competitors safe for may be the G35/37.

And yes, the brakes were quite sharp. I was actually surprised at that because the last C-class brakes made it feel like you were trying to stop a 747 sometimes. Also, I got used to them quickly. Doesn't take me too long to adjust to a car.

Just_me

Only one thing in the review I dont agree with me, I dont find the interior spectacular, its álright but I dont find it better than the competition, in fact I find it just as good as the 3-series. I have even read carreviews that give the 3-series better score in interior materials than the new C-class.
But its not the plastic or the materials that is a problem to me, its the layout I dont like.

PS, I been inside the new C-class so Im not basing my view on pictures.


BTW isnt BMW having events like MB is doing for the new C-class?

ree

Thanks for this great review and the videos you took!!

mrkc77

Great review, man.

Thanks for pics and the videos.

Wish we had these drive events in Oz.

Bruce

Excellent review Ramen; great videos too!

Centurion

Nice write up and it seem like you had fun driving Mercedes spectacular new baby. I wish MB had similar events in Sweden.