RE: Mercedes C450 AMG Sport announced

[DuncsHDND]

That view from the rear side looks amazing, very tempted to step away from BMW for one of these......

[TWPC]

Emley said:

It still has the stupid tablet appendage stuck on the otherwise lovely fascia.

Tempting package, but until the tablet goes, I'm out...

Edited by Emley on Tuesday 13th January 14:36

Agreed.

Will there be a plain C450 estate available, i.e. without all the AMG Sport cosmetic gubbins, kerb-scraping wheels and rubber band tyres?
Are plain Mercs called SE now?

[Bladedancer]

37 MPG... riiiiiight.

Other than that, looks interesting. Good thing they didn't take a 2 litre and try to push 360 bhp out of it.

[anonymous-user]

Shame Mercedes Benz dealer didn't seem to know about this car when I visited them last year, would have been a definite contender. Oh well, i'll have to live with the 4 series.

[David87]

Ssounds good to me. With this having the 4MATIC system and the C63 not (for now?), I can see this being almost as quick for a lot of the time.

[moffat]

Great car and glad they finally filled the gap and have tackled the S4 / 335i.

I don't think that this will cannibalise sales from the new C63 as it still has:

-100bhp more
-A V8
-Proper AMG suspension and steering
-Real AMG exclusvitiy

It's similar to the S4 / RS4 difference so I would expect a similar balance.

For me it will still be the full fat C63 Estate next!

[c1derman]

TWPC said:

Will there be a plain C450 estate available, i.e. without all the AMG Sport cosmetic gubbins, kerb-scraping wheels and rubber band tyres?
Are plain Mercs called SE now?

Well this appears to add a new category, so list would be:
SE
Sport
AMG Line
-> AMG Sport

Plus the Mercedes-AMG C63

By default you get 16" wheels in the SE, 17" in the Sport and 18" in the AMG Line.

[hornetrider]

Oooh, I like it. Fills a nice niche. Hopefully it will sell!

[SimonD]

There's still a vast gap that needs filling between the 362bhp of this and the 180bhp of the only other non-AMG petrol.

That engine is available in 200 form in Europe and 240bhp guise in the US and it needs to be brought to the UK....

[MrBarry123]

Bladedancer said:

37 MPG... riiiiiight.

Other than that, looks interesting. Good thing they didn't take a 2 litre and try to push 360 bhp out of it.

They wouldn't have had to try very hard - they've sort of already done it.

[Twoshoe]

I'm surprised they can do a 4wd (right-hand drive) version of the C-class but not apparently of the E-class (in which you'd have thought there would be more room to accommodate the front drive shaft gubbins).

[SteveSteveson]

Oh, now this is tempting. A bit to much for me personally at full price, but once 3 years of depreciation have done their job I could be seriously tempted by a second hand one. I love the fact that they have not made it a drev and stuck with petrol. I wouldn't want to have to become one of those boring "ye, but it's all about the torque" gits. Some people do want a petrol estate car.

[Emley]

MisterJD said:

Those complaining about the screen have you sat in a new C Class to see if it's better when in the car?

Yes I have, and no it isn't.

I had one for a week when my current W204 was in for some warranty work.
The rest of the interior and fascia of the new car is a quantum leap forward in terms of quality and feel over my W204, but the stuck-on tablet dominates and undermines it.
Love technology, but I just expect it to work for me, not dominate my environment for the sake of it.
I just ended up turning the display off, sadly the tacky black monolith remains.
I hoped I would get used to it, but having to switch on sometimes, and then switch it back off became such a chore, I hated it even more.

Sorry MB it really does bug me sufficiently to go somewhere else.

Please MB, motorise it, leaving that lovely clean fascia, the small binnacle display will suffice when I don't need it.

It looks ste in a base A Class, it just looks more ste the further up the range they roll it out.

Edited by Emley on Wednesday 14th January 10:04

[g7jhp]

Good to see Mercedes bringing a 4WD performance estate out to rival the Audi S4.

Hopefully BMW will start offering a 4WD performance estate.

Nothing worse than loading up an estate and then not being able to get enough traction because it's RWD (and FWD is horrible because it spins up in the wet with modest power).

[RobST170]

I agree this may well be a sweet spot. It would make a great weapon for heading to the Alps with skis on the roof.

The term "4Matic" seems like a phrase from a 70's advert for a washing machine, not exactly evocative.

[Baryonyx]

scherzkeks said:

Very nice, but given how these estates are used, a powerful diesel would seem a better choice as an all-rounder. Can still tack on the AMG pack.

To hell with a miserable diesel!

[jimfoz]

I haven't liked Mercedes for a long time since they began merely satisfactorily built cars for pointless model segments as with BMW. However I like this - particularly as it has 4WD.
I don't believe the mpg claims either - cracking 30 will be a challenge, I bet

[Emley]

RobST170 said:

I agree this may well be a sweet spot. It would make a great weapon for heading to the Alps with skis on the roof.

The term "4Matic" seems like a phrase from a 70's advert for a washing machine, not exactly evocative.

Agreed re sweet spot, just enough power and 4Matic

Was it Ronco or K-Tel that marketed the Chop-o-Matic in the 70's

[unpc]

Is it just me that would prefer this as RWD? I've never yet felt the need for 4WD on a road only car.

[Mosdef]

loudlashadjuster said:

And here was me bemoaning the fact that M-B wouldn't sell me a fast petrol that wasn't a full-fat AMG. Same engine in an E-Class, please!

Maybe they are listening to me after all?

+1