Living with a C-Class

Living with a C-Class

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Discussion

cpas

Original Poster:

1,661 posts

239 months

Friday 6th April 2012
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There's a distinct possibility that a C-Class Saloon or even Estate (C220 for the extra power over the 200) may be within my budget when I renew my company car in a few months as the lease deals are really good at the moment. I have been told by a couple of people that handling and steering feedback is not that good, but surely this cannot be true. I don't expect sportscar-like handling but would like some driving fun. The option of a Merc on the drive seems too appealing to turn down!! Please can anyone put my mind at rest? My next favourite option would be an Octavia VRS for a completely different vehicle experience.

chris333

1,034 posts

238 months

Friday 6th April 2012
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why not have a drive of one?

Pentoman

4,814 posts

262 months

Saturday 7th April 2012
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I am frequently informed the steering on the C class is a strong point and better than that on,for example, the 3 series. So that bit about the steering sounds like a somewhat outdated opinion. The rest... not sure.

Charley Farley

341 posts

204 months

Saturday 7th April 2012
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I've had a C220D Sport Estate as a company car for 3 months, having run an A4 S-Line Estate before, and an Octavia VRs Estate before that.

I must say that i really like the Merc... Engine is strong, handling is not bad at all (not sure with non-Sport models?)... But the best bit is the ride,,,, 10x better than the Audi & 5 times better than the Skud.

Admittedly the Vrs was more of a driver's car- but the Merc is much better equipped, very well built and actual performance is not much different.

Probably best to test the both of them and then make the call... I guess that you would be paying less BiK tax on the VRS?

cpas

Original Poster:

1,661 posts

239 months

Saturday 7th April 2012
quotequote all
Thanks for the replies. I will take a test drive - would make more sense and I could see how well the kids fit in the back as well.

It's nice to see someone who has had experience of both cars. I would expect the VRS to be more of a driver's car but then this could become quite tiresome on long journeys. I drive a Passat CC at the moment and this has extremely good handling compared with the standard Passat, whilst still having a very comfy ride.

Surprisingly the BIK of the Merc is only slightly higher than the VRS because, although the value is about £7k more, the percentage is only 18% compared with 23% of the VRS due to emissions - and the tax on fuel is £16 a month LESS just due to this smile

Time for some test drives then!!

yellowbentines

5,296 posts

206 months

Saturday 7th April 2012
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cpas said:
this could become quite tiresome on long journeys.
My recently departed C220 cdi Sport was quite uncomfortable on long journeys, not due to suspension but to a combination of narrow seat base/firm side bolsters on the sports seats - they are nice and hugging for a spirited B-road drive but felt like they started to dig in at the sides after an hour or so on long motorway journeys.

Or maybe my arse was just too fat for them....getmecoat

cpas

Original Poster:

1,661 posts

239 months

Saturday 7th April 2012
quotequote all
I need quite a large car as I'm 6'4" tall and like larger cars anyway. The Merc and VRS and Passat are the only things I've seen that I really like. I'm tempted to persue the Merc anyway as I just think it's got to be a good car overall, and, even at SE spec, has pretty much all I need (cruise, parking sensors etc).

craig51

62 posts

148 months

Saturday 7th April 2012
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I had a C220 sport auto estate with amg styling for 2.5yrs before i got my current Ml320.

Brilliant car and i would have another. Very responsive, quick on the A and B roads for overtaking, and comfy on the motorway. SOme great deals just now on them aswell.


Tiggsy

10,261 posts

251 months

Sunday 8th April 2012
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cpas said:
I need quite a large car as I'm 6'4" tall and like larger cars anyway. The Merc and VRS and Passat are the only things I've seen that I really like. I'm tempted to persue the Merc anyway as I just think it's got to be a good car overall, and, even at SE spec, has pretty much all I need (cruise, parking sensors etc).
I have a C350 Sport and i'm 6ft6 - fits perfect and drives lovley. Nice balance between smooth and sporty (stick to std 17" rims)

BoyBlue

89 posts

146 months

Monday 9th April 2012
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Just purchased a 250 CDI Elegance saloon and a 220 CDI Elegance estate for swimbo.
Tried the sport versions but found suspension quite stiff and not good road holding on bumpy roads, ok on billiard smooth surfaces but as we live in a country with deteriorating roads we went for the slightly softer and more compliant Elegance and glad we did so.
The 250 is returning 57 mpg and is quite lively with 204 bhp 0-62 7 sec. The 220 has 170 bhp and not far behind on 0-62, don't know the mpg yet as still sort of running in but expect 57-60 mpg on motorway and 50-54 average.
One has Command and other has Becker, not much to chose between as far as sat nav but you do get speed reminder every time you pass a speed repeat sign with Command. Drive as many cars as you can, how about the new 3 Series. Swimbo had a Passat estate 53reg, so we tried the new Passat estate, very disappointing.

cpas

Original Poster:

1,661 posts

239 months

Monday 9th April 2012
quotequote all
BoyBlue said:
Just purchased a 250 CDI Elegance saloon and a 220 CDI Elegance estate for swimbo.
Tried the sport versions but found suspension quite stiff and not good road holding on bumpy roads, ok on billiard smooth surfaces but as we live in a country with deteriorating roads we went for the slightly softer and more compliant Elegance and glad we did so.
The 250 is returning 57 mpg and is quite lively with 204 bhp 0-62 7 sec. The 220 has 170 bhp and not far behind on 0-62, don't know the mpg yet as still sort of running in but expect 57-60 mpg on motorway and 50-54 average.
One has Command and other has Becker, not much to chose between as far as sat nav but you do get speed reminder every time you pass a speed repeat sign with Command. Drive as many cars as you can, how about the new 3 Series. Swimbo had a Passat estate 53reg, so we tried the new Passat estate, very disappointing.
Thanks for the info. I've got a Passat CC at the moment which is much better to drive than the standard Passat as is has a more sporty suspension set-up. The 3-Series is a lot more expensive on lease for a similar spec - and I have found previous ones tighter for driver space. I'm likely to go for the C220 rather than the C200 as it's not much more expensive but is more powerful, and somehow lower on emissions and therefor BIK percentage (so cheaper on the fuel tax). The 250 is quite a bit more expensive on tax and possibly above my ugdet on lease. I'm not worried about the Command as I have a Tom-Tom which I prefer as you can move it between cars. How much different is the spec between the SE and the Elegance? I like the bigger wheels and chrome trim, but I'm not sure how comfy the man-made leather will be on a hot day.

Tiggsy

10,261 posts

251 months

Tuesday 10th April 2012
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cpas said:
BoyBlue said:
Just purchased a 250 CDI Elegance saloon and a 220 CDI Elegance estate for swimbo.
Tried the sport versions but found suspension quite stiff and not good road holding on bumpy roads, ok on billiard smooth surfaces but as we live in a country with deteriorating roads we went for the slightly softer and more compliant Elegance and glad we did so.
The 250 is returning 57 mpg and is quite lively with 204 bhp 0-62 7 sec. The 220 has 170 bhp and not far behind on 0-62, don't know the mpg yet as still sort of running in but expect 57-60 mpg on motorway and 50-54 average.
One has Command and other has Becker, not much to chose between as far as sat nav but you do get speed reminder every time you pass a speed repeat sign with Command. Drive as many cars as you can, how about the new 3 Series. Swimbo had a Passat estate 53reg, so we tried the new Passat estate, very disappointing.
Thanks for the info. I've got a Passat CC at the moment which is much better to drive than the standard Passat as is has a more sporty suspension set-up. The 3-Series is a lot more expensive on lease for a similar spec - and I have found previous ones tighter for driver space. I'm likely to go for the C220 rather than the C200 as it's not much more expensive but is more powerful, and somehow lower on emissions and therefor BIK percentage (so cheaper on the fuel tax). The 250 is quite a bit more expensive on tax and possibly above my ugdet on lease. I'm not worried about the Command as I have a Tom-Tom which I prefer as you can move it between cars. How much different is the spec between the SE and the Elegance? I like the bigger wheels and chrome trim, but I'm not sure how comfy the man-made leather will be on a hot day.
I love the fake leather - as long as you have aircon it's fine. Stays clean and looks newer than leather - and no one would ever know the difference anyway.

BoyBlue

89 posts

146 months

Tuesday 10th April 2012
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Yes a Tom Tom is a good idea, it's just that the cars came already specced from the factory.
The Artico man made seat covering is, we are told, cool in summer and warm in winter, we remain to be convinced ! I am sure it will prove very practical though.
The 200 is a little down on power for these days but the 220 at 170 bhp is quite a goer, if one needs more power and speed then something totally different is required, with the loss of economy of course.
There are some wiz deals about at the moment, we were offered something called a PCP that knocked over £4,000 off the price. Even so we had a cracking deal with MB of Oxford which equaled this.
Personally I think they are worried about the impact of the new 3 series.
Good luck with your purchase, thankfully I don't have to worry about the tax angle any more.

P.Nott

227 posts

188 months

Tuesday 10th April 2012
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I was told some people have experienced cracking of the Artico artificial leather. I went for the real thing and very pleased I did. I'm really pleased with my new C Class. It is refined in Elegance trim, very comfortable and, with the 350 CDI engine, very quick.

Tiggsy

10,261 posts

251 months

Tuesday 10th April 2012
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My 350 is 2 yrs old now and the seats look like new with 20 stone in them daily and 4 kids climbing all over them!


cpas

Original Poster:

1,661 posts

239 months

Wednesday 11th April 2012
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Went to the Merc showroom today but they only had a C200 SE Saloon to test drive so I'm waiting for a 220 Estate to have a drive. Was also told (and shown internal brochures) that the Elegance trim level is soon to be dropped (June), and the SE will be updated to include some of the spec - leaving SE Execuive, Sport and AMG. The SE Executive is £35 more than the outgoing SE and will have the Artico leather, 'badge in grille' front (as per the Sport) and has similar DRLs to the Sport.

cpas

Original Poster:

1,661 posts

239 months

Saturday 14th April 2012
quotequote all
Drove the manual C200 SE and the auto C220 Sport today. I don't normally like autos but on this occasion just didn't get on with the manual - just didn't feel right. The auto felt really good - better than any auto I've ever driven. The main problem with the manual was that I couldn't get my foot from the foot rest to the clutch pedal without it getting caught on the bottom of the parking brake foot pedal - this was annoying my on a 20 minute test drive so I don't think I could live with it for 3 years!! The auto was instantly responsive though. As an aside, I drove a Skoda VRS DSG in the week and the DSG was really crap - the auto mode was never in the right gear and the DSG was a pain to use - I would probably get used to it after a while but in auto mode it just felt demented!!

BoyBlue

89 posts

146 months

Sunday 15th April 2012
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cpas,
the 7Gtronic auto box is a dream, must be one of the best auto boxes ever. So little difference in mpg and quicker off the mark than a manual box. Look at the small number of second hand manual cars for sale, must say something. How did you like the stop/start ?

Tiggsy

10,261 posts

251 months

Sunday 15th April 2012
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BoyBlue said:
cpas,
the 7Gtronic auto box is a dream, must be one of the best auto boxes ever. So little difference in mpg and quicker off the mark than a manual box. Look at the small number of second hand manual cars for sale, must say something. How did you like the stop/start ?
This - i tested the 250 and own the 350 - be NUTS to take either in a manual.

cpas

Original Poster:

1,661 posts

239 months

Monday 16th April 2012
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BoyBlue said:
cpas,
the 7Gtronic auto box is a dream, must be one of the best auto boxes ever. So little difference in mpg and quicker off the mark than a manual box. Look at the small number of second hand manual cars for sale, must say something. How did you like the stop/start ?
Hi there.

The manual felt sort of lumpy and even without the pedal issue I just couldn't get a smooth take off - felt a bit like a learner driver. The auto was far better but I'm not sure if I could live with an auto for 3 years as I've always had manuals and enjoy the driving experience. I've driven autos (work cars mainly) and have enjoyed them for a day of two but have always been glad to get back to my manual. The stop/start was a bit weird at first but I soon got used to it (and have had it in a Bluemotion Golf before) - but I'm not to sure how it would feel at a busy junction!! I'm still considering a C220 SE Estate but the other nagging doubt was the leg room behind my seat with it right back - the kids are rapidly getting bigger smile