Mercedes C350 Blue Efficiency Sport
Discussion
I picked up this very rare beast yesterday after countless hours of searching for new cars.
It wasn't even on my short list, that contained things like C350 diesel, 330d, 335d, Audi S4 (B8), 335i, 530d, 535d. All the usual suspects.
I was trawling through pages and pages of diesel C350's looking for that elusive one with massive spec (tons of time spent decoding VIN's!) and suddenly one caught my eye, a 3.5 litre amongst the sea of 3.0's. I didn't realise they did a 3.5 diesel I thought.... then I realised it was petrol and suddenly I had a new search on my hands!
I started researching the engine and quickly found it's a very rare thing, mainly due to everyone buying diesels when it was released, and the high petrol cost too I would guess.
A 268bhp V6 started to really appeal, but the £500 tax didn't.
I kind of gave up then because the only one I could find in saloon or estate was over priced (a red estate, still for sale now at £12k).
Then a grey one appeared (still for sale), but noticed it was listed as 306bhp. Turned out to be a facelift, 30 odd more bhp, and £310 less tax! Perfect! Now to find one with big spec, with the amount for sale it seemed it was going to be as hard as trying to find an LCI 335i with manual box, which I gave up on.
Especially as I wanted very rare options like Distronic (active cruise control) and various others.
Then this one appeared. A white facelift 306bhp Sport saloon. Perfect. I hurridly decoded the VIN to get its full factory spec, and to my shock I found it had a huge spec, with every option I had wanted and tons more I didn't know existed!
I rang them straight away and put a holding deposit it, cue a long week at work....
I was originally planning to sell my Mk6 Golf GTI privately as I refuse to give away cars, but I knew I couldn't miss this one as the chances of ever finding another are very slim to say the least. A decent deal was sorted and that was that.
The first drive from Wembley to Peterborough and then 20 mins home from there showed it the average to be 35.3mpg!
Very impressed. The Golf was getting 35, so was very pleased with that.
Obviously it will drop somewhat on local driving, but thankfully I rarily do town or city roads, so hopefully it won't drop too much.
Spec wise it is rediculous, I spent hours last night going through the manual, and am still finding new things out still.
The full datacard for anyone interested:
205B OWNERS MANUAL AND SERVICE RECORD - ENGLISH
213 SPEED-SENSITIVE POWER STEERING/VARIO STEERING
220A LEATHER
221A LEATHER - BLACK/ANTHRACITE
230 PARKING GUIDANCE
233 AUTONOMOUS INT. CRUISE CONT. PLUS (DISTRONIC PLUS)
237 ACTIVE BLIND SPOT ASSIST
238 ACTIVE LANE KEEPING ASSIST (FAP)
23P DRIVING PACKAGE
240 LED DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS
241 ELECTRICALLY ADJUSTABLE LEFT DRIVER SEAT W MEMORY
244 SPORTS SEATS, FRONT
249 INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR MIRROR,AUTOMATICALLY DIMMING
255B MB MOBILO WITH DSB AND GGD
265 LINES-NO.PLATE DISCONTINUED
275 MEMORY PACKAGE (DRIVER SEAT, STRG. COL., MIRROR)
280 LEATHER STEERING WHEEL AND LEATHER GEAR SHIFT KNOB
283B AIRBAGLABLE - ENGLISH
294 KNEE AIRBAG
299 PRESAFE
2U1 RADIATOR SHUTTER
305B HEAD UNIT LANGUAGE - BRITISH ENGLISH
30P COMPARTMENT PACKAGE
310 DUAL CUP HOLDER
335B INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/HU LANGUAGE - ENGLISH
345 RAIN SENSOR
427 AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION 7-SPEED
428 STEER.WHEEL GEARSHIFT BUTTONS/SHIFT PADDLE PAINTED
440 TEMPOMAT (CRUISE CONTROL)
442 MULTIFUNCTION STEERING WHEEL (12 BUTTONS)
461 INSTRUMENT WITH MILES IND. AND ENGLISH LEGEND
477 TIRE PRESSURE LOSS WARNER
486 SPORTS SUSPENSION
4U4 RADIATOR GRILLE WITH CENTER STAR
500 ELECTRIC FOLDING OUTSIDE MIRROR
509 NAVIBOX
510 AUDIO 20 RADIO WITH CD CHANGER
518 UNIVERSAL COMMUNICATIONS INTERFACE (UCI)
51U BLACK FABRIC ROOF INTERIOR TRIM
537 DIGITAL RADIO STANDARD DAB (DIGI. AUDIO BROADC.)
537L GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND
551 ANTI-THEFT/ANTI-BREAK-IN WARNING SYSTEM
580 AIR CONDITIONER
584 ELECTRIC WINDOW REGULATOR
5XXL EUROPE
600 HEADLAMPS - CLEANING EQUIPMENT
608 AUTOMATIC HIGH BEAM SWITCH (IHC)
621 HEADLAMP WITH ILS, LEFT-HAND TRAFFIC
650U CALCITE WHITE - STANDARD FINISH
666 PRODUCT PROT.F.TRANSPORT VEH. W/O TIE-DOWN HOOKS
690 EMERGENCY SPARE TIRE (MINI SPARE)
739 TRIM PIECES - ALUMINUM
74V SPEED- + LOADINDEX 92Y XL+94Y XL
772 AMG STYLING PACKAGE-FRONT SPOILER, SIDE SKIRT
776 WHEEL ARCH ENLARGEMENT
786 AMG DOUBLE-SPOKE WHEELS 18" WITH MIXED TIRES
802 CHANGE OF MODEL YEAR, THE LAST FIGURE SHOWING THE NEW MODEL YEAR
817 SIREN BRACKET FOR INCREASED THEFT PROTECTION
873 SEAT HEATER FOR LEFT AND RIGHT FRONT SEATS
882 INTERIOR SAFEGUARD
885 HIGHTEN THEFT PROTECTION
909 ALTERNATOR MANAGEMENT
916 FUEL TANK WITH LARGE VOLUME - VOLUME 1
920 GASOLINE DIRECT INJ. W/ STRATIFIED CHARGE (DES)
928 EXHAUST GAS CLEANING WITH EURO 5 TECHNOLOGY
932 TANK AT DRIVER/FRONT PASSENGER SEAT
950 AMG SPORTS PACKAGE
954 EQUIPMENT PACKAGE FOR AVANTGARDE VEHICLES
966 COC PAPER EURO 5 TECH. W/O REGIST. CERT. PART 2
989 IDENTIFICATION LABEL UNDER WINDSHIELD
99N STEUERCODE WERK SINDELFINGEN/GRAZ
A20 STARTER GENERATOR
A31 SOFTWARE (INDIVIDUAL)
A63 FE TORQUE CONVERTER HOUSING-0
A64 FE CONVERTER 0 MM
A87 U VALVE BODY ASSEMBLY WITH VGS 3
A89 REDUCED-FRICTION
B03 DIRECT START / ECO START/STOP FUNCTION
B09 REFRIGERANT COMPRESSOR WITH MAGNETIC COUPLING
B12 WHEEL REPLACEMENT TOOL
F204 MODEL SERIES 204
FW LIMOUSINE
G906 TRANSMISSION CODE VERSION 06
GA AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
HA REAR AXLE
J82 SEPTEMBER RELEASE
K11 ADAPTIVE STOP LIGHT FLASHING
K13 CONTROL CODE FOR SERVICE INTERVAL 25000 KM
M276 V6-GASOLINE ENGINE M276
M35 DISPLACEMENT 3.5 LITER
N3A STEUERCODE W50 FUER PPS-INT. VERWENDUNG
P47 PARKING PACKAGE HIGH
P49 MIRRORS PACKAGE
P54 THEFT PROTECTION PACKAGE
P64 FRONT MEMORY PACKAGE
R RIGHT-HAND STEERING
R01 SUMMER TIRES
U01 REAR BELT STATUS INDICATION
U18 AUTOMATIC CHILD SEAT RECOGNITATION (AKSE)
U22 LUMBAR SUPPORT ADJUSTMENT
U26 FLOOR MATS - AMG
VL FRONT AXLE HALF, LEFT
VR FRONT AXLE HALF, RIGHT
It's the first auto I've ever owned, and for the last 15 or so years I've not owned a car without at least 1 turbo, so my concern was power delivery, would I not like it?
All I can say is, I LOVE it!
If I had to list any bad bits, it would be one; it's too quiet.
That can obviously be easily solved, and will be asap!
I have always loved the sound of a V6, much more so than a V8, so I'm over the moon at how it will sound after watching youtube clips.
To me it is perfect, its somewhat economical, looks amazing, sounds amazing, drives amazing and doesn't have the crazy C63 running costs.
I'd recommend buying one, but the problem is trying to find one!
More pics and thoughts coming soon....
It wasn't even on my short list, that contained things like C350 diesel, 330d, 335d, Audi S4 (B8), 335i, 530d, 535d. All the usual suspects.
I was trawling through pages and pages of diesel C350's looking for that elusive one with massive spec (tons of time spent decoding VIN's!) and suddenly one caught my eye, a 3.5 litre amongst the sea of 3.0's. I didn't realise they did a 3.5 diesel I thought.... then I realised it was petrol and suddenly I had a new search on my hands!
I started researching the engine and quickly found it's a very rare thing, mainly due to everyone buying diesels when it was released, and the high petrol cost too I would guess.
A 268bhp V6 started to really appeal, but the £500 tax didn't.
I kind of gave up then because the only one I could find in saloon or estate was over priced (a red estate, still for sale now at £12k).
Then a grey one appeared (still for sale), but noticed it was listed as 306bhp. Turned out to be a facelift, 30 odd more bhp, and £310 less tax! Perfect! Now to find one with big spec, with the amount for sale it seemed it was going to be as hard as trying to find an LCI 335i with manual box, which I gave up on.
Especially as I wanted very rare options like Distronic (active cruise control) and various others.
Then this one appeared. A white facelift 306bhp Sport saloon. Perfect. I hurridly decoded the VIN to get its full factory spec, and to my shock I found it had a huge spec, with every option I had wanted and tons more I didn't know existed!
I rang them straight away and put a holding deposit it, cue a long week at work....
I was originally planning to sell my Mk6 Golf GTI privately as I refuse to give away cars, but I knew I couldn't miss this one as the chances of ever finding another are very slim to say the least. A decent deal was sorted and that was that.
The first drive from Wembley to Peterborough and then 20 mins home from there showed it the average to be 35.3mpg!
Very impressed. The Golf was getting 35, so was very pleased with that.
Obviously it will drop somewhat on local driving, but thankfully I rarily do town or city roads, so hopefully it won't drop too much.
Spec wise it is rediculous, I spent hours last night going through the manual, and am still finding new things out still.
The full datacard for anyone interested:
205B OWNERS MANUAL AND SERVICE RECORD - ENGLISH
213 SPEED-SENSITIVE POWER STEERING/VARIO STEERING
220A LEATHER
221A LEATHER - BLACK/ANTHRACITE
230 PARKING GUIDANCE
233 AUTONOMOUS INT. CRUISE CONT. PLUS (DISTRONIC PLUS)
237 ACTIVE BLIND SPOT ASSIST
238 ACTIVE LANE KEEPING ASSIST (FAP)
23P DRIVING PACKAGE
240 LED DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS
241 ELECTRICALLY ADJUSTABLE LEFT DRIVER SEAT W MEMORY
244 SPORTS SEATS, FRONT
249 INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR MIRROR,AUTOMATICALLY DIMMING
255B MB MOBILO WITH DSB AND GGD
265 LINES-NO.PLATE DISCONTINUED
275 MEMORY PACKAGE (DRIVER SEAT, STRG. COL., MIRROR)
280 LEATHER STEERING WHEEL AND LEATHER GEAR SHIFT KNOB
283B AIRBAGLABLE - ENGLISH
294 KNEE AIRBAG
299 PRESAFE
2U1 RADIATOR SHUTTER
305B HEAD UNIT LANGUAGE - BRITISH ENGLISH
30P COMPARTMENT PACKAGE
310 DUAL CUP HOLDER
335B INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/HU LANGUAGE - ENGLISH
345 RAIN SENSOR
427 AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION 7-SPEED
428 STEER.WHEEL GEARSHIFT BUTTONS/SHIFT PADDLE PAINTED
440 TEMPOMAT (CRUISE CONTROL)
442 MULTIFUNCTION STEERING WHEEL (12 BUTTONS)
461 INSTRUMENT WITH MILES IND. AND ENGLISH LEGEND
477 TIRE PRESSURE LOSS WARNER
486 SPORTS SUSPENSION
4U4 RADIATOR GRILLE WITH CENTER STAR
500 ELECTRIC FOLDING OUTSIDE MIRROR
509 NAVIBOX
510 AUDIO 20 RADIO WITH CD CHANGER
518 UNIVERSAL COMMUNICATIONS INTERFACE (UCI)
51U BLACK FABRIC ROOF INTERIOR TRIM
537 DIGITAL RADIO STANDARD DAB (DIGI. AUDIO BROADC.)
537L GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND
551 ANTI-THEFT/ANTI-BREAK-IN WARNING SYSTEM
580 AIR CONDITIONER
584 ELECTRIC WINDOW REGULATOR
5XXL EUROPE
600 HEADLAMPS - CLEANING EQUIPMENT
608 AUTOMATIC HIGH BEAM SWITCH (IHC)
621 HEADLAMP WITH ILS, LEFT-HAND TRAFFIC
650U CALCITE WHITE - STANDARD FINISH
666 PRODUCT PROT.F.TRANSPORT VEH. W/O TIE-DOWN HOOKS
690 EMERGENCY SPARE TIRE (MINI SPARE)
739 TRIM PIECES - ALUMINUM
74V SPEED- + LOADINDEX 92Y XL+94Y XL
772 AMG STYLING PACKAGE-FRONT SPOILER, SIDE SKIRT
776 WHEEL ARCH ENLARGEMENT
786 AMG DOUBLE-SPOKE WHEELS 18" WITH MIXED TIRES
802 CHANGE OF MODEL YEAR, THE LAST FIGURE SHOWING THE NEW MODEL YEAR
817 SIREN BRACKET FOR INCREASED THEFT PROTECTION
873 SEAT HEATER FOR LEFT AND RIGHT FRONT SEATS
882 INTERIOR SAFEGUARD
885 HIGHTEN THEFT PROTECTION
909 ALTERNATOR MANAGEMENT
916 FUEL TANK WITH LARGE VOLUME - VOLUME 1
920 GASOLINE DIRECT INJ. W/ STRATIFIED CHARGE (DES)
928 EXHAUST GAS CLEANING WITH EURO 5 TECHNOLOGY
932 TANK AT DRIVER/FRONT PASSENGER SEAT
950 AMG SPORTS PACKAGE
954 EQUIPMENT PACKAGE FOR AVANTGARDE VEHICLES
966 COC PAPER EURO 5 TECH. W/O REGIST. CERT. PART 2
989 IDENTIFICATION LABEL UNDER WINDSHIELD
99N STEUERCODE WERK SINDELFINGEN/GRAZ
A20 STARTER GENERATOR
A31 SOFTWARE (INDIVIDUAL)
A63 FE TORQUE CONVERTER HOUSING-0
A64 FE CONVERTER 0 MM
A87 U VALVE BODY ASSEMBLY WITH VGS 3
A89 REDUCED-FRICTION
B03 DIRECT START / ECO START/STOP FUNCTION
B09 REFRIGERANT COMPRESSOR WITH MAGNETIC COUPLING
B12 WHEEL REPLACEMENT TOOL
F204 MODEL SERIES 204
FW LIMOUSINE
G906 TRANSMISSION CODE VERSION 06
GA AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
HA REAR AXLE
J82 SEPTEMBER RELEASE
K11 ADAPTIVE STOP LIGHT FLASHING
K13 CONTROL CODE FOR SERVICE INTERVAL 25000 KM
M276 V6-GASOLINE ENGINE M276
M35 DISPLACEMENT 3.5 LITER
N3A STEUERCODE W50 FUER PPS-INT. VERWENDUNG
P47 PARKING PACKAGE HIGH
P49 MIRRORS PACKAGE
P54 THEFT PROTECTION PACKAGE
P64 FRONT MEMORY PACKAGE
R RIGHT-HAND STEERING
R01 SUMMER TIRES
U01 REAR BELT STATUS INDICATION
U18 AUTOMATIC CHILD SEAT RECOGNITATION (AKSE)
U22 LUMBAR SUPPORT ADJUSTMENT
U26 FLOOR MATS - AMG
VL FRONT AXLE HALF, LEFT
VR FRONT AXLE HALF, RIGHT
It's the first auto I've ever owned, and for the last 15 or so years I've not owned a car without at least 1 turbo, so my concern was power delivery, would I not like it?
All I can say is, I LOVE it!
If I had to list any bad bits, it would be one; it's too quiet.
That can obviously be easily solved, and will be asap!
I have always loved the sound of a V6, much more so than a V8, so I'm over the moon at how it will sound after watching youtube clips.
To me it is perfect, its somewhat economical, looks amazing, sounds amazing, drives amazing and doesn't have the crazy C63 running costs.
I'd recommend buying one, but the problem is trying to find one!
More pics and thoughts coming soon....
Totally different, my Golf had Eibach springs which made the ride pretty firm and a little bouncy at times.
The C350 is so smooth, but not to the point of feeling boring. Put your foot down, it kicks down a gear or two and comes to life!
While there is no addictive kick from the turbo, it still pushes you into the seat and shoots off down the road with the V6 soundtrack
The C350 is so smooth, but not to the point of feeling boring. Put your foot down, it kicks down a gear or two and comes to life!
While there is no addictive kick from the turbo, it still pushes you into the seat and shoots off down the road with the V6 soundtrack
Shame they're Auto only, but I bet it makes it a fantastic cruiser though. I’ve always had manual mainly because I enjoy “driving” a car and the whole experience of it.
Plus a lot of the cars I’ve owned were only ever available with manual boxes.
One of the biggest reasons was the sound of a slow lazy auto changing gear, I hated how the sound of each gear just blended into one another!
Also, people moaning saying the auto box had a mind of its own.
However, they’ve obviously changed a lot over the years, and those are things of the past.
I had to borrow a mate’s Audi A8 last year and got out thinking hmmm, I actually quite enjoyed driving that! That made me consider them, which opened up other options I would have otherwise ignored. For example, I originally wanted a 335d, but when I found they were auto only I got a manual 330d instead!
I remember driving the 330d to Westminster last summer in rush hour and the manual box drove me mad. It’s not often I drive in places like that so put up with it when I did.
However, crawling my way out from Wembley on Saturday was effortless.
Put it this way, I don’t miss changing gear already
Plus a lot of the cars I’ve owned were only ever available with manual boxes.
One of the biggest reasons was the sound of a slow lazy auto changing gear, I hated how the sound of each gear just blended into one another!
Also, people moaning saying the auto box had a mind of its own.
However, they’ve obviously changed a lot over the years, and those are things of the past.
I had to borrow a mate’s Audi A8 last year and got out thinking hmmm, I actually quite enjoyed driving that! That made me consider them, which opened up other options I would have otherwise ignored. For example, I originally wanted a 335d, but when I found they were auto only I got a manual 330d instead!
I remember driving the 330d to Westminster last summer in rush hour and the manual box drove me mad. It’s not often I drive in places like that so put up with it when I did.
However, crawling my way out from Wembley on Saturday was effortless.
Put it this way, I don’t miss changing gear already
I was until a year ago driving a W203 C350 (petrol) which I loved. I looked for ages for one of these facelifted W204 C350s with the 306bhp engine and lower RfL banding having driven one previously in 2013. In the end I gave up and bought a C350 CDi instead. Then inevitably the perfect petrol one turned up 3 weeks later in Blue with light interior which was exactly what I wanted. Had distronic too and like you i really wanted the smoothness of petrol but really didn't and still don't want the running costs and extra performance of the C63, as I'd have no ability to use it.
I still run an autotrader search for these but yours didn't come up. Is it high mileage as my search was set for below 80k miles?
Anyway great that you've got it and love it. They are a rare gem indeed.
I still run an autotrader search for these but yours didn't come up. Is it high mileage as my search was set for below 80k miles?
Anyway great that you've got it and love it. They are a rare gem indeed.
New centre caps as the original ones were looking a bit tatty to say the least!
After nearly a week of my usual driving habits the average is currently 31.4mpg.
Interesting as previous cars of mine doing similar driving and routes were:
BMW 330d with remap: 38
BMW 320d: 41
Golf GTI Mk6: 35
Audi S4 (B5 running 500bhp): 22
Audi RS4 (B5 running 450bhp): 25
If it says above 30 I’ll be more than happy in comparison to the others!
Edit:
Link fixed
After nearly a week of my usual driving habits the average is currently 31.4mpg.
Interesting as previous cars of mine doing similar driving and routes were:
BMW 330d with remap: 38
BMW 320d: 41
Golf GTI Mk6: 35
Audi S4 (B5 running 500bhp): 22
Audi RS4 (B5 running 450bhp): 25
If it says above 30 I’ll be more than happy in comparison to the others!
Edit:
Link fixed
Edited by djdest on Wednesday 20th June 12:28
Fitted a full set of interior LED bulbs, one of my favourite mods these days!
I also did the puddle lights under the mirrors, which involved taking the whole thing apart.
I dread to think how much I'd be stung for a broken mirror as it has the blind spot warning lamp in too!
Thankfully it went without any problems.
Also fitted a subtle lip spoiler
I've just booked it in for next Thursday to have the resonator removed and an X pipe fitted
I also did the puddle lights under the mirrors, which involved taking the whole thing apart.
I dread to think how much I'd be stung for a broken mirror as it has the blind spot warning lamp in too!
Thankfully it went without any problems.
Also fitted a subtle lip spoiler
I've just booked it in for next Thursday to have the resonator removed and an X pipe fitted
X pipe fitted, at first I thought oh, its hardly made any difference, what a waste of money!
However, I've now realised that its perfect, you can hear it a bit more and its got a nice rasp when you put your foot down, but apart from that its only a subtle difference.
Having had loud cars in the past, I really don't want to go down that route again as it just gets annoying on long trips etc, so I'm more than happy with it now.
It sounds good on cold starts too
However, I've now realised that its perfect, you can hear it a bit more and its got a nice rasp when you put your foot down, but apart from that its only a subtle difference.
Having had loud cars in the past, I really don't want to go down that route again as it just gets annoying on long trips etc, so I'm more than happy with it now.
It sounds good on cold starts too
I’ve only ever been in an SL with that engine; despite being a fair bit heavier than your C350 it felt decently quick. I have idly looked at Auto Trader ads for C350 estates but they’re never quite the right spec.
My C350 CDI estate was great fun. It felt too powerful for the chassis (in an amusing way) when chucking it round the Welsh mountains. The Diesel engine was pretty tractor-like compared to Audi and BMW’s diesel 6s, but it was quite characterful. I wish I hadn’t sold it sometimes. It had about £10k of options on it, most of which would have been standard on an E350
My C350 CDI estate was great fun. It felt too powerful for the chassis (in an amusing way) when chucking it round the Welsh mountains. The Diesel engine was pretty tractor-like compared to Audi and BMW’s diesel 6s, but it was quite characterful. I wish I hadn’t sold it sometimes. It had about £10k of options on it, most of which would have been standard on an E350
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