Kompressor sedan out drives 325ix
Written: Oct 26 '03
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: better than a 325i when pushed to the limit. Awesome 1.8liter engine
Cons: Tachometer too smaller - that's it!
The Bottom Line: It you want a SPORTS sedan, Mercedes has finally beat out the champ. The C230 Kompressor clearly is more fun to drive than the 325IX
|
|
|
| blshoes's Full Review: 2004 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Sedan |
My sister (she’s a BMW person who drives hard) and I went to compare the 3 series against the C-class and we were surprised by the result. I have sense purchased a 2004 c230 Kompressor Sport Sedan with a 6 speed manual transmission, sunroof package, premium sound, and CD changer.
We started at the BMW dealer. We were both interested in finding new cars for ourselves so this was going to be a fun filled afternoon. It is the later half of October, 2003 and the new 5-series has been out just a few weeks and it looks like a bad Camry to me. BMW has great incentives on 2003 5-series, but this dealer has a new 2002 525i leftover. This is right up my sister’s alley, but it is in the showroom, and after not getting $8k off in the first request, we asked for a 325ix with a 5-speed to test out.
The salesman has a great 10 mile route with S curves, uphill sweepers, a 20 foot wide ¾ mile straightaway of asphalt with no driveways, a small bit of highway and couple of spots suitable for the inevitable Chinese fire drill when two people are testing.
Dave brought around a dark green 325ix, stick with cold weather pkg, black pleather interior and a sunroof. BMW doesn’t really do anything wrong. The car is smooth, fun, responsive and very well made. The controls are right where they should be. The four-wheel drive yields excellent traction and is not detected in the steering at all. Shifting is smooth and can be done quickly. The straight 6 cylinder engine is smooth and has a perfect audible growl while producing 184 hp. I got tunnel vision at about 95 mph on the straightaway; but that’s not the car’s fault. After some pretty aggressive driving, we both said, “Nice car, we’re going to the Benz dealer. See you later.”
At Mercedes, standard shifts, while available, are not exactly all over the lot. They had a C230 sedan in the showroom (the one I wound up buying), so we went to a drive in a C230 coupe (which is really a hatchback). The C230 Sport has a supercharged inline 4 cylinder which produces 189 hp but feels much lighter than the 6 cylinder engine by BMW and is extremely smooth for a four that wants to be revved. The cabin feels roomier, although the 3 and the C are no more than an inch apart in almost every dimension measured, there is no doubt that the C feels larger. Of course quality is excellent and the ergonomics are very good, but we were surprised by the fun factor. The supercharged engine and 6-spd make this car a blast to drive. Very fast, very stable and very comfortable. Hands down this bets a 325.
We returned to BMW to have them remove the 525i leftover. What an amazing car. Definitely in a different league from the smaller bodies. We pushed this car so hard that the traction control kept my sister in check multiple times and we even got it off the ground over the only non-blind rise in the road. The C-class is somewhere in between the 3 and the 5 BMW.
I have therefore purchased the C-class Kompressor after driving a few other models. I did take out a C320 Sport which has a V6 producing 220+ hp, but the fun factor was significantly reduced by the smoother engine for me and along with 5 miles per gallon less in fuel economy, it was easy to end that test drive short. My big decision was weather or not to wait for an 2004 ½ which have started to arrive, but no 6-speeds yet. The car on the floor that I purchased is Orion blue (which is on the flashy side), is without heated seats and without the fold down option of the rear seats both of which I would have ordered, but came with the premium sound system which I would not have ordered (but love it). Other changes to the 04 ½ are bigger, vented front brakes which look cool (my car stops great as it is), 5-spoke 17” wheels instead of 7-spoke 17” wheels (I actually like the 7-spoke wheels better), a slightly sportier steering wheel (I would have preferred the new steering wheel, but no biggy), a chrome exhaust tip (almost not worthy of mention) and most importantly a shorter throw in the 6-spd manual (something I would like as the throw is a little long).
OK, here’s more of a review:
Specs: C230 Kompressor Sport Sedan. 1.8 l Supercharged 4 cylinder 189 hp. 6 Speed manual transmission. Sport Pkg included – sport seats, 17” wheels, sport suspension. Leather inserts in front seats, premium bose sound system with 6 disc changer mounted in the glove box. Sunroof Pkg with rear window shade, rain sensing wipers and blue tinted windows. Sticker $32,070. Price after a lot of negotiating $30,500.
Exterior: The car has clean lines with a great finish. The blue tinted windows look cool. Exterior lights look great and provide excellent nighttime visibility (Xeons are an option, not needed for me). Door handles are body colored. The 17” wheels make the car look much sportier than a regular C-class that would have 16” wheels. The Orion blue is flashy, but everyone seems to like it except my mother.
Interior: Charcoal leather and leatherette interior is mostly synthetic, but the seating surfaces of the front seat are leather. All leather is an option. Excellent storage space through the cabin, especially in the center console. The trunk is generous for a small car. The center arm rest is adjustable and opens to either side. A few neat things are the rear window shade which is controlled by a button on the dash and the button which flips the rear headrests down and out of the way. The sound system is awesome. Honestly, I’m not overly into stereos, so I didn’t do a comparison, but the Bose system is a pleasure. The instrument cluster has a large digital computer screen with several screens and driver programmable options. It is a little complex, but once used to it, gives you everything you want: audio control, mpg, mph, temp, engine gages and more. Things that many cars require the dealer to program can be done by the driver and changed as often as you like. Everything is very visible at night or day even with direct sun. The only problems are: the tachometer is too small for a car with a clutch (most will have automatic transmissions and this is not an issue), and the turn signal light is a little bright at night (with all the light sensing stuff, it would be easy for the car to adjust the level of intensity of the green flashing indicator). The climate control works comfortably and easily.
Driving: Pure pleasure. Smooth for passengers, fun for the driver. Turns are rock solid. Bumps do not jar the car or occupants. Tight and hard to the driver, comfortable and luxurious to the passenger. Toss the car about, but no one feels tossed about; it’s the best of both worlds. The engine is smooth, light and easy to rev. Shifting may be done at red line, 3,000 rpm or anywhere in between, based on the driver’s mode. The 6th gear is good from 50 mph up, but has good power from 65 mph. On the highway, I find myself going to 5th if things slow down to 60, especially up hill. Visibility is excellent although it is difficult to judge how long the tail of the car is when backing up. Mirrors are automatic day/night and work well. Turn signals have a one touch, three flash system for lane changing which is neat. Rain sensing wipers work nicely. All Mercedes come with Brake assist, which applies the brakes harder if the car senses the driver switching to the brake in a panic way. It works; someone jumped in front of us and I jumped on the brakes – clearly the car set the brakes much harder than I as we instantly halted – not by my intention, but that’s ok.
Quality: It’s a Mercedes. I don’t expect perfection on delivery, but this car does seem perfect. Tight, rattle free, all little buttons work, paint and fit are flawless.
If you are comparing BMW and Mercedes, they are all good cars. In my opinion, the C230 Kompressor Sport Sedan is more a BMW than the 325 is. That’s right, BMW was always the sports car maker, but this Benz out-sports the car that has been the benchmark for 20 years!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 30500
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
blshoes
|
|
Reviews written: 3
Trusted by: 0 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2008 Shopping.com, Inc.