Article Comments 2008 Mercedes-Benz C350 Sport First Drive

19 messages, Last post on Mar 29, 2008 at 4:45 PM

You are in the Mercedes-Benz C-Class Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens

What is this discussion about? Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Sedan

Article comments for First Drive: 2008 Mercedes-Benz C350 Sport - As ominous as it looks, this smooth stretch of winding road is the perfect place to wring out the new 2008 Mercedes-Benz C350 Sport. Fully redesigned this year, this car is aimed directly at the BMW 3 Series, just like nearly every other C-Class before it. (more)

Outline

Messages Page 1 of 2: 1; 2; Prev; Next; Last

#1 of 19 Article Comments 2008 Mercedes-Benz C350 Sport First Drive by KarenS HOST Mar 13, 2007 (8:25 am)
Check out our 2008 C350 Sport first drive and tell us what you think. First Drive: 2008 Mercedes-Benz C350 Sport
#2 of 19 Interesting by alpha01 Mar 14, 2007 (8:28 am)
I would really like to see a BMW 335i vs. MB C350 Sport vs. Lexus IS350 (w/ sport pkg) vs. Infiniti G35 Sport vs. Audi A4 3.2 S-Line Pkg vs. Acura TL-S. Think it would be very interesting. ~alpha
#3 of 19 it's still not up to the 3 series by rnindc Mar 17, 2007 (12:21 pm)
for M-B to get serious about taking on the 3, they need, at a minimum, to offer a manual tranny across the entire product line. also, although i haven't seen the new C class in person, the pics leave me cold. i don't think the current, bangleized 3 is an aesthetic improvement over the previous 3, but it's a lot more athletic looking than what M-B is offering here. is it just me or does the rear end of the new C look like a cross between an old Audi A4 and the current Subaru Legacy (and worse than either of them)? Replies to this message: pat (Mar 18, 2007 7:34 am) rnindc (Mar 21, 2007 9:36 am) mazzman (Mar 21, 2007 2:26 pm) and 1 more...
#4 of 19 Re: it's still not up to the 3 series [rnindc] by pat HOST Mar 18, 2007 (7:34 am)
Replying to: rnindc (Mar 17, 2007 12:21 pm) What did you think about the article linked at the top? Replies to this message: rnindc (Mar 21, 2007 9:36 am) mazzman (Mar 21, 2007 2:26 pm) sammya_md (Mar 26, 2007 6:49 am)
#5 of 19 MB, good try.. by traderyin Mar 18, 2007 (10:33 am)
To sum up edmunds' review of the new C350: It still pretty much the POS it used to be...except it looks slightly better with the new front grill(which is ONLY on the C350 SPORT). Edmund put up 3series against Lexus IS and Audi A4...the BMW won both competition...M-B effort is wasted. I'll take the IS350 if I want a fast car with automatics. + I get some reliability out of it. Replies to this message: pat (Mar 18, 2007 2:16 pm) carcrazy08 (Dec 25, 2007 8:26 am)
#6 of 19 Re: MB, good try.. [traderyin] by pat HOST Mar 18, 2007 (2:16 pm)
Replying to: traderyin (Mar 18, 2007 10:33 am) All righty, thanks for your thoughts, but we're talking specifically about the C350 First Drive Article here. Maybe you'd like to check out our Lexus IS discussions.
#7 of 19 Re: it's still not up to the 3 series [pat] by rnindc Mar 21, 2007 (9:36 am)
Replying to: pat (Mar 18, 2007 7:34 am) It's a fine and informative article. It's the car I question. For M-B to offer only an automatic on its 350 "Sport" tells me that it's just not serious about taking on BMW. I have no doubt that it's a highly competent vehicle -- it's just not a 3. Replies to this message: mazzman (Mar 21, 2007 2:26 pm) sammya_md (Mar 26, 2007 6:49 am)
#8 of 19 Re: it's still not up to the 3 series [rnindc] by mazzman Mar 21, 2007 (2:26 pm)
Replying to: rnindc (Mar 21, 2007 9:36 am) I read in a (2007?) M-B article that they expected only about 5 percent of C-Class cars sold in the U. S. would be ordered with a manual transmission, so I guess they figured (for 2008) that it wasn't economically feasible to import 2008 350 Sports with one. And I suspect that M-B may have decided that they just can't compete head-to-head against the BMW 3 Series in the U. S., so they're now going after the "Luxury-Sport" buyer instead. And that person would overwhelmingly choose the automatic transmission. Let's face it.... American drivers, in general, prefer autos, and as the price of a sedan goes up, the chances of it having a manual tranny goes down. In truth, I'm surprised that M-B is even offering the 2008 C-300 Sport with a manual transmission. They're in business to make money, and since only a very small percentage of American sales are manuals, it's easy to see why they might want to eliminate them. Replies to this message: sammya_md (Mar 26, 2007 6:49 am)
#9 of 19 Re: it's still not up to the 3 series [mazzman] by sammya_md Mar 26, 2007 (6:49 am)
Replying to: mazzman (Mar 21, 2007 2:26 pm) Maybe it is just me, but when I see a BMW 3 series or a MB C230 or the new model not in a manual trans, it makes me a little angry. I love MT's and at least now would never think of getting a car without one.
#10 of 19 Informative Article by bringman Mar 31, 2007 (1:41 pm)
As usual, the Edmunds article was well-written, giving prospective buyers an objective heads up about what they can expect from the sportiest non-AMG model of the new-gen C. Thanks for that. But I just have to say a quick word about the styling, which admittedly is subjective. I'm not sure why this is considered to be such a leap forward. Elsewhere I've seen Edmunds call the prior model's styling "dowdy" but when it was introduced it was "cutting edge" and "hip." Now I know nothing lasts forever, but come on ... I wouldn't call the '07 model outdated, even if it is in need of a refresh (yes, it was time to say goodbye to the peanut lights). On the other hand, the rear end of the '08 model is what I would call dowdy. All that sportiness, tension and "scowling" attitude from the front and sides are resolved in one sagging, mule-hoof rump that doesn't look nearly as nice as 1995-2003 Maximas that had the same styling motif. And I agree that most German cars do not look good in white. But I would include this one in the mix of them! All in all, these are just my two cents, which is what you asked for. Keep up the good work!