C230K V C240 Sport?

[BenzComander]

Pro's and con's about ownership.

Discuss

Cheers,

 

[Steve_Perry]

I presume you are interested in the W202 comparison?

They're both good Though the 230K has more power, approx 20 BHP over the 240 IIRC, is more economical and I think cheaper to service. The 240 is smoother and does make a nice noise

I think the general consensus of opinion is that there is not much between them though the 230K just edges it over the 240.

I4 Supercharged vs. V6 twinspark Both have happy(ish) owners on this forum

S.

*EDIT* I think the 230K engine is more tunable too since it's forced induction when compared to the normally aspirated 240.

*EDIT 2* I'm sure Shude / Graham will elaborate further.

 

[BenzComander]

Yes, I was after a general consensus about ownwership.

Had heard that the Komp engine was course (for a Merc) and that there were some reliability issues with the Kompressor?

 

[lotusmark2]

Well I think we could have some bias one way or another (eh Steve )
I loved my V6 and it was smooth and had loads of grunt.
I think if I was making the call again it would come down to....
1. Do I want to cruise with a great noise (then go 240)
2. Do I want a car that will hitch up its skirt and thrash down the road (230K)
Just my 2 pence

 

[Steve_Perry]

Yes, I was after a general consensus about ownwership.

Had heard that the Komp engine was course (for a Merc) and that there were some reliability issues with the Kompressor?

Graham has had some trouble in the past with his Kompressor but I think that was more down to the ECU as opposed to the Kompressor totally giving up. Shude has had two high miler C230K's both without major faults as far as I know.

As for C240 ownership, it's been relatively trouble free. I've had a MAS failure but this can affect all modern Benzes. And I'm currently living with an intermittent Pedal Value Sensor glitch but again this could strike any engine across the range not just the V6's. One thing to bear in mind with the V6 W202's (240 & 280) is that the spark plug replacement is relatively exbenzive as there are 12 to replace and it's a fairly labour intensive task. Fortunately, the spark plug change is only done every 60k miles or so.

*EDIT* I have read past posts that the M112.910 (240) engine can drink oil and I think (?? end of memory here) early versions could throw their timing chains causing big damage. But I've certainly not seen anyone here experience that.

Hehe Mark True mate

S.

 

[BenzComander]

Cheers for that.

Looking to replace my old girl (A6 1.8T) and will be using the car for my 14 mile commute.

Was thinking about an A Class until I drove one Just think the A is a little flimsy feeling IMHO (probably get hung now )

Had a C180 and 250TD Sport in the past so the hunt will be on in the new year.

Will be keeping the car for a long time and so will probably clock up the miles, so I liked the idea of the V6. ( I assume it would be better at stacking up the miles but I may be proved wrong)

It would also go nice with the E but had no experience of the Komp cars, only rumours.

 

[Shude]

They're both good

That's true.

Now get ready for some really unbiased opinion

Though the 230K has more power, approx 20 BHP over the 240 IIRC, is more economical and I think cheaper to service. The 240 is smoother and does make a nice noise

The C230k is better compared to the C280, although the C230k is *still* more powerful than the C280 (by a fraction), uses less fuel and costs less to service. The C230k engine can sound a little strained at red-line when compared to the v6 models but the supercharger whines a little which makes it sounds cool and high-tech

The C230k is available in both automatic and manual versions, I don't think any of the V6s have this as an option.

I think the general consensus of opinion is that there is not much between them though the 230K just edges it over the 240.

the 230k just edges it over the 280, how the 280 and 240 compare I don't know.

The c230k engine is easier to tune for higher performance if needed as well, hopefully very soon we should have some real-world figures on software tuning for the C230k (Graham to supply!). I don't know of anything for the V6 models that offers an easy 10-20% increase in performance for only about £300!

IMHO the only thing the 240 has going for it is the smoothness of the engine...

 

[GrahamC230K]

I think if I was making the call again it would come down to....
1. Do I want to cruise with a great noise (then go 240)
2. Do I want a car that will hitch up its skirt and thrash down the road (230K)
Just my 2 pence

That's about it!

 

[Steve_Perry]

I have always read that the 280 and 230K had the same power, i.e. 193 BHP is that wrong then?? Where as the 240 comes in as 170BHP. I know that the 230K is also up on torque when compared to the 240 but again the 230K is in the same region as the 280.

True I've never seen a V6 in manual form but then at the risk of upsetting our manual advocates the majority of Benz drivers don't choose the manual option.

S.

 

[GrahamC230K]

I have always read that the 280 and 230K had the same power, i.e. 193 BHP is that wrong then?? Where as the 240 comes in as 170BHP. I know that the 230K is also up on torque when compared to the 240 but again the 230K is in the same region as the 280.

S.

BHP was the same I think or very marginal, but acceleration and top speed somehow better on the 230K.

 

[Shude]

I have always read that the 280 and 230K had the same power, i.e. 193 BHP is that wrong then?? Where as the 240 comes in as 170BHP. I know that the 230K is also up on torque when compared to the 240 but again the 230K is in the same region as the 280.

I was refering to the torque

a quick search reveals:

C230k = 280Nm
C280 = 265Nm

They are both 193bhp on paper for DE tax purposes

 

[BenzComander]

Does the 230K work OK with an auto box, call me lazy but do like my auto Mercs

 

[Steve_Perry]

BHP was the same I think or very marginal, but acceleration and top speed somehow better on the 230K.

Well I never knew that, I always thought that the 280 and 230K were evenly matched on power/torque/0-60 and top speed but where the 230 scored over the 280 was that it did it's job with less fuel and less servicing costs.

Learn something new every day

*EDIT* Thanks too Nick, just read your post

S.

 

[Shude]

Does the 230K work OK with an auto box, call me lazy but do like my auto Mercs

Yes. I've only ever owned two mercs, both of them W202 C230k and both were automatics so I suppose I have little to compare it to. It is as fast on paper as the manual version.

Graham and I took each other for a quick drive to compare manual/auto at a GTG last year and the manual *felt* a bit faster because of the gear shifts (thrown forward in seat when dipping the clutch etc) whereas the auto just keeps on pushing right the way up to the end of the gauge without pausing for breath.

 

[DITTRICH]

Does the 230K work OK with an auto box, call me lazy but do like my auto Mercs

My C230K 5 speed auto works like a dream. The full kickdown (drops 2 gears) when you floor it is particularly satisfying and you don't have to worry about gear changes to do this. Take off from traffic lights is also rather good, as is accelerating up slip roads from motorway service stations. I once had a Porsche stuck on my rear bumper exiting a service station (cheeky sod) so I floored it. He caught up on the motorway but he certainly didn't expect a lowly c-class to shift it that quickly.



Rgds

Les

 

[Big Ed]

Nooooo!! Why did I go out and miss the start of this topic - one so close to my heart!!

Don't be swayed by this lot - get a C280 - the best of both worlds!!! Smooth, refined, lovely noise, every bit as quick as a C230k (agree that the 230 has more torque, but ACTUALLY the C280 has far more power - 197hp vs a tiny 193hp! ) - in reality, I've had a couple of plays against C230k's in the past in my C280 and as you'd imagine there was nothing in it. Ok, it costs a little bit more to service than a C230k (but the same as a C240), fuel economy is better than the C240 but if you really cared about that so much you'd buy a 1.0 Diesel Polo.....

In reality, I found that the C240 needed a bit of encouragement to get going, which did drink a bit more fuel, however I personally am a fan of V6 (or bigger!) engines, and would always buy one in preference to a 4cyl. I also have heard some 'stories' about the Kompressor giving trouble at high miles, but imagine this is probably straight out of the 'something else to go wrong' book.

Find yourself a C280 Sport and buy it! Was one of the best cars I have ever owned (I saw my old one for sale a few weeks back on Autotrader and was SO tempted to buy it back, but was persuaded otherwise)

 

[fuzzer]

forced induction always gets my vote .....

 

[Shude]

ACTUALLY the C280 has far more power - 197hp vs a tiny 193hp!

MY2000 c230k has 197bhp too. Once again I think it's a tax thing.

 

[Big Ed]

MY2000 c230k has 197bhp too. Once again I think it's a tax thing.

I was going on the 11/97 Mercedes C Class brochure which quotes:

C230k - 193hp @5310rpm
C280 - 197hp @5800rpm

Guess they might have changed it in subsequent years?

forced induction always gets my vote .....

Nah - all the greatest engines are naturally aspirated - forced induction is only trying to make up for having an engine that is too small! Never heard of 'no substitute for cubes'? (ok, the Americans said that, which maybe puts the saying on slightly shaky ground, but the principle is still a good one!)

Only exceptions I'll condone are those with a big enough engine to start with AND forced induction (a la 5.5 Kompressor) - best of both worlds

 

[Shude]

I was going on the 11/97 Mercedes C Class brochure which quotes:

C230k - 193hp @5310rpm
C280 - 197hp @5800rpm

Guess they might have changed it in subsequent years?

I'll get the book out when I get home

Note that the peak bhp is at lower rpm for the c230k. I've always found that 4cyls have more "get up and go" than 6cyls which often seem to need to be wound up a bit more to get going.