Putting a 300+ hp petrol V6 into a C Class Sport in an inspired idea.
I love this engine, it was good in the SL but seems even better in here, maybe because the C is a couple of hundred kilos lighter. Funnily enough, I had a acceleration test from a set of traffic lights to a two lane slip road and unto the motorway against an 06 reg SL320. The result proved conclusive in the C's favour.
I covered a few hundred miles on Saturday. From the far NW corner of Milton Keynes to Westfield shopping centre, then the most painful drive directly through the centre of London to the A13 to Basildon and then back again.
First leg of the trip returned just under 40mpg at the end of the M1 and 37.5 when parked in Westfield.
Why I then decided against jumping on the A40 to the M25 to get to Essex in favour of the direct route I'll never know. Anyway, an hour of stop start, including 20 mins just to get from Pall Mall to the Embankment, resulted in the average dropping to 34mpg (still not bad). The ECO function worked perfectly and was hardly noticeable compared to the C250 CDi. At the second destination in Essex the average had recovered to 35.5mpg.
On the return leg I got bored and decided to play a bit. Result at the end was 32mpg which is quite an impressive figure for an engine that's only just covered 2,000 miles.
Everyone loved the Biscuit leather and general ambience in the car. My passenger didn't complain about the lack of space either. The friends I was visiting used to have a w203 and absolutely loved the w204. Admired the dashboard, overall quality, the many features to configure in the settings, the COMAND features and how utterly silent it was on the road. Generally amazed it was still 'only' a C Class.
So, I like this car, it suits a petrol engine too. It's quick, has a bonkers top end rush with accompanying howl, and it handles nicely indeed wiht barely any body roll. I miss petrol engines generally I think so my opinion may be slightly swayed by my enthusiasm. I could live with the fuel usage also, even a short trip into the centre of MK returned 30mpg. My old 320 CDi wouldn't have done much better.
