C450 AMG coming in June 2016

[DazNich]

Hi

I had a C63 coupe which didn't last too long (5 months), just didn't get along with it, should have bought a saloon, should have bought one with LSD, could have would have should have etc...

I sometimes miss it but the replacement ticks all the boxes for me, Audi A6 BiTDi black series Quattro.

Never thought I'd like diesel but this is good, still it's not petrol (obviously) and I'm a petrol head.

So I have been watching the online reviews of the C450 AMG which is due in the UK next year and I wondered if anybody has any first hand experience of using one in Europe where they have been out for a few months now.

It would tick all the same boxes as the A6 (4WD), slightly smaller but petrol and it'd have that AMG badge and noise!!!

 

[StuartK]

Congrats but if you didn't like the 63 can't see you liking the watered down version?

 

[Red C220]

The 450's really appeal to me so I'm also interested to see real world experience when they arrive next year.

It looks like a nice balance of power and performance, plus 4wd. Effectively much of the upside of a full fat AMG but without the daily fuel bill headache.

I figure they will shift huge numbers of these.

 

[StuartK]

The 450's really appeal to me so I'm also interested to see real world experience when they arrive next year.

It looks like a nice balance of power and performance, plus 4wd. Effectively much of the upside of a full fat AMG but without the daily fuel bill headache.

I figure they will shift huge numbers of these.

Don't go a read the thread on the AMG private lounge then lol.

 

[C240Sport97]

450 is not an AMG, it does not have an AMG engine

 

[Red C220]

Don't go a read the thread on the AMG private lounge then lol.

It seems quite a logical model that's completely missing from the current MB range. Equivalent to Audi S models.

The two people I spoke to who drove a C450AMG Sport in Portugal for the Dealer Demo day both said they were astonished how quick it was around the circuit. The power was more usable and the car more balanced to a degree that both cars were producing similar times.

However they did say they were completely different cars. The C63 effectively a dragster with the C450 a little more comfortable and user friendly but actually better balanced.

Two different cars for different requirements to be honest, trying to compare the two in terms of one being better then the other is a bit daft really as they aren't technically in competition with each other.

V8 RWD vs V6 4WD. Each to their own.

What puts me off a full fat AMG is 99% of the time I'd never use the full potential of it. In fact in reality it might be 100% of the time with me as I wouldn't do V Max or track type events. So for me it's not worth paying the premium and running costs for something I'm not going to use.

If I wanted something to drive on tracks and such I'd probably go with a dedicated track day car. My business partner keeps suggesting we go halves on something full on like an Atom or Radical with a trailer that can be stored. That sounds like a lot fun. I just wouldn't want to rumble down to the local shops in a V8 AMG, it seems a bit silly to me.

The 450, that's just more appealing for me, but the reality is our E220CDi does everything we could possibly want so it's just a case of what you fancy really.

I like the new S500 coupe a great deal, there's no possible way I could justify one of those, they depreciate more than an AMG and that takes some doing but I keep looking at them.

 

[Red C220]

450 is not an AMG, it does not have an AMG engine

There are components that crossover from the C63 though as far as I understand. I think suspension and steering are from the C63 the 450 is a 400 motor with a different map.

It's an AMG Lite effectively and it's about time they offered something like this.

So there are technically some genuine AMG components on the car rather than just floor mats and bodykits as per other models.

As the UK market doesn't get AMG 4Matic versions (bar the ML/GLE) this actually makes the 450 model a lot closer to RHD spec AMG's in the real world.

 

[StuartK]

450 is not an AMG, it does not have an AMG engine

Well I'm glad someone said it. MB are ruining the AMG brand with this 450 AMG nonsense.

Great car for sure but it just isn't an AMG on any level.

 

[Red C220]

Well I'm glad someone said it. MB are ruining the AMG brand with this 450 AMG nonsense.

Great car for sure but it just isn't an AMG on any level.

There have been a few threads on this subject and the reality is it depends on where you set the benchmark before it's compared to where we are now.

Selling more of a brand isn't ruining it, it's good marketing, in fact it's sound business practice.

If it's considered being watered down, then technically that happened when MB bought a controlling stake in AMG in 1990 eventually taking it over in full in 2005. As before that a fully mechanical AMG cost more than a new Aston Martin or Bentley and was an exclusive bespoke vehicle. Realistically we're talking north of £250K today as an entry level.

Now you buy an A45 AMG for a reasonable monthly payment pretty much anywhere in the country.

Question:- Is an A45 AMG a genuine AMG and do you consider that ruining the brand?

Is a C450 AMG lower, higher or on the same peg as an A45 AMG or GLA45 for that matter?

 

[DazNich]

Congrats but if you didn't like the 63 can't see you liking the watered down version?

Why? Didn't like the C63 as it struggled to get the power down to the road, was terrible on fuel and had 2 doors, while the C450 won't do mega miles it'd be 4 doors and 4WD, nothing like the C63.

 

[Mrhanky]

Whether this model is a success or not will be realised in the sales numbers. Some will say it's not a true AMG and I think most will agree with that, but still doesn't change the fact it sounds like an exciting model.

 

[renault12ts]

There have been a few threads on this subject and the reality is it depends on where you set the benchmark before it's compared to where we are now.

Selling more of a brand isn't ruining it, it's good marketing, in fact it's sound business practice.

If it's considered being watered down, then technically that happened when MB bought a controlling stake in AMG in 1990 eventually taking it over in full in 2005. As before that a fully mechanical AMG cost more than a new Aston Martin or Bentley and was an exclusive bespoke vehicle. Realistically we're talking north of £250K today as an entry level.

Now you buy an A45 AMG for a reasonable monthly payment pretty much anywhere in the country.

Question:- Is an A45 AMG a genuine AMG and do you consider that ruining the brand?

Is a C450 AMG lower, higher or on the same peg as an A45 AMG or GLA45 for that matter?

The question is why didn't they call it C45AMG, since it has some (if not all) of the suspension parts and a detuned 63 engine.

 

[supaer]

Was the SL500 a big success... I don't know.... For some reason I don't think these 3/4 way house cars are ever successful.... Like the BMW 550, why not buy a M5 its almost the same cost and a whole lot better.
I think they are slapping AMG and M badges on every thing possible

 

[Alex]

They should have never added an AMG badge. It sounds and looks wrong especially as there's no badge on the actual car but it is still called a 'C450 AMG'. What's wrong with just a C450? Would people who are not into power like it less?

 

[DazNich]

I'm not questioning if it should be an AMG or not, I'm asking if anybody has driven one!!!!

 

[Alex]

I'm not questioning if it should be an AMG or not, I'm asking if anybody has driven one!!!!

It's not an AMG so... no.







Sorry, not driven one but curious how it compares to a full fat AMG as it bears the badge.

 

[MancMike]

450 is not an AMG, it does not have an AMG engine

What you on about? I've got a C180 AMG! It says so on the boot!

 

[supaer]

What you on about? I've got a C180 AMG! It says so on the boot!

hahaha!! Funny story.... actually maybe not so funny.... I saw a 3 series with an m3 badge and a said to my girlfriend what is he doing.... blah blah blah, she said leave him alone he may just want an m3 but cant afford it... I said ok fair enough but don't put a badge on it.... She thought I was evil etc... So I said imagine if someone bought a pair of primark shoes and stuck a chanel badge on the side... She said ohhhh.....

1-0!!

Not that having a lower powered car is bad at all, in no way am I saying that, just don't make it look like something its not.....

Anyway no haven't driven the 450 and wouldn't even consider it... Its like buying Becks blue beer..:fail

 

[JBD]

I've driven it in saloon and estate. on track and on the open road

 

[MancMike]

said to my girlfriend what is he doing.... blah blah blah

I've said exactly the same to mine.

imagine if someone bought a pair of primark shoes and stuck a chanel badge on the side.

That's all CHANEL do isn't it?

just don't make it look like something its not...