Is C205 200 petrol underpowered?

[EClassy]

But strangely the Scandinavians hardly ever use 4x4. They use winter tyres. Maybe your driving techniques need a brush up.

Yeah right. What a moron. I wonder why they offer 4Matic if the rear wheel set up was adequate on its own

 

[Darrell]

Yeah right. What a moron. I wonder why they offer 4Matic if the rear wheel set up was adequate on its own

Just stating a fact. So many people here wet their knickers about needing 4x4s yet the Scandies don't use it. We rely too much on electronic help.

 

[JBD]

I always have a C200 petrol as my company car, which is my choice. I never feel like it's underpowered at all


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[Delayed Steve]

Yeah right. What a moron. I wonder why they offer 4Matic if the rear wheel set up was adequate on its own

They've only just started to offer 4Matic in the UK even AMG were rear wheel drive, maybe they offer it because BMW and Audi do and they don't want to miss out !
I've got winter tyres on mine and haven't had a problem in winter, so maybe it is your driving style

 

[JBD]

Yeah right. What a moron. I wonder why they offer 4Matic if the rear wheel set up was adequate on its own

Because the general public think they're safer and will stop them getting stuck in snow etc. Spending thousands more for 4WD for 1 day of snow every couple of years is silly imo, especially with the economy suffering too. IMO you're better to invest in a good set of winter tyres, they're a lot more effective than summer tyres and 4WD


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[kth286]

I would buy the 250 petrol engine without 4matic and keep a set of winter wheels and tyres.

 

[EClassy]

I wouldnt spend extra on 4Matic or even winter tyres for 1-3 days of snow we get here in SE England. I'll just take a taxi or train if necessary. I am a weekend driver anyway.

My original reply was based on the OPs circumstances whereby they get 3/4 months of snow/rain a year. It is disingenuous to try to convince the OP to get anything but 4Matic in those circumstances.

If RWD with winter tyres was sufficient why do Merc offer the 4Matic option?

 

[Darrell]

People here are replying to your paragraph stating that rwd is useless in the snow and the problems you had. Also how you became car-less due to the snow.

 

[Darrell]

People here are replying to your paragraph stating that rwd is useless in the snow and the problems you had. Also how you became car-less due to the snow. And it was only a light dusting. Wus!

 

[EClassy]

They've only just started to offer 4Matic in the UK even AMG were rear wheel drive, maybe they offer it because BMW and Audi do and they don't want to miss out !
I've got winter tyres on mine and haven't had a problem in winter, so maybe it is your driving style

I drove my Pug 406 and 307 in snow with summer tyres with absolutely no problem.

I only ever tried the Merc once. I lifted my foot off the brake, vehicle moved off, tapped brake to slow down and car just slid on and I was heading into a house until a kerb stopped me. I parked the car and that has been my only experience of driving a RWD in the snow. Wasnt going to risk after that experience.

 

[Deleted member 6183]

I drove my Pug 406 and 307 in snow with summer tyres with absolutely no problem.

I only ever tried the Merc once. I lifted my foot off the brake, vehicle moved off, tapped brake to slow down and car just slid on and I was heading into a house until a kerb stopped me. I parked the car and that has been my only experience of driving a RWD in the snow. Wasnt going to risk after that experience.

That's hardly the fault of a RHD setup, sounds more like user error to me.

 

[SamW]

The brakes are tyres are the same on a car with 4matic. If you're skidding towards something it doesn't matter if the car is 2/4 or 8 wheel drive?

 

[SamW]

If 2 wheels are spinning then there is a chance 4 wheels will spin.

Yes, it's more likely to get you out of trouble on the rare occasion of getting stuck but it's only useful when moving/pulling away, not braking.

I always found the Quattro thing to be a marketing ploy. Yes, it worked undoubtably when rallying but on the school run? Not really.

Secondly Audi are mostly all on a fwd platform which is fine in smaller cars, but IMO a mid size saloon upwards should be rwd. The Quattro is a better alternative to fwd in that size of car but still uninspiring to drive and with standard summer tyres is never going to be a rally car in the snow.

 

[tonyspicer]

I have just traded my CLK 350 cab for a C200 cab and surprisingly don't notice the performance difference that much, however i do miss the smoothness and quiet of the V6. Shame they don't still put this in the C Cab, other than the AMG

 

[Biza]

I wouldnt spend extra on 4Matic or even winter tyres for 1-3 days of snow we get here in SE England. I'll just take a taxi or train if necessary. I am a weekend driver anyway.

My original reply was based on the OPs circumstances whereby they get 3/4 months of snow/rain a year. It is disingenuous to try to convince the OP to get anything but 4Matic in those circumstances.

If RWD with winter tyres was sufficient why do Merc offer the 4Matic option?

To be fair it's not 3-4 months of non-stop snowing here... Two years ago snow lasted for a week or so and that was it. This year we had snow even in april... It varies by year but I don't wanna test (or learn) my rear wheel drive capabilities on this new car

C250 petrol seems nicer bhp wise, but at the same price as the C200 4matic I think the 4matic sistem is worth more than 27 bhp and rear wheel drive.

A C250 4 matic, or C300 4matic on the other hand would be great.

 

[Dave.tam]

If you're skidding towards something it doesn't matter if the car is 2/4 or 8 wheel drive?

This is SO true, and is often forgotten by 4x4 drivers.

Had a very bad experience of a massive 4x4 hurtling towards me downhill in the snow!

I had taken the same very steep hill in first gear with very light pressure on the brakes and had no issue descending it. I look in my mirror and all I see is a Q7 hurtling towards me at probably around 263MPH!

I saw him lock up and now he's coming at me sideways!

I just managed to get to the bottom of the hill safely, which was a T junction.......he, did not! Slid straight accross the road at the bottom (lucky it's a residential road and there was no cross traffic) and straight into the car parked opposite.

Funny how I managed to tackle the hill in a 240bhp fwd zafira, and he didn't in his expensive 4x4 :fail

Forgot to add the moral to my story! Buy the 250 and drive it sensibly

 

[JBD]

The brakes are tyres are the same on a car with 4matic. If you're skidding towards something it doesn't matter if the car is 2/4 or 8 wheel drive?

Exactly [emoji23] contact with the road is identical


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[BEA76]

I think folks here expect 4wd to defy the laws of physics for them. My neighbour trashed the front suspension of his TT with a kerb collision, driving like it was a normal day he thought the Quattro would cope with 3 inches of the white stuff on top of ice... Doh!