new/nearly new CLK cabrio - 280 or 350?

[AbbieCadabra]

i drove a 280 sport last night, but it was brand spanking new with only 20 miles on the clock, so it felt a little underpowered compared to my Lexus IS300 - i'm hoping/presuming it would be different after a few miles under it's belt. obviously, i didn't want to floor it too much with Mr Merc sitting in the back either!

neither of my local dealerships have got a 350 to drive so i'm just wondering if anyone has driven both & could give me a little feedback?

i'm not after a rocket ship, just like to have a bit of umph there when you need it

(i have posted this on another MB forum, sorry for any overlap - from what i could see, they do look completely separate (& i'm being greedy & trying to get as much info as possible! )).

 

[FishtailnZ]

We don't have the CLK280 in Canada, but I have sampled the CLK350 and 500. Generally speaking the CLK cabrio is a heavy car and in my own humble opinion, even the CLK350 felt challenged in the get up and go department. Perfectly adequate as a daily car that you just want to drive sedately and be comfortable in. But nothing extra so to speak. So I would think the 280 version would a bit strained carrying around all that weight.

 

[Brett]

We don't have the CLK280 in Canada, but I have sampled the CLK350 and 500. Generally speaking the CLK cabrio is a heavy car and in my own humble opinion, even the CLK350 felt challenged in the get up and go department. Perfectly adequate as a daily car that you just want to drive sedately and be comfortable in. But nothing extra so to speak. So I would think the 280 version would a bit strained carrying around all that weight.

Agreed - I was disappointed with the power that my CLK320 delivered so just had to go for a CLK55

 

[BlackC55]

The 320 is never going to win any races.

The 350 is a little more eager.

The 500 is fantastic.

 

[Brett]

The 320 is never going to win any races.

The 350 is a little more eager.

The 500 is fantastic.

Especially the new 500 engine - more powerful than my AMG!

 

[verytalldave]

Especially the new 500 engine - more powerful than my AMG!

Without wishing to be a prophet of doom, I suggest all your power freaks read this thread before commiting vast wedges of cash on your toys.........
See thread "Speed cameras set to come to North Yorkshire" for a taste of what the future may hold for us all in the UK.

 

[AbbieCadabra]

i can safely say that i'm not planning on whizzing around like a loon in an M3! BUT, i do like to have the power there, for the odd occasion when it's needed...

both times i've been zapped , i was only about 5mph (if that) over the limit , & that is seriously annoying!

those cats eyes look a nightmare & have you seen those new super-dooper ones coming out shortly? they look like a glorified lamp-post at best, are fire/ram/vandal proof (sending an alarm to the local police station & taking pics of the offenders at the time), have cameras that can do BOTH lanes & no flash when a pic is taken.

oh, & they don't have to be bright yellow from now on either , this one was green, next to some hedges & trees & you'd never notice it...

think i may just stick with a 280 &, hopefully, keep my licence!

 

[Brett]

Without wishing to be a prophet of doom, I suggest all your power freaks read this thread before commiting vast wedges of cash on your toys.........
See thread "Speed cameras set to come to North Yorkshire" for a taste of what the future may hold for us all in the UK.

Power brings responsibilty. I enjoy my power responsibly and therefore these cameras hold no worries for me.

 

[FishtailnZ]

Agreed - I was disappointed with the power that my CLK320 delivered so just had to go for a CLK55

I can understand that

Power brings responsibilty. I enjoy my power responsibly and therefore these cameras hold no worries for me.

Fortunately, no cameras here. But still, I save it for the track...mostly

 

[edgersoldchap]

I agree with Brett. You can have the power and enjoy it without breaking the speed limits. My E240 is so underpowered it takes forever to overtake up an incline or get back up to cruising speed after an obstruction. I want the power that I had in my W124 E300TE-24.

I swapped a BMW E46 318i for an E46 328i because I wanted some half decent power available when I might need it. More power used appropriately and responsibly is a safety feature in my mind.

 

[edgersoldchap]

To bring the thread back on topic, I've been thinking about a CLK cabrio 320 but how much more to run would a 430 be. I can't afford the newer models but a similar dilemma to the 280 or 350 question, I guess?

 

[renmure]

To bring the thread back on topic, I've been thinking about a CLK cabrio 320 but how much more to run would a 430 be

Having just bought a 2001 320 CLK Cabrio, I did look at and drive a couple of 430 Cabrios but decided against it. Every review of the car that I read mentioned a big thirst for petrol and whilst the V8 certainly felt smooth and powerfull I didn't think it put the V6 in the shade. At the end of the day I decided that it would definately cost a bit more to run the 430 and, whilst it might not be that much in relative terms, it didn't seem to bring too many benefits to me.