F
Frank
Guest
I bought a C220CDI Coupe in Oct. with a factory fitted detachable towbar.Before placing the order I asked all the right questions about permissable towing weights,
downloads and automatic transmission limits.I was assured by my local dealer and MB UK that the limit was the vehicle weight of 1505kgs.I duly placed an order for my first MB and my first new car.
The car arrived and apart from some towing wiring ommissions all looked OK until I studied the handbook, which stated that the C180,C200 and C230 petrol engined Coupes had a towing limit of 1500kgs but the C220CDI diesel with 143bhp and 235lbsft of torqe had a limit of 1200kgs.
I approached the dealer 'customer care' person about this peculiar situation who after some days came back with the story that I was OK to pull 1500kgs in the UK as there weren't any mountain ranges.They would not provide this in writing, so in theory if I towed my van at max gross weight of 1219kgs I would be braking the law.I had checked the data for the 'C' saloon and estate in C220CDI form and these have a towing limit of 1500kgs with a similar kerbside weight.
As I still had not received a proper explanation for my Coupe's reduced limit, I contacted MB UK.They eventually came back with the MB reason.The reduction is due to the reduced output of the diesel.They are totally ignoring the torque which is higher than any of the other models.
So MBs 220 turbo diesel engine can pull a train weight of 3500kgs+ when installed in the 'C' saloon and estate but only 3160kgs when installed in the Coupe. All 3 variants are built on the same floor pan and have similar kerb weights.
Any opinions would be appreciated.
downloads and automatic transmission limits.I was assured by my local dealer and MB UK that the limit was the vehicle weight of 1505kgs.I duly placed an order for my first MB and my first new car.
The car arrived and apart from some towing wiring ommissions all looked OK until I studied the handbook, which stated that the C180,C200 and C230 petrol engined Coupes had a towing limit of 1500kgs but the C220CDI diesel with 143bhp and 235lbsft of torqe had a limit of 1200kgs.
I approached the dealer 'customer care' person about this peculiar situation who after some days came back with the story that I was OK to pull 1500kgs in the UK as there weren't any mountain ranges.They would not provide this in writing, so in theory if I towed my van at max gross weight of 1219kgs I would be braking the law.I had checked the data for the 'C' saloon and estate in C220CDI form and these have a towing limit of 1500kgs with a similar kerbside weight.
As I still had not received a proper explanation for my Coupe's reduced limit, I contacted MB UK.They eventually came back with the MB reason.The reduction is due to the reduced output of the diesel.They are totally ignoring the torque which is higher than any of the other models.
So MBs 220 turbo diesel engine can pull a train weight of 3500kgs+ when installed in the 'C' saloon and estate but only 3160kgs when installed in the Coupe. All 3 variants are built on the same floor pan and have similar kerb weights.
Any opinions would be appreciated.
