W204 C250 cdi B/E review

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
I must admit i do find the 7g plus gearbox slow to take off from a standstill especially when pulling out into a gap on roundabouts or from traffic lights, once its going its fine but the initial takeup of gear is painfully slow.

Are you using Sport or Economy mode? In Sport its very quick!
 
still running the car in at the moment so not tried the sport mode, will give it a go tomorrow ,is tiptronic mode even better than s mode?
I am a noobie to autogearboxes and after my manual beemer it just feels so different.
 
I must admit i do find the 7g plus gearbox slow to take off from a standstill especially when pulling out into a gap on roundabouts or from traffic lights, once its going its fine but the initial takeup of gear is painfully slow.
I think this is what i read originally about some people with E350 cdis.
I think it's true to say that the 4 pot C250 cdis seem to be more responsive on take off than the V6s. Certainly my current car seems to get into its stride quicker than the 320 cdi I had and on less throttle.
But then this is common to all four cylinder cars versus 6 cylinder.
I totally agree about the comments above re kickdown. I NEVER use it
and it is clearly better driving to be in the right gear before you start the manoeuvre even if you trail the car in front in third for a few seconds before you overtake.
 
I must admit i do find the 7g plus gearbox slow to take off from a standstill especially when pulling out into a gap on roundabouts or from traffic lights, once its going its fine but the initial takeup of gear is painfully slow.

Painfully slow? I really think you may need to get your car checked over because there must be something wrong (maybe handbrake is stuck on!!) ;):dk:.
I am no boy racer, nor am I looking to wheelspin - but, trust me, I do like a fast, smooth getaway from standstill and I have never driven a faster, smoother car than my present one (which is NOT Plus by the way).
It just flies, and I have NEVER used Sport except to experiment when I first bought it! E is more than adequate, including for overtaking...
 
Both cases are totally unacceptable. Perhaps it's an age thing, but I don't trust my life with kickdown - never have!
I ALWAYS flick to manual mode to give me control of the gearbox, not rely on what the gearbox may or may not want to do. Surely it makes sense to be in the right (lower) gear for take-off BEFORE you start the manoeuvre rather than one or two seconds after you have moved out, possibly in the face of fast-approaching oncoming traffic :doh:!
All autos have the potential to dither, hunt or whatever - you don't want them doing that when overtaking!

Agreed. Setting the car up correctly is just as important as making sure that there is no oncoming traffic. My example was based on a driving style that assumes that the gearbox behaves consistently without the need for manual intervention.

Kickdown is there to support an immediate requirement for maximum acceleration. There are times when the 7G+ can take a few seconds to do this, making it not "immediate".

Worse, it is not entirely predictable - you don't know for sure whether it will take 2 seconds or less.

Knowing this, you either resort to the manual option or allow more time and space than should be necessary.

In other, rare, situations where a short burst of hard acceleration can avoid trouble, I'm thinking of hanging one of those Nepalese good luck charms from the mirror...
 
I'm with you on this one Fuji! Same car, 2 weeks in and whilst I generally cant complain about the performance, the gearbox is taking some time to get used to. It is slow compared to the 8 speed BMW boxes and the DSG boxes in VAG motors. The paddles are far slower than leaving the box in S to do its own thing.
 
Mercy1 said:
OK, I asked for that...:wallbash:

However, every time we overtake, we make a judgement. What I am saying is that it helps to have total confidence your motor is set up to do the necessary...

It's also a laugh when it shoots of into the horizon on a tidal wave of torque and power
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom