Yay! I got my new car

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olikea

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Joined
Jun 6, 2003
Messages
36
It arrived today! The brand new Mercedes C Class Sports Coupe to replace the ageing '94 SL280.

And I am very impressed! Technology has come a long long way in 9 years, the on-board computer seems to have endless functionality, and thats even before one starts playing with COMAND, which is nothing short of phenominal!

I ordered the 180K version - the entry level engine, because I thought it would be powerful enough, especially considering MB wants £1500 for each upgrade offering just 20 or 30bhp.

And I wasn't wrong. It actually feels more powerful than the 2.8 litre engine in the SL. I know the SL was heavier, but the thing about this engine is that it just seems so torquey, and in the manual it says 220NM from 2,500-4500rpm, so that is geniune V6 torque right across the rev range.

Obviously I am still running it in, so max. acceleration has not been tested, but it really does feel very powerful.

Not only that but the refinement is very good. It may only be a 4 cylinder engine - and I know some people have complained about M-B 4 pots, but in my opinion it is more refined than the SL280 ! (I know the 4 potters have been recently updated though). There is a slight supercharger whine under acceleration, but it dissapears when cruising and I don't think its a problem. I think the case for 6 cylinder engines is looking very thin - and if you disagree just try the new twinspark engines!

I can't get over how good it is on the motorway though. It sits at 70mph and feels like 30, the engine spins at a very sedate 2,500 rpm, and it is much more comfortable than the old SL.

The auto'box is very good too. It feels as sharp as a manual box, by comparison, the box of the old SL seems a bit slushy now!

Although some reviewers have complained that it isn't sporty enough to justify its name, I find the handling very good, again I am amazed at the development.

Parktronic is absolutely amazing too. It seems expensive as a £550 option, but now I see that it really is much better than competing products, with distance displays in both the front and rear of the car - truely amazing.

I was beginning to wonder whether Mercs were really worth the money, and I am reminded again, that yes indeed they are!

Pix here:
http://www.o-keating.com/carpix/mycar.htm
 
Great looking Car ...did they not have any Silver one's left?..lol

The comand unit looks the dogs b*****ks :bannana:

Best Regards
Joe :D
 
Originally posted by joe
Great looking Car ...did they not have any Silver one's left?..lol

The comand unit looks the dogs b*****ks :bannana:

Best Regards
Joe :D

I considered a Silver one, but they are so common, and somehow the metallic blue seems to really suit the car (looks better in the metal than in pix).

COMAND is amazing. The manual for it is 400 pages long, but essentially so far I have discovered it allows to find a list of local restaurants/cinemas/train stations/petrol stations etc. etc. as one of its many functions.

Also you can make it display a map of your current progress, rather like in an aircraft. And you can zoom it in and you can whatch your progress live on the screen (as a passenger of course!) and it amazing how accurate it is, going along the motorway it even shows the two bridges of the roundabout at the junctions, and shows you going past them. If I had known Sat-nav was this good I would have got it long ago!
 
Lovely car :bannana: :bannana: :bannana:
I think if I was going for a new car it would be that colour :)
Is that Jasper Blue ? or am I getting mixed up ?

Great car though :rock: :rock:
 
The engine only gets better dude !!!

Enjoy the car and the late 30's MPG as well :)
 
Yes - the colour is Jasper blue. The other one is tranzanite blue but that is extremely dark its virtually black. I think Jasper blue works very well on the coupe, doesn't quite do it on the saloon though.

As for fuel consumption, my trip computer is showing just over 30mpg (mainly motorway). The manual suggested the E-Urban cycle should return 46.5mpg, that seems a little optimistic, but perhaps when the engine is a little more run in it will get closer to that.

I would never thought a car could be capable of both 137mph top whack and 40+mpg
 
I would never thought a car could be capable of both 137mph top whack and 40+mpg
Maybe not 40+mpg @ a constant 137 mph
But Maybe , Just Maybe
40+mpg @ a constant 56 mph
 
Bose Sound

olikea -
I notice from your sig. you got the BOSE Sound system.

How do you rate it ?
Whats the sound quality like? - BASS etc.
Did you compare it to the standard system before opting for it ?
 
Originally posted by Aletank
Maybe not 40+mpg @ a constant 137 mph
But Maybe , Just Maybe
40+mpg @ a constant 56 mph

40 MPG at 80 :D
 
40 MPG at 80

That looks about right. mine does about 33mpg at 80 mph. best I got was a 200 mile trip to the peak district where I set the cruise at 70mph and returned 37 mpg for the trip, including some stop/start stuff on the M25. I am very happy with this.


Olikea,

I am glad you like it, they are great cars. Like you, I was amazed at the refinement, especially on the motorway. Mine is so quiet and smooth at tickover, it is difficult to tell if the engine is on! I agree with your comments on the 4 pot engines versus the C240, but against the 320 it is a different story IMO. The extra power and torque of the 320 engine really makes its presence felt.

Cheers, Robbo
 
:bannana: It's a beauty.

Enjoy
OG
 
The car looks lovely, I can see why your so pleased with it.

Wish I had command!
 
olikea,

Great choice :) You're new car looks great :cool: Any pics of under the bonnet? I really like that 'Jasper Blue' too.

Nice one.

S.
 
Originally posted by Steve_Perry
olikea,

Great choice :) You're new car looks great :cool: Any pics of under the bonnet? I really like that 'Jasper Blue' too.

Nice one.

S.

The Twinpulse engine looks like a toy Steve . Nothing even close to the mamouth V6 :rolleyes:
 
Originally posted by fuzzer
The Twinpulse engine looks like a toy Steve . Nothing even close to the mamouth V6 :rolleyes:

Fuzzer,

Could it be that the twinpulse goes alot better than it looks, where as the V6 looks better than it goes :p hehehe I must say I always thought the lump under my bonnet looks impressive, ooh ooer missus :eek:

S.
 
Re: Bose Sound

Originally posted by Aletank
olikea -
I notice from your sig. you got the BOSE Sound system.

How do you rate it ?
Whats the sound quality like? - BASS etc.
Did you compare it to the standard system before opting for it ?

I didn't actually compare it to the standard one, but I take HiFi very seriously and so I wanted something good so for me it was one of the "must have" options.

The sound quality is pretty good, it is of Hi-Fi standard. However, it doesn't absolutely blow you away with its quality, and I know from experience that one can assemble a superb system with a budget of £500 (the cost of the option), so from a value-for-money POV it isn't great. However, creating a good quality car audio system is rather difficult because of the poor acoustics of the inside of a car. I do appreciate that the BOSE system is acoustically matched to the car.

As for bass, it is extremely good, typical rattle-your-windows kind of stuff, but I am more interested in quality than power.

Of course one nice thing is that the car is soo quiet on the motorway that you are able to hear all of the subtleties in the music :)
 

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