[Envoy4Life]

The C-Class that thinks it's an S-Class.
MotorTrend
November 6, 2014
By: Angus MacKenzie

It's been more than 30 years since the world breathlessly welcomed the Mercedes-Benz 190E, the first "baby" Benz and the ancestor of today's C-Class range. Developed in an era when engineers absolutely ruled the roost at Daimler, the 190E featured a complex multi-link rear suspension and a high-tech windshield wiper with a cam-driven blade to ensure maximum screen coverage, and the car was built like a tank. For all that, though, the 190E was clearly an entry-level car, sparsely equipped with vinyl seats, lots of hard plastic interior parts, and a stick shift as standard equipment. The 2015 Mercedes-Benz C300, by contrast, thinks it's an S-Class.

Full article available at link.

 

[Envoy4Life]

The new C Class is hands down the best car in the compact luxury sedan category IMHO.

 

[hydrogen]

The new C Class is hands down the best car in the compact luxury sedan category IMHO.

Completely agree. Sad to say but I wouldn't even consider the ATS.

 

[Envoy4Life]

Completely agree. Sad to say but I wouldn't even consider the ATS.

Yep, same here. The ATS is hopeless against this thing. I still love mine, but if I had the choice, I'd take the C without even thinking.

 

[mchicha]

The new C Class is hands down the best car in the compact luxury sedan category IMHO.

It better be, its the newest in the class.

 

[Envoy4Life]

It better be, its the newest in the class.

Well, yes, but so was the ATS at one point, except the ATS was never this good compared to cars in its class.

 

[bronx13]

The ats won't touch this.

 

[JBsZ06]

The c class is more biased towards luxury rather than sport.

I like the size of the new c class but the few I've seen I'm just not digging it...

Not liking the rear end styling either..,

I'm sure the amg version will be awesome.

 

[Envoy4Life]

The c class is more biased towards luxury rather than sport.

I like the size of the new c class but the few I've seen I'm just not digging it...

Not liking the rear end styling either..,

I'm sure the amg version will be awesome.

The C400 is the sport-biased offering for the C. The AMG-S version is going to be nuts...

 

[BlackGTP]

Interior looks great. Though I'll have to see the exterior in real life, looks bulbous and droopy to me, somewhat over styled as the CLA is. But I'm not the fan of the current S Class styling either. Either way, that is just my opinion before I get attacked, I'm sure it's a great car, I'm just not a fan of its style.

So, a few posts said that it beats the ATS hands down - should Cadillac take the ATS further upscale/higher sticker price to compete with the Merc?

 

[roy219]

The ATS is hopeless against this thing.

Not in terms of chassis dynamics. ATS' chassis doesn't "always default to mild, benign mid-corner understeer when pressed harder" that MT described for the W205 C-Class. No amount of fiddling with the W205's Agility Select switch will make it outhandle a comparably equipped ATS.

 

[Envoy4Life]

Not in terms of chassis dynamics. ATS' chassis doesn't "always default to mild, benign mid-corner understeer when pressed harder" that MT described for the W205 C-Class. No amount of fiddling with the W205's Agility Select switch will make it outhandle a comparably equipped ATS.

Okay, it thoroughly trounces the ATS in every other metric besides extreme cornering maneuvers.

 

[Extreme4x4]

Okay, it thoroughly trounces the ATS in every other metric besides extreme cornering maneuvers, which very few who buy this class of car will ever come close to utilizing fully. In other words, next to no one will notice.

Fixed that for you.

 

[Dr.Show-Me]

Not in terms of chassis dynamics. ATS' chassis doesn't "always default to mild, benign mid-corner understeer when pressed harder" that MT described for the W205 C-Class. No amount of fiddling with the W205's Agility Select switch will make it outhandle a comparably equipped ATS.

I've driven both, and I like the driving better in the ATS. Also the C is a wannabe, while the ATS is more the compact sport sedan. I could see older buyers liking the wannabe C though. The best thing about the C is that it isn't a CLA!

 

[ryannel2003]

Nice looking car, but I would take an ATS 3.6 or 328i/335i over this thing. I feel that the Mercedes design language works better on the larger cars. I still really hate that screen sprouting from the middle of the dashboard, but the rest of the interior is gorgeous.

Mercedes will sell a ton of them though. Not based on the fact that it's a better car than the competition, but because of the tri pointed star on the hood. This is Cadillac's fundamental problem right now, among other things.

 

[balthazar]

Bland & already dated. Daimler still has no clue how to stylistically integrate the off-shelf LED strips into the headlights in any sort of consistent & signature manner.

 

[Envoy4Life]

Fixed that for you.

Hey... I've tracked my car before!

 

[Extreme4x4]

Hey... I've tracked my car before!

You and three others. Well, and then the magazine "journalists," but they don't really count.

The funny thing being, enthusiasts think that everyone wants a luxury sports sedan. The reality is, most just want a really nice luxury sedan. There really is no such thing as a bad handling car these days (short of the MKS, yuck). Most cars handle far better than anyone will ever push them to. So, we are all just arguing semantics amongst ourselves. The non enthusiasts would read what we write and think we are all crazy.

 

[Cobaltss_King]

The CT4 should be able to properly square off against this and the 3 series once the CT2 (next gen ATS) is unveiled.

 

[Envoy4Life]

You and three others. Well, and then the magazine "journalists," but they don't really count.

The funny thing being, enthusiasts think that everyone wants a luxury sports sedan. The reality is, most just want a really nice luxury sedan. There really is no such thing as a bad handling car these days (short of the MKS, yuck). Most cars handle far better than anyone will ever push them to. So, we are all just arguing semantics amongst ourselves. The non enthusiasts would read what we write and think we are all crazy.

Hahahaha exactly.

The worst ones are the ones that think cars like the MKC or SRX are bought because of "handling prowess".