![]() ![]() Options for the line include automatic transmission ($1300), leather interior trim ($1400), power seats ($1225), Bose audio system ($610), the COMAND dashboard system with navigation and telephone ($2080), headlamp washer and heated seats ($820), a CD player/telephone package ($1800), and on the Coupe, a panorama roof with rain-sensing wipers ($995). The C-Class is simply the boldest design of any of the small European cars, and the slickest in the entire Mercedes family with a coefficient of drag of only 0.27 for the sedan. While the sedan and wagon versions have a traditional Mercedes horizontal bar grille flanked by huge headlamp assemblies that are part of the new look at Mercedes, the C23 Coupe uses the star-grille front end instead of the bar-grille, with wild twin-oval headlamps, a swooping roofline, and a functional rear spoiler at the short rear end that adds downforce on the rear tires at high speeds. The coupe was shortened seven inches overall compared to the sedan.Īlthough the coupe is not as aerodynamic as the C-Class sedan, 0.29 to the sedan's 0.27 coefficient of drag, it's still one of the slickest cars in the industry, and it looks twice as mean and twice as slick as the sedan, with nothing there that doesn't need to be there. The long coupe doors make for easy ingress/egress, especially to the rear seats. Nice touches include the turn signal repeaters built into the outside mirrors, and the extra pane of glass underneath the spoiler that adds more rearward vision. The standard ten-spoke alloy wheels are especially sporty. The volume sedan model is the C320 with its 3.2-liter V6 and automatic transmission. (A manual transmission is not available for the C320.)Ī scant few months after the two sedans hit the showrooms, Mercedes showed the smallest station wagon it has ever exported to the United States, the C320 wagon, with an especially sporty three-window wagon body style with a forward-canted rear roof pillar. The wagon made to haul anything a family needs to haul, comes only with the larger 3.2-liter high-tech V6 because this engine has quite a bit more torque than the higher-revving but weaker 2.6-liter engine.īarely was the ink dry on the wagon brochures when Mercedes announced the creation of the C32 AMG, a high-performance version of the four-door sedan that uses a supercharged version of the 3.2-liter V6. Rated at 350 horsepower, it comes with a 6-speed manual transmission. The C32 AMG has its own exterior d?cor, interior trim, special suspension, larger tires and wheels, and is one of the quickest and fastest four-door cars in the world. It is priced substantially out of this segment's normal $35,000-$40,000 price range at more than $50,000.Īnd then, to create serious buzz among the younger American buying public, Mercedes introduced the last model in the family only a few weeks ago, the C230 Coupe, with a supercharged 2.3-liter 4-cylinder engine, a sportier chassis, a completely new front end appearance, and a radical roofline. What's more, the C230 Coupe is a hatchback, the first such design in the company's history, offering a nearly unbeatable combination of price ($24,950), utility (nearly 40 cubic feet of storage space with the rear seats folded down), and visual impact. The Mercedes-Benz C-Class family started with the introduction of the four-door sedan late last year, featuring a brand-new 2.6-liter V6 as the standard engine and, of all things, a 6-speed manual transmission to go with it. The C240 (yes we know, it should be called a C 260 because of the new larger engine, but the company chose to stick with a lower number) is a pretty sporty entry that's fun to drive, though it is neither quick nor fast. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |