Topic: Test Drive: 2015 Mercedes-Benz C300 4Matic Sedan

[Silverbird]

Don't forget that this is the base model, with only one package on it.  Of course it's missing a lot of features.

Sadly, not missing a lot of price though.

I think the A4 includes navigation now (except the very bottom model) - C class can be added for $3k.

If you want more toys and power, better find another $10k to get the C400.

[whaddaiknow]

Don't forget that this is the base model, with only one package on it.  Of course it's missing a lot of features.

Sadly, not missing a lot of price though.

I think the A4 includes navigation now (except the very bottom model) - C class can be added for $3k.

If you want more toys and power, better find another $10k to get the C400.

For an extra ~$10k, I will move up to the E-class diesel and never look back.

[SKYMTL]

Don't forget that this is the base model, with only one package on it.  Of course it's missing a lot of features.

Sadly, not missing a lot of price though.

I think the A4 includes navigation now (except the very bottom model) - C class can be added for $3k.

If you want more toys and power, better find another $10k to get the C400.

For an extra ~$10k, I will move up to the E-class diesel and never look back.

I don't think there's an E-Class diesel for under $69K unless you get the stripped down model (ARTICO, very few toys, etc.).  Remember, even adding a sunroof on that model adds a shocking $10K to the sticker price (ie: Premium Plus Package)

[vols1]

SKYMTL just to clarify my comment. In the C300 both the heated seats and driver's seat memory are standard in Canada I believe. Heated seats are part of a package in the US. The author had indicated that memory seats were  a $900 extra in his pricing summary and I don't think that is correct.

[EV-Light]

Don't forget that this is the base model, with only one package on it.  Of course it's missing a lot of features.

Sadly, not missing a lot of price though.

I think the A4 includes navigation now (except the very bottom model) - C class can be added for $3k.

If you want more toys and power, better find another $10k to get the C400.

The A4 is old and is due for a replacement soon...Audi will most definitely adopt MB strategy, because they can cover the entry-level with the A3. Expect the new A4 to cost as much as the C-Class.

[vols1]

Wait...if Autos.ca is down a writer...

You would actually be getting 5 for 1. NoTo in the first and third person as well as Lady Noto and isn't  there is also Mrs. and Miss Noto as well.

[Oldsguy]

false...they don't make Oldsmobiles any more.

Do you realize how moronic you sound? The only one talking about Oldsmobiles here is you. Stop trying to be clever. You aren't.

[Benhaze]

The C-Class pricing is actually very competitive when compared to the BMW. Benz also allows to to pick a few options à la carte which BMW does not do. And Audi is really not consistenly better by all mean across its product line. An A3 can be ordered to price overlap a well equipped C300 without even offering memory seats per example.

Also if on gets a C300, instead of buying the static LED low beam option for $900, get the dual active LED high/low beams for $1200. The C400 comes standard with the  static LED low beams but the dual active LED high/low beam option is still $1200! So in M.-B. world the full LED package is a steal on the C300 

In a world where a loaded Fusion can cost +46,000$, a $46k-$52k C300 is not so bad after all...

[OliverD]

I swear, the "tacked on" nav screen is the Altezza taillight of our time. Can we just all shut the f%$& up about it already?

[blotter]

For 6k$ more than Wing's Tacoma, this car is a bargain!

common now, you can't compare (even if that Taco trim is out of this world)

you could also say, why buy 1/2 ton truck when you can get one of this?
two vary different animals.

at least my Taco has heated seats 

I can't seem to find anything on MB's website that talks about heated seats. 
brutal website BTW.

Somehow you'd think heated seats was a given.  My wife's Fiat which is worth less than half of this car has heated seats!

[SKYMTL]

I swear, the "tacked on" nav screen is the Altezza taillight of our time. Can we just all shut the f%$& up about it already?

No.  The Altezza was TRENDY design at the time whereas the tacked-on nav screen is simply LAZY design. 

[OliverD]

I swear, the "tacked on" nav screen is the Altezza taillight of our time. Can we just all shut the f%$& up about it already?

No.  The Altezza was TRENDY design at the time whereas the tacked-on nav screen is simply LAZY design.

That's debatable, IMO.

[vols1]

Blotter, you right right the Mb website is brutal. You have to built the vehicle and then go to "your c class" for a summary to find out you get heated seats as standard equipment.

[JacobBlack]

SKYMTL just to clarify my comment. In the C300 both the heated seats and driver's seat memory are standard in Canada I believe. Heated seats are part of a package in the US. The author had indicated that memory seats were  a $900 extra in his pricing summary and I don't think that is correct.

You're right, he incorrectly said it was for the memory seats - it's for the partial LED headlight.
There are standard heated front seats too.
The Burmester sound system is a $1,000 standalone extra we don't think was fitted to this tester - though the C-Class microsite lists it as a part of the Premium Package, the main build site and our press materials don't.
Article adjusted.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

What a surprise, more complaining about price. Again, what did you guys expect? The C has moved up a class and I expect the new E will become even more expensive to separate itself from the C.

You aren't ever going to get "value" from the German three. They are the Luxury standards and you have to pay to play. If you are looking for value and features then you can start looking at your Acuras, etc.

I can get value (always relative), luxury AND reliability from Lexus. The Germans can only deliver on one of those apparently.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

I swear, the "tacked on" nav screen is the Altezza taillight of our time. Can we just all shut the f%$& up about it already?

Nope. I'm going to keep banging that gong until they get it right as they have in their S class.

[SKYMTL]

What a surprise, more complaining about price. Again, what did you guys expect? The C has moved up a class and I expect the new E will become even more expensive to separate itself from the C.

Interior dimensions have hardly budged.  If anything, after sitting in one, I'd say the rear seat feels even more cramped width-wise than the outgoing 2014 models.  It certainly doesn't feel like it's in a higher class...

As for the trim and whatnot, I think that it meets expectations set by the current crop of 2015 models.  Again, I don't count that as moving up in vehicle classification.

[Northernridge]

What a surprise, more complaining about price. Again, what did you guys expect? The C has moved up a class and I expect the new E will become even more expensive to separate itself from the C.

You aren't ever going to get "value" from the German three. They are the Luxury standards and you have to pay to play. If you are looking for value and features then you can start looking at your Acuras, etc.

I can get value (always relative), luxury AND reliability from Lexus. The Germans can only deliver on one of those apparently.

A bit of a generalization. I won't defend German reliability but as I think even you have pointed out, the E Class has been competitively reliable since 2009 (the first year it became a CR recommendation, I know because I bought one). Porsche as well seems to be generally reliable in the reports that I can recall reading.

I know it's fashionable to go all FGC on the Germans but I think other than a few specific issues, the reliability difference is more incremental than dramatic in real life ownership.

An interesting data point would be to compare the relative reliability impact on the owners of say...Lexus and Mercedes, etc. E.g. over the course of ownership, how many dealership visits will a Lexus owner require compared to Benz owner as a result of reliability issues. I'm not proposing that Mercedes will win (or even fair very well) but I suspect that in practical terms, it may not be significant.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

What a surprise, more complaining about price. Again, what did you guys expect? The C has moved up a class and I expect the new E will become even more expensive to separate itself from the C.

You aren't ever going to get "value" from the German three. They are the Luxury standards and you have to pay to play. If you are looking for value and features then you can start looking at your Acuras, etc.

I can get value (always relative), luxury AND reliability from Lexus. The Germans can only deliver on one of those apparently.

A bit of a generalization. I won't defend German reliability but as I think even you have pointed out, the E Class has been competitively reliable since 2009 (the first year it became a CR recommendation, I know because I bought one). Porsche as well seems to be generally reliable in the reports that I can recall reading.

I know it's fashionable to go all FGC on the Germans but I think other than a few specific issues, the reliability difference is more incremental than dramatic in real life ownership.

An interesting data point would be to compare the relative reliability impact on the owners of say...Lexus and Mercedes, etc. E.g. over the course of ownership, how many dealership visits will a Lexus owner require compared to Benz owner as a result of reliability issues. I'm not proposing that Mercedes will win (or even fair very well) but I suspect that in practical terms, it may not be significant.

That's reasonable. A good number of Audis, 911 and E-class seem to be pretty reliable. Still not as reliable as Lexus, but there might not be that much of a difference in the number of unscheduled repair stops on average. There are still an awful lot of clunkers on the German roster though.

[Noto]

You would actually be getting 5 for 1. NoTo in the first and third person as well as Lady Noto and isn't  there is also Mrs. and Miss Noto as well.

Nah, just myself and Lady Noto.  Not married, no kids (fewfh!).  Possibly soon-to-be engaged, if I feel like it...and if Lady Noto moves back to Canada and lives in the same city as I do for a period of more than 3 months.