Hello once again!
The car I will be talking about in the next lines is the ’04 facelift, W203 Mercedes-Benz C 220 CDI, with Elegance trim. It was bought in August 2004, and I was the second person driving it. As another Mercedes-Benz was traded (a 1998 C 220 CDI, also in Elegance trim), I remember, back then, to think “This is soooooo much better! It’s as easy to handle as my Rover!!!” Really, as I was the last person to drive the old Mercedes, the difference was very obvious. Today, the very same car seems to have changed. No, the car is the same, apart being three years old and with almost 90k kilometres (56k miles) on the clock.
As I have driven many sportier cars after that first drive, now, the first thing I notice, is the steering’s complete absence of feel. None at all, you have no idea of what’s going on with the front wheels. The brakes are also indirect, somehow, they do not transmit much confidence to me, and the gearbox is very easy to handle, has nice gearing ratios, but is slow and lacks that nice mechanical feeling. Maybe the Avantgarde version is better. Compared to the old W202, it is a massive improvement in all the above mentioned areas. I hope the new W204 represents the same sort of improvement over this W203…
But let’s change subject. I think it’s lines are great, even today. I love that dynamic back. I love that arrow-shaped nose, very low, indeed. It’s drag coefficient (Cd) of only 0,26, one of the best in series production cars ever, is actually better than the new C’s 0,27 (due, between other things, to the larger rearview mirrors). That’s why it’s top speed is so good (224 kph, or 139 mph) for an engine with 150hp. The new C-Class needs 20hp more to achieve 229 kph (142 mph), even with it’s gearbox’s similar final drive.
Another advantage is fuel consumption. At a constant speed of 140 kph (87 mph), during a very long journey, and with maximum load, it averaged 5,5 l/100km (43 mpg). Just brilliant. Noise insulation is very nice and, once warm, the engine is very silent. Speaking of the engine: it’s one of the smoothest engines I know, even considering petrol engines, like the Kompressor unit in the ’00 facelift SLK 200, which I will review later. It only shows all it’s strength from 2500 rpm on, but lazy driving at 1500 rpm is possible, with enough power reserves for most situations.
Materials and build quality are other high points. Before this ’04 facelift, the W203 was regarded as one of the worse Mercedes in the range, especially due to the interior’s poor materials. Speedo and tachometer were horrible looking, and the car’s interior appearance rather connected with the sophisticated exterior, not to mention early electronic problems. But there was a big turnaround with this facelift. Materials are, mostly, very nice (although, there are some, strategically-located, hard, cheap-feeling plastics).
This particular unit, with beige leather seats (option), looks especially attractive, and very nice in conjunction with the dark blue exterior. Facelift also brought more standard equipment, like thermatic automatic air con. Even so, the options list is as long as expensive. Sunroof is about 1600 €, about the same as the Elegance trim pack. Every options considered, this particular unit was priced over 50k € (2004 portuguese basic price was around 45k).
The car I will be talking about in the next lines is the ’04 facelift, W203 Mercedes-Benz C 220 CDI, with Elegance trim. It was bought in August 2004, and I was the second person driving it. As another Mercedes-Benz was traded (a 1998 C 220 CDI, also in Elegance trim), I remember, back then, to think “This is soooooo much better! It’s as easy to handle as my Rover!!!” Really, as I was the last person to drive the old Mercedes, the difference was very obvious. Today, the very same car seems to have changed. No, the car is the same, apart being three years old and with almost 90k kilometres (56k miles) on the clock.
As I have driven many sportier cars after that first drive, now, the first thing I notice, is the steering’s complete absence of feel. None at all, you have no idea of what’s going on with the front wheels. The brakes are also indirect, somehow, they do not transmit much confidence to me, and the gearbox is very easy to handle, has nice gearing ratios, but is slow and lacks that nice mechanical feeling. Maybe the Avantgarde version is better. Compared to the old W202, it is a massive improvement in all the above mentioned areas. I hope the new W204 represents the same sort of improvement over this W203…
But let’s change subject. I think it’s lines are great, even today. I love that dynamic back. I love that arrow-shaped nose, very low, indeed. It’s drag coefficient (Cd) of only 0,26, one of the best in series production cars ever, is actually better than the new C’s 0,27 (due, between other things, to the larger rearview mirrors). That’s why it’s top speed is so good (224 kph, or 139 mph) for an engine with 150hp. The new C-Class needs 20hp more to achieve 229 kph (142 mph), even with it’s gearbox’s similar final drive.
Another advantage is fuel consumption. At a constant speed of 140 kph (87 mph), during a very long journey, and with maximum load, it averaged 5,5 l/100km (43 mpg). Just brilliant. Noise insulation is very nice and, once warm, the engine is very silent. Speaking of the engine: it’s one of the smoothest engines I know, even considering petrol engines, like the Kompressor unit in the ’00 facelift SLK 200, which I will review later. It only shows all it’s strength from 2500 rpm on, but lazy driving at 1500 rpm is possible, with enough power reserves for most situations.
Materials and build quality are other high points. Before this ’04 facelift, the W203 was regarded as one of the worse Mercedes in the range, especially due to the interior’s poor materials. Speedo and tachometer were horrible looking, and the car’s interior appearance rather connected with the sophisticated exterior, not to mention early electronic problems. But there was a big turnaround with this facelift. Materials are, mostly, very nice (although, there are some, strategically-located, hard, cheap-feeling plastics).
This particular unit, with beige leather seats (option), looks especially attractive, and very nice in conjunction with the dark blue exterior. Facelift also brought more standard equipment, like thermatic automatic air con. Even so, the options list is as long as expensive. Sunroof is about 1600 €, about the same as the Elegance trim pack. Every options considered, this particular unit was priced over 50k € (2004 portuguese basic price was around 45k).
It is a very pleasant place to be in, the suspension is very comfortable, and it corners reasonably well. I love driving, and I like driving this car, as well. But this is one of those cars where a trip on the side seat is also very rewarding. Just to enjoy the quiet ambiance…
Final thoughts: a very nice allrounder, unless driving joy is required.
Vital statistics (portuguese version)
Specs:
2148cc, in-line 4 cylinders, 4 valves per cylinder (Diesel)
150 hp/4200 rpm
340 Nm/2000 rpm
Red-line: 4600 rpm
Gearbox: 6-speed manual
Weight: 1590 Kg
6th gear, 2000 rpm: 110 km/h
Official performance:
Top speed 224 kph (139 mph)
0-100 kph: 10,1 s
Average fuel consumption: 6,1 l/100 km (39 mpg)
Top speed 224 kph (139 mph)
0-100 kph: 10,1 s
Average fuel consumption: 6,1 l/100 km (39 mpg)
CO2 emissions: 159 g/km
Main equipment: twin front airbags, sidebags at front, windowbags, rain sensor, light sensor, tempomat with speedtronic, electronic air condicioning, leather seats, sunroof, alarm, Radio-CD
Price: 50.000+ €
Driven: August 2004 - today
Verdict: 15 out of 20
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