Im liking these pics. What does everyone else think?

 

Sedan looks good and see no I-drive (or whatever MB calls their version)!

 

The sedan looks good, but I ain't feeling the coupe.

 

Now if they only offered an MT.

 

Hey tuan, I just noticed your avatar, might not be the best choice for an avatar on an Acura site.

 

I really like the front end of the car...

 

Lookin' good

 

You know...everyone seems to like the sedan...but it just looks like any old MB sedan with a little too much Bangle influence to me. I'm sorta liking the coupe.

 

i dont think mb knows what a mt is.....

 

I think both, the coupe looks decent for a batchback.

 

You sure it's a hatch? It doesn't really look like one to me...and didn't they try a hatch with the current C class and it failed?

 

Looks like you're right, its almost the same shape as the current hatch but has a trunk. But those are just drawings too, so who knows.

 

Ditto.

 

I like the sedan, but the headlights with the eyebrows just screams Buick (Rendezvous). The interior is my favorite pic, I'm glad MB is moving away from using the same interior for almost every body.

 

I like really like the coupe. The sedan is nice too, but the rear end looks like it's been truncated or something.

 

I never liked the C-Class coupe and I still don't like it. Its just wrong for an underpowered hatchback to cost that much and not include leather and an in-dash CD player.

 

WTF where are the signature MB headlights. I really like that styling and was glad when they went back to it in the 90's. Don't tell me they're going back to a mix of some ars have it some don't. Makes me wonder if this is a photochop? The Rendevouz/5series headlights suck but the grill looks great. Interior looks typical MB except for the steering wheel which I would have to see a close-up on.

I think the back end of the sedan looks like a bad miniturization of the E sedan which I love from front to back.

Hatchback doesn't look enough like a MB from the front so why buy it? IN the US the hatch only sells to badge chasers who won't be interested unless their car is immediately recognizable as a status symbol. I mean has anyone ever seriously bought a MB hatch for the value or performance???? when they could get a TSX?

 

 

The side of the car looks like a civic....

 

That means it makes my Civic look like a Benz now! Steppin up in the world of beater cars!

 

Hatchback doesn't look enough like a MB from the front so why buy it? IN the US the hatch only sells to badge chasers who won't be interested unless their car is immediately recognizable as a status symbol. I mean has anyone ever seriously bought a MB hatch for the value or performance???? when they could get a TSX?[/QUOTE]

Ignorant generalizations like this really annoys me. I own a C230 hatchback. I bought it because I like hatchbacks ( I have to carry stuff) and missed my old VW Corado.
The car can be bought for a reasonable price, has an engine with more torq and quieter than the TSX, has excellent safety (8 airbags), rear wheel drive, can be had for about the same as a TSX with options that almost equal the TSX, and has a nice solid German feel. I owned my Corado for 8 years (200,000 miles) and loved it (was also very reliable) and would have bought another one if VW offered it. I am sure there are people who are "badge chasers" but the C230 is a decent car that does appeal to some people. My wife owns a TSX which I also like, and I talked her into getting it. I guess I got tired of "badge chasing".

 

Johns, there are always exceptions to the rule, but every person I see driving a C230 around here in SoCal is trying to hard to look like they have money. Could just be a California thing though.

 

[QUOTE=Johns]Ignorant generalizations like this really annoys me. I own a C230 hatchback. I bought it because I like hatchbacks ( I have to carry stuff) and missed my old VW Corado.
The car can be bought for a reasonable price, has an engine with more torq and quieter than the TSX, has excellent safety (8 airbags), rear wheel drive, can be had for about the same as a TSX with options that almost equal the TSX, and has a nice solid German feel. I owned my Corado for 8 years (200,000 miles) and loved it (was also very reliable) and would have bought another one if VW offered it. I am sure there are people who are "badge chasers" but the C230 is a decent car that does appeal to some people. My wife owns a TSX which I also like, and I talked her into getting it. I guess I got tired of "badge chasing".[/QUOTE=Johns]



First off the VW you had was a Corrado with 2 r's. If you had it for 8 years you should have known that. ( I rarely snap back but the word 'ignorant' beckoned a smart-ass reply). Secondly, you must be the luckiest person on earth to have driven a Corrado or any VW for 200,000 reliable miles(do a search for VW on this site and any link will have dozens of complaints/testimonials from former VW owners). Thirdly, if you value reliabiity why buy MB's cheapest car when they're more expensive models have been slipping over the past few years. Eight air bags, very nice styling, german road feel are strong selling points but if you needed utility (hatch) there are better choices the 230 is a small car.

And finally, my 'ignorant observation' was based on observing life on Long Island where the MB hatch trully is a badge chaser for 90+% of its owners. Usually it's bought a 'cheap???' and safe car to match the other MB's in the driveway. I'm glad if it suits you and your life. If thats true then then who gives a sh*t what I just wrote, be happy with both your cars. Ultimately it's just a car to get you and your stuff safely from point A to point B and hopefully provide a little enjoyment along the way. :-))

 

[QUOTE=98AccordEx]Yes you are correct about the Corrado spelling (typing fast and not thinking is a bad combination). I know I was lucky with the Corrado. Reliability concerns are the reason I talked my wife into buying the TSX. Our TSX has every every rattle listed on this site, warped front rotors, and a seized front caliper, all fixed under warrenty. It's still a great car and I have confidence in it. I would love to hear some of the other choices I missed (not including the Golf, they are nice cars, but even smaller than the C230 or the RSX because I did not like the interior and the fact that you really had to rev the hell out of the engine to decent performance). At the time I was looking for a car I didn't see many other choices but I may have missed something.

As a side note, my C230 has just under 30,000 miles and has been perfect.

One more thing. Are people who own BMW 3 series, Audi A4s, Lexus I300s, and Acura TSXs also badge chasers to some degree?

 

Acura is not by any means a badge for people to chase. Most people don't consider it luxury enough. BMW is mostly badge chasers with a strong contingent of true enthusiasts in there somewhere. Audi is more along the lines of Acura. And Lexus IS300 owners, at least those that I've met, tend to be the most ignorant badge chasers of the bunch aside from the BMW owners.

Of course, theses are generalizations. There are always exceptions. There are going to be badge chasers with any premium brand. However, I can honestly say that BMW 3-series owners (particularly those who own the 323/325) tend to be the biggest assholes ever.

 

The problem I have with the term "badge chaser" is that it has nothing to do with the car. Some people use the term to disparage the car that the "badge chaser" drives. Also, there are many Honda owners who make badge chaser comments about us TSX owners. Acura and Audi to you or I may be just good cars, but they still are a more premium brand than Honda, Mazde, etc. Everything is relative.

 

Uuuuggggllllllyyyyyy

 

Was the compressor inspired by the RSX?

What the hell..

 

They do

The C230, C320 Sport, and all sportcoupes come standard with a short-throw 6-speed manual transmission. (in the states, that is)

 

The whole point behind entry level cars is to get yonger less affluent buyers into the showrooms were as time goes on and income increases they will move into other models with in the company. To that end the C-class coupe succeeds and fails. It fails most likely due to being a hatch. If offered as a coupe then who knows. As a sedan it would have caused problems. For the money it is a nice car. It is more of a lux ride then the 318ti which went it's own way in terms of features. At least M-B was smart enough to give buyers some of the C sedan's features.

To that end the RSX has it's ups and downs. Rumors have it that the car will die after this generation. Why, well it is not a lux car. It is nice and all but does it really move people towards other Acura's? The TSX is/was needed as Acura saw fit to move the TL slightly up market. Acura needed something to replace the TL in the under 30K price range. An RSX sedan would not have fit the bill. So we have the JDM Accord. The point behind the TSX is to offer a more affordable car that will move Honda owners into Acura showrooms. Once there they can move into other Acura models. The TSX is a good beginner car.

I may have bought one if I were not so use to certain features of my TL and the fact the the TSX just felt small to me.

I could have bought a C-class coupe but I'm just not a hatch person. I do love the over sized sunroof though.

 

M-B did have MT's on 300E 2.6 and 3.0 models but too few people bought them. So the rest is history.

Even Lexus had MT's on the ES as an option. The SC 300 had one. Too few buyers and I guess too few benz owners complaining.

 

But it's not really history...slowly, MB is bringing back MT. The 1st generation SLK had it as an option, the C-class models I mentioned have it standard, and the new SLK has a MT.

I would like the idea of having a short-wheelbase S600 with a 6 or 7 speed manual.

 

I thought only the low end C230 had the MT but I see that the C320 has it as well. I looked up the specs on it and was amazed to see the C320 is over 3400lbs!!! - a car the size of a Civic (which weighs about 2700lbs) It seems like all of the compact German sedans are really heavy compared to any other sedan in the compact class. Actually most German compacts weigh more than domestic and Japanese mid-sized sedans. I guess the penalty to pay if you want your doors to have that solid vault like feeling.

 

My C230K has a pretty good 6 speed manual (not as good as the TSX), and yes, the car is heavy. The Kompressor weighs about the same as the TSX but is 11 inches shorter. I do wish it was lighter, but it does feel solid and of course has that bank vault sound when you close the doors. The 1.8 supercharged engine is pretty nice, rated at 189 hp and 192 ft.lb of torque. Some claim the car is underpowered (and compared to a Crossfire, TL, 350Z, etc.) it is. But, it pulls about the same as the TSX and feels a little faster off the line.

Most all car companies have entry level cars (they can't sell every model for the same price) so I am not sure why people make a big deal about that. I can afford a car that cost more, but I would rather spend my money elsewhere. Same reason that my wife and I own the TSX. Also, sad to say, to get a Mercedes that feels as good in the handling department as the C230K, requires you to go considerable far up the food chain. The regular C240s feel like nice Accords in the handling dept.

 

 

I hate these tailights! Looks like a camry.




And this one's kind of shaped like an RL

 

I like the coupe, but the back end is so plain compaired to the front. I really like how the old one drives and handles. I'd get one if I could afford it.

 

damn u Mercedes and your non German styling!!....