Mercedes Catches Up to BMW

It looks like Mercedes may finally be catching up to BMW in the area of sports sedans. The new Mercedes C350 sport, the German automaker's entry level sports sedan, shows a great improvement over the 2007 model, and now seems to be on par with the BMW 3-series, the current market leader.

In terms of the actual workings of the car, not much has changed. The sedan is still powered by a 3.5 liter DOHC 24 valve V-6 engine, offering 268 HP, just as last year. Its acceleration is not much improved, but is still a rather impressive zero to sixty in 5.5 seconds, which, while certainly quite nice, does not quite match the acceleration offered by the BMW's 300 HP turbocharged engine.

The 2008 edition of the C350 is slightly larger than its predecessor. Although still using the same frame, passengers will notice that the back seat is slightly roomier. This, of course, means the car is slightly heavier, around 3600 lbs up from 3500. However, the acceleration seems unaffected.

As far as handling goes, the C350 is somewhat improved by an optional 7-speed automatic transmission. The shifting, while not quite as quick as desired, is smoother than before, due to the extra gear, and utilizes the 268 HP engine about as well as an automatic transmission can. The added gear also provides a 12% improvement in gas mileage. However, no matter how nicely engeneered an automatic transmission is, it can never quite offer the performance of a stick shift. If you know how to use one, the 6-speed manual transmission offers the greatest degree of power and control the engine can provide, and is quite a bit more fun than the automatic.

The steering is a slightly improved rack-and-pinion system, which offers slightly more handling than the earlier editions of the car. All in all, the C350 really does handle well, although its shifting, when in manual mode, feels somewhat sluggish. The steering is tight, though, and especially when moving fast, the car handles quite nicely.

The C350 Sport follows basically the same exterior design as its predecessor, and offers many of the same features. Four wheel antilock disk breaks are standard, and all in all the car is quite safe. The inside appearance is basically the same. Although the car is improved over previous editions, it does not seek to completely redefine itself, retaining many of its good qualities.

A luxury version of the car is also available, with similar features and flashier appointments. The improved appearance and shiny grill add up to make the improved edition sell for a seemingly unnecessary additional $10,000.

One would expect that the C350, having improved so much, would be more expensive than previous models, but surprisingly this is not the case. Although the car won't go on the market until sometime this fall, and Mercedes has not officially released what the price will be, estimates fall between $38,000 and $40,000, almost exactly the same price as last year's model. All in all, the 2008 edition of the C350 sport shows a marked improvement over the 2007. It looks like Mercedes may finally have caught up to BMW.

Sources:
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/FirstDrives/articleId=104715
http://www.caranddriver.com/previews/12639/first-drive-2008-mercedes-benz-c350-sport.html