in all honesty… im not a big fan of the interior or rear of the car at all… the back reminds me of a camary… the interior is so bland and plain that i forgot i was driving a benz other than the star on the steering wheel
the inside feels so distant for the driver, yet not enough room for a big guy my size. the controls feel and look like something youd get in a mid size chevy or dodge, and infact if you asked me which interior was made during the chrysler/benz days, id say the 08. thats my biggest gripe about it
as for power, the 3.0 litre in it is a monster, it accelerates with a smooth band of power that, before you know it, youve already exceeded the speed limit. its not a throw you back in your seat power, but very smooth and constant. almost makes me feel like i needed to keep winding it out.
the 7spd transmission shifts smoothly and when you take it on the highway, is when you really notice having the extra gear when you need to pass.
handling and brakes are great. im not sure if the one i got was a sport package or not, but it handles fairly well. the brakes are smooth and powerful, and i would have no worries of running out of pad if i needed to.
id give the car an 7.5-8 outa 10 because of the interior mainly. as for everything else, its a smooth, solid car that will get you where you want to be comfortably and quickly depending on how much you want to keep the pedal down.
its actually not a beat up loaner… its brand new… i wrote up what i thought on page one near the bottom…
all in all, id stick with my w203, just because of the interior. other than that, the 204’s drive great. im not too big on the exterior styling once you get past the front doors, and to me if im going to spend the money and buy a benz, i want it to be unique like one.
ive only had the car for a day, and have been out beating on it very mininmally due to my surgery, but when i did, it took it.
the one thing that gets me is, the new 08 is a bigger car, yet i feel like i have more room in the inside for the driver in my 06
fyi, when i had my 02 jaguar. I took it in for A free oil change/ service and they gave me a brand new s-type for a rental for the day…even though i was 19…it was illegal (you have to be 25 in NY to rent a car) but they still hooked me up
i liked the way a 93 ls400 lexus drove, waayyyyyy better then the 2001 e-class. smoother acceleration, quiter, oh and the lexus actually had automatic lights(so much for luxury on the benz). Benz’s in car electronics were SHIT. all the LED displays began to malfunction in less then 2 years. The hand-free phone/stereo combo didn’t understand shit.
You do not have to be 25 to rent a car in NYS, only 18… Did it multiple times, dealers gives you a 24 hour test drive, blah blah blah… Even go to any rental agencies website, they say they may charge you X amount more because you are under 25, but you can drive it legally.
Ontopic: The new C350 is nice, but I have no idea, they just seem boring to drive. C63 should be fun, working on getting a test drive, but they are just meh.
