New Fast(ish) Saloon - C300?

EvilRob · 15 Nov 2018 at 08:20

My Mondeo 2.5T is nearly 12 years old now and thinking about replacement now it's lasted a couple of years post engine rebuild.

I want another relatively quick saloon, and I've been looking about and trying a few but really like the C Class. I had a C200d as a rental for a few days recently and got on very well with it, although diesel is still not for me. I'd lean towards comfort vs sportiness overall, and didn't get on as well with the 3 series.

On drivethedeal it looks like I can get a C300 AMG Line Premium Plus with colour spec, airmatic suspension and privacy glass for £35861 - list price £46000. This seems like a pretty good deal to me.

I would rather be in something like a C43 but similar spec comes out at £49600, list £59700 and so it's tough to justify the £14k price difference. The C300 still has 241bhp so should feel quite a bit faster than my old 2.5T, especially with the autobox.

Looking for opinions - how do people rate the C300 in its class? Am I missing anything - I've not driven an A4, for example.

grudas · 15 Nov 2018 at 08:29

440i?

snips86x · 15 Nov 2018 at 08:30

thewanted · 15 Nov 2018 at 08:31

At least test drive the 252PS A4 before signing on the dotted line for the C300. I really didn't like the interior of the C Class compared to the A4, and Audi have made a lot of improvements to their ordinarily rock hard suspension setup.

EvilRob · 15 Nov 2018 at 08:43

snips86x said:
RS5

I'd love an RS5 but £65k list vs £46k. I imagine the discounts won't be as big either so probably cost at least £25k more. Let's try and keep the budget to (preferably well under) £40k

I will try the A4. 440i Gran Coupe is a good shout and possibly in range, I'm not a huge fan of BMWs but a 3.0 v6 possibly makes up for that. Need to try and price an equivalent spec.

EvilRob · 15 Nov 2018 at 08:45

No Android Auto option in BMWs is a real annoyance.

snips86x · 15 Nov 2018 at 08:52

EvilRob said:
I'd love an RS5 but £65k list vs £46k. I imagine the discounts won't be as big either so probably cost at least £25k more. Let's try and keep the budget to (preferably well under) £40k

I will try the A4. 440i Gran Coupe is a good shout and possibly in range, I'm not a huge fan of BMWs but a 3.0 v6 possibly makes up for that. Need to try and price an equivalent spec.

Fair point on the RS5

I miss my 2.5T

Martynt74 · 15 Nov 2018 at 09:08

Not saloon particularly but Mustang?

Resale values are holding up so actual cost of ownership should be decent.

Cristian · 15 Nov 2018 at 10:09

EvilRob said:
I'd love an RS5 but £65k list vs £46k. I imagine the discounts won't be as big either so probably cost at least £25k more. Let's try and keep the budget to (preferably well under) £40k

I will try the A4. 440i Gran Coupe is a good shout and possibly in range, I'm not a huge fan of BMWs but a 3.0 v6 possibly makes up for that. Need to try and price an equivalent spec.

You should be able to get some crazy deals on a 340i now that the new one is announced and soon coming. The engine and auto work really well together, certainly worth a test drive.
BMW doesn't make any v6 engines, both petrol and diesels are inline 6.

Dav4 · 15 Nov 2018 at 11:34

How much you selling your Mondeo for?

IAmATeaf · 15 Nov 2018 at 14:12

When I was looking to replace my car, not new though so things may have changed I looked at the C300 and 350 but for me the 335i came out on top which is what I ended up getting.

blueboy2001 · 15 Nov 2018 at 15:31

I have a 67 plate C350e Sport saloon. Essentially the same petrol engine as the C300 with a lower output but with the hybrid system bolted on. I had a Mondeo EcoBoost Titanium X Sport before this.

Firstly, consider Airmatic very carefully. It's standard on the C350e, but I really don't like it. There is far too much vertical travel in the suspension above 50MPH - it doesn't firm up anywhere like enough at speed so it floats along the motorway like a boat. There is no progression like you get with a sprung set up, so when you select Sport mode it fixes the floating sensation but then it crashes over every little ridge and rut in the road despite being fine over larger bumps. The biggest issue with it though is that it somehow seems to rob the car of all of the steering feel - I think the lack of a proper mechanical connection between the strut tops and the bottom arms means you have no idea what the front wheels are doing.

I just get no enjoyment whatsoever driving it fast on a twisty road to the extent I don't bother any more. I've driven my mates tin sprung C220d AMG Line and that is a lot better, but the Mondeo was a better steer still despite being FWD and heavier.

The straight line performance and instant torque from the electric motor is fantastic, and it cruises on the motorway nicely if the surface is smooth but the Airmatic ruins it for me.

I'd like to try a facelift C300 Estate, but I'll probably go for a 5 series next time.

adam cool dude · 15 Nov 2018 at 16:20

New Volvo S80? T8 Hybrid or T5 petrol.

LiE · 15 Nov 2018 at 18:41

I think you’d find the 252ps A4 a really compelling package. I love mine.

batfink · 15 Nov 2018 at 20:13

LiE said:
I think you’d find the 252ps A4 a really compelling package. I love mine.

Unbelievably difficult to source though - even a demonstrator for a test drive (especially in Avant form). When I was looking, dealers just looked at me like I was an idiot because I didn't want a 2.0Tdi.

Ended up in a Merc C43 mainly because of the 'big 3' local dealers (Merc, Audi and BMW), Mercedes were the only ones to offer me a test drive of anything and actually spent 3-4hrs with me looking at different models. Audi and BMW dealers just weren't interested (I wanted either a 252ps A4 or a 340i) and didn't seem to want my money.

Nasher · 15 Nov 2018 at 20:45

Theres a few of them on Autotrader

EvilRob · 15 Nov 2018 at 20:47

Lots of food for thought, many thanks all. I'll probably ditch the idea of air suspension and give the 252ps a4 a go. I do like the audi cockpit.

@Dav4 not sure yet

it's just nudged past 100k, mechanically in very good condition since the engine rebuild but got some scuffed paint and alloys. Haven't checked out prices yet but if I got £3k for it I'd probably be quite happy. Hoping that's possible given the rebuild.

Jonnycoupe · 15 Nov 2018 at 21:59

Any of the Jaguar saloons pull at you? Sport 300 XE is pretty quick car.

grudas · 15 Nov 2018 at 22:13

An odd one and often forgotten.. Alfa romeo gulia veloce ? 280bhp, under 6s to 60..

LiE · 15 Nov 2018 at 22:42

batfink said:
Unbelievably difficult to source though - even a demonstrator for a test drive (especially in Avant form). When I was looking, dealers just looked at me like I was an idiot because I didn't want a 2.0Tdi.

Ended up in a Merc C43 mainly because of the 'big 3' local dealers (Merc, Audi and BMW), Mercedes were the only ones to offer me a test drive of anything and actually spent 3-4hrs with me looking at different models. Audi and BMW dealers just weren't interested (I wanted either a 252ps A4 or a 340i) and didn't seem to want my money.

I got lucky that MK Audi had a 8 month old ex-press car that I managed to get. It was an Avant though, which I wanted.

The BMW 3 series I test drove of the same age didn’t impress me from the inside. The 335d xdrive was plenty fast enough though.