Tell me about the C class auto boxes

  • Thread starter Thread starter mrk
  • Start date Start date

mrk

mrk

mrk

Man of Honour
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
105,162
Location
South Coast
I had my MOT today so while I waited for the dealer to do that and kindly inform me another coil spring had cracked so needed an extra 45mins to replace I decided to make use of the free time and have some tea/digestives, post on IRC and have a test drive of a C250 CDI Sport across the road. It was the only demo C class they had so thought why not.

It's C250 CDI BlueEfficiency with 2.1litre twin turbo 202BHP and 369lb ft of torque (!). It was exactly the same as this in white with black roof:



It had the extra options like panoramic roof, nav and some laser guided key system.

I really really liked the auto box, changing up and down gears in auto mode you would never be able to tell the gears just changed unless you watched the rev counter, there is no engine noise to be heard when downchanging. In manual mode using the paddles have they employed some kind of rev syncro? I changed down from 5th to 4th and then 3rd but the car never blipped once like you do on a manual, the engine never made a higher noise as the revs increase then slowly decrease - it was smooth...too smooth.

The guy let me drive around a familiar bit of road with a long corner that is a good road to see body roll (if any) and it had nothing out of the ordinary, felt a bit like my E46 sport if I had to compare and I felt confident enough around that corner to not have to slow down considering it's the first auto of this type I've ever driven!

I also liked the foot operated handbrake engage pedal and hand operated release lever - quite good stuff.

I just wanted to know the technical side of the gearbox used as the guy knew everything else about the car bar the details such as this and their spec documents don't go into such detail (nor list torque figures either, only BHP).

I was really impressed, the car felt solid and that it was an extension of you when moving around the road briskly, the steering wheel was way too light at low speed though but it improved to what I'm used to with the E46 at higher speeds.

Most impressive was the lack of diesel noise even during foot down moments. Only during idle was there an ambience of diesel.

I now want to test drive a C350 :O
 
Last edited:
jamoor said:
Is this the first Automatic car you have driven or something?
Click to expand...

I've driven older autos before yeah but nothing modern.

And I like it.

So do the BMW auto boxes sync the revs too on downshifting manually?
 
My fathers just got a C220 Sport Blue Efficiency which is the same as the one you drove but with 170-ish bhp instead. I've been in a E46 330d auto and it sounded a bit odd going up and down searching for gears and a bit learchy. Its the first auto he has driven but finds it very smooth and enjoys it for wafting along the A roads and motorways. The engine is noticeably less noisy then the previous Alfa 159 1.9 and the Saab 59 before that & gives more power and MPG.

I believe the Merc auto's (in this generation) are generally better than other makes.

Oh and liked the dealer option where by if your car is made up especially (i.e. that exact model and spec isn't in the UK) then they will fly you over to the factory in Germany, so you can pick the car up and drive it back the next day (inc hotel, tunnel pass, food).
 
Last edited:
Duke said:
Oh and liked the dealer option where by if your car is made up especially (i.e. that exact model and spec isn't in the UK) then they will fly you over to the factory in Germany, so you can pick the car up and drive it back the next day (inc hotel, tunnel pass, food).
Click to expand...

Oh really :O That is pretty amazing that they do that heh.

Do you mean the E46 was jerky or the C220?

The C250 I drove did not jerk a single time not in auto mode or manual via the paddles. I liked the fact that you could hold a gear for as long as you liked, by dropping out of auto by downshifting on the paddle but go back into auto mode by quickly cycling to 5th gear then once more to engage auto.

I'm assuming someone will come along shortly and go "HAHA NOOB THAT'S ALSO STANDARD WTF GTFO".
 
Sorry meant the E46 was a bit jerky. The revs seem to just go up and down and not progress so much, but it is obviously an older car.

There are quite a few nice things about the Mercs:

They include a decent breakdown service for a start (inc just punctures, running out of fuel etc), and will come out and sort it, if not, they will arrange for you to have another Merc in the meantime locally so you can continue the journey. Once your car is fixed, they then ask where you'd like yours taken to - i.e. to your final destination or back home waiting for you.


More random stuff:

If a lamp bulb goes - say the left indicator, it will use another lamp on that side, e.g. left side lights / driving light instead.

Tells you if pressure is low in the tyres.

If you have the windows open at various heights and follow a smelly tractor or something, you press a button the dash and it will close all windows. Press it again after passing it and they go back down to the original positions :p

If the car detects an imminent crash, the belts tighten (they actually adjust when you first strap in which is odd feeling when not expecting it :p), windows all shut, sun roof shuts, rear brake lights flash, the head rests move forward all within a split second so the passengers are in a sort of 'impact ready' state.

Radio keeps auto tuning as you drive, so you don't have to retune the stations when going to a different region.

The underneath of the car is covered (bit like a barge board under an F1 car), which is meant to improve air efficiency.
 
Last edited:
Yup thats also a standard feature of most auto boxes :p

did you notice it also had a steering wheel which when turned, turned the car :eek: ;)
 
lol

all BMW and Merc boxes are super refined and generally match the engines well. however ive been in a Polo auto 9 years ago (new at the time) by god that was awful
 
Speaking of steering wheels...the C class sport wheel was made of win, it felt way more solid than the equivalent BMW wheels, it was not as chunky but somehow felt better and had more grip.
 
mrk said:
Speaking of steering wheels...the C class sport wheel was made of win, it felt way more solid than the equivalent BMW wheels, it was not as chunky but somehow felt better and had more grip.
Click to expand...

You sure that isnt just because its new?
 
mrk said:
Speaking of steering wheels...the C class sport wheel was made of win, it felt way more solid than the equivalent BMW wheels, it was not as chunky but somehow felt better and had more grip.
Click to expand...

well put it this way your e46 is old now even tho it still looks good now it is still essentially an 11 year old model....

a lot evolves in 11 years of technology and design.

e92 M Sport/M wheel is fat
 
[TW]Fox;15254870 said:
Sounds like he is comparing old and new gen to me. I now have a '59 320 M Sport for a week and the wheel in that is grippy and nice.
Click to expand...

Is it any better than your last loaner [the es i believe]?
 
CS||nuTs said:
You sure that isnt just because its new?
Click to expand...

k3wt said:
well put it this way your e46 is old now even tho it still looks good now it is still essentially an 11 year old model....

a lot evolves in 11 years of technology and design.

e92 M Sport/M wheel is fat
Click to expand...

I'm talking about new BMW wheels on the ones in their showroom, like the one in the 320d M Sport with BMW Performance kit they had in there today.

I was not comparing the steering wheel with my own car's, that's just silly.

Again, I did mention this in my post!

The Merc just felt more comfortable in both back and front seats than the "new" 3 series sport.

Edit*

Duke yeah, I was a bit taken aback when the seatbelt suddenly clipped into me, was wondering wtf when the guy said "oh yeah, that's the tensioners LOL"
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom