2009 Mercedes-Benz C-Class C350 Sport Sedan

Pros

Hot ride

Cons

Hard seats and so so gas mileage

Purchased As New

This is one hot ride....run it through the 7 forward gears manually, and it's a rocket. It corners well. the interior is typical German. Not a lot of backseat room. Love the way it handles, the power, the navi system that closes into the dash. It's a keeper.

One reviewer complained about the gas mileage and premium gas...well, it's a high performance engine and all depends on how you drive it - drive it like I do, and yeah,. it uses the gas. All luxury cars of any makes use premium gas. I have not had any mechanical issues. I saw these babies debut at the 2007 Frankfurt Auto show. Traded in a 2003 CLK 320 cab for this......read morehide

Pros

Purposeful engineering, handling, etc.

Cons

Total waste of potential on United States roads

Purchased As New

Handling is very, very good for a 4-door passenger car. The ride is very compliant on multiple surfaces. Precise and very responsive steering, excellent and predictable handling, high speed stability and the like make the C350 a fun car to drive in *** many **** conditions.

It does not have enough power to satisfy all, but with a clever and knowledgeable driver it more than suffices for what's purpose is. The engine just "feels right" from idle to its rev limit and mated to the 7-speed transmission its uber-engineering is easily evident.

Sometimes I marvel at the looks of the exterior while other times it seems so "blaaah". Mostly I like it - in the right kind of light and angle ;)

Can't say much about the interior because i got the cheapest 350 I could get: plastic interior, no navigation, no bells or any other whistles and i'm okay with that. Well, actually, I wish I had gotten the leather.

So what do I not like? A number of things. First, this car is mostly a waste of its potential on the US roads i drive. When traffic is relatively moving, it cruises at 80-85mph effortlessly and uneventfully. The steering is way too light. It does so many things so well that it is boring to drive. It is limited to 133mph (or so) and that is just when it starts to get "planted" to the road as if it truly is on rails. And that's when citations come in. And why isn't there a 6-speed manual being offered in United States? That would have been a dream come true (even though the 7-speed auto is near excellent). The only complaint about the 7-speed is that is has quite a bit of lag when manually limiting the top gear (and it really is limiting the top gear, it is not shifting gears as in a manual mode)

There are some other minor oddities that I don't like but they're not worth mentioning (for me anyways).

By The Numbers Summary - after 27,000 miles (it is a 2008 model)
* 23.4 miles per gallon in traffic raging from heavy, hot weather to light traffic and cool temps.
* no mechanical problems
* average speed an amazing 36mph (yup, long live California traffic).

Conclusion: A smart driver will understand the environment that the C350 was engineered for and will be very happy with it. I, on the other hand, think I was a little premature in buying this car as it does many things too well and needs to be driven hard to create some excitement and the feeling of being "engaged" - and by that time the traffic laws are well broken....read morehide

Pros

Great looking and driving

Cons

I haven't found any with the car - dealer we used was poor

Purchased As New

This is our 3rd new MB. We waited for it to be built the way we wanted it with the leather interior, nav/sound package, larger wheel and tire option........ loaded. It hase never been for service except for an oil change.

Pros

Beautiful car, zippy, comfortable and the 3 point star.

Cons

Awkward cruise control positioning.

Purchased As New

This is no doubt a beautiful car. It is also a great value for a Mercedes Benz of its class. Its look Appearance emulates the S class combined with AMG styling. The 3 point star is my favorite feature of the car. The only other 4 door MB sedan with the 3 point star is the more expensive CLS 4 door coupe series which in my opinion doesn't comes close to looks in relations to the C-350. While the upper crust MB's might offer more options and slightly better quality in materials, you can't go wrong with the C-350 Sport. The size, 4-door, quality and the look is just right for me. You get a lot of ?bang? for your bucks in this little Mercedes. FYI, for 2007-08 MB ranked 3rd with JD powers so it should be a reliable good automobile. In the end, this car is sure to turn heads ? and it does. I love it. The only CON I have is the odd position of the cruise control. However, I don't use cruise control and eventually I'll get used to it....read morehide

Pros

GREAT LOOKING,GOOD MILEAGE, AND IF YOU NEED THE HORSES, THEY ARE THERE

Cons

MAY NOT RETAIN IT'S VALUE, WE'LL SEE.

Purchased As New

I BOUGHT THIS CAR NEW IN ALBUQUERQUE IN OCT. AND DROVE IT BACK TO TEXAS AND GOT 27 MPG. IT HAS PLENTY OF POWER AND TURNS HEADS. WENT THROUGH A TRAFFIC JAM THE OTHER DAY AND THE POLICE OFFICER GAVE ME THE THUMBS UP. IT HAS PLENTY OF POWER AND SO FAR HAS BEEN GREAT. I GOT IT UP TO 120 MPH THE OTHER DAY ON I-10 GOING TO SAN ANTONIO AND MY WIFE THOUGHT I WAS DOING 80 MPH, PRETTY SMOOTH.

WE'LL SEE IF IT KEEPS ITS VALUE, BUT SO FAR WE LOVE IT....read morehide

Pros

Gorgeous, smooth ride, great features, solid and safe, excellent handling

Cons

Expensive to maintain, esp. if you put on a lot of mileage!

Purchased As New

My first Benz! I commute almost 80 miles daily so I wanted a car I would enjoy driving. It's got great handling and a lot of power - so much so that I've become a much more aggressive driver (probably not a good thing since I'm female AND asian) The car has a lot of features such as seat warmers, bluetooth, Ipod, navigation etc which keeps me comfortable and entertained. I feel safe in this car - that I'm not just driving a piece of plastic at 90 miles on the freeway and there is more separating me from death than a sheet of aluminum! I can feel both young AND responsible in this car!...read morehide

Pros

Fuel economy, Drive, Looks, Logic-7 stereo etc....

Cons

none

Purchased As Used

Bought the car with 1700 miles on it. The previous owner had 6 Benzes and trades them every 6 months ( must be nice! ). This is my first. Have driven it nearly 2 months. I love this car. Fuel consumption is 18 city and has reached 28.1 on the highway. At 80,it will get 24 plus. Car shuts off at 136 MPH and it probably should. Fit and finish is perfect. Driven a BMW 325I sport before this and still like the Benz the best. Seems like it started getting good mileage around 5K miles. Would certainly buy again. Mercedes Benz of Oklahoma City is a great dealership. Never treated so well at any dealership so far....read morehide

Pros

Great looks, Great Ride, Good Fuel Economy

Cons

Tight Backseat

Purchased As New

We purchased a new 2008 C350 last summer. We have put about 13K miles on her since. This is our first MB and we are very pleased with our purchase. I have an all expense paid company car but we consistently opt for the C350 for road trips due to the car's comfort and enjoyable driving experience. Don't listen to the crazies with the "poor gas mileage" remarks--they are out to lunch or still in love with their old honda civic....listen this car has nearly 300hp and an auto tranny, yet it it easily gets 24+ mpg in mixed driving which btw is about 5 mpg better than my 2009 Chevy Malibu with an "ecomonical 4cyl" and about 100 less hp!!! I highly recommend this vehicle....read morehide

Pros

Front and Side Exterior, Technology, Ride, Comfort

Cons

Rear Lights are tacky looking

Purchased As New

I purchased this car in January. Luckily in time for the tax credit Obama is giving us for new cars. This car is absolutley amazing. The only downside is the styling of the back and rear lights which I knew about when I bought the car, but I was willing to overlook it because of how great everything else was. Most people I show the car to actually like the back so maybe it is just me. A lot of reviews complain about the Navigation and I-Pod. The Navigation's only issue I see is that if I want to find for instance a Home Deport or Target etc. I cannot look up just those stores around where the car is positioned. It gives me all the Home Depots, Targets etc. in the US so that is not effective, but everything else with the Navigation works as you would expect.

With respect to the I-Pod interface, it is a really neat option which I love because the I-Pod is hidden. I like the fact that it is in the glovebox as opposed to the center console. You control the I-Pod from the steering wheel so it doesn't matter where it is and that also gives me more space in a storge area I can access while I am driving. The other complaint I see if regarding the alphabetical order in which everything appears on the screen. Essentially, the car becomes the I-Pod so you really search on the car just as you would on the I-Pod. If you are scrolling through artists, you just hold the down arrow on the steering wheel and it will scroll faster.

The gas mileage also seems to be a complaint and I was initially in that camp, but my car now has over 3,000 miles and the fuel consumption is much better. I drive about 50 miles a day, mostly on the highway and I get anywhere between 24 and 27 mpg. That is not bad.

I had a 330Ci as my last car and as I described to the dealer I purchased the car from when he asked how I liked the car thus far I told him that this does not drive like a BMW, but then again, you pay for a BMW to get the driving experience they offer and it is better, but this car is not far off from a BMW and with the fit and finish you get with this car, it blows the BMW away. Unless you are a performance maniac, this car will make you very happy. You get all the luxury of the S class in the C.

Please do yourself a favor. Before you buy this or any car, find the exact model you want and then solicit bids with multiple dealers for the purchase price and your trade if you have one. I went to the dealer initially and I was able to cut my monthly payment from $690 to $560. I used a trade allowance which also had the discount of the car included. I just kept sending the updated offer to the dealers and they kept coming back with a better offer. I was able to get about $700 less than what my car was priced as invoice on Edmunds. You will know when you start to reach the floor price of what they are willing to sell the car for because the changes in the offers will begin to get very small....read morehide

Pros

Great Fuel Economy, Looks, Ride

Cons

stock tires were horrible, less plastic please!

Purchased As New

Don't be fooled by some of these reviewers. They probably havent owned the car for more than a few weeks and they lash out on it as if they are car experts.

i have owned this car for exactly a year now. Have 27k miles on it already and i have NOT had one single problem! I dont know why most of these reviewers say the fuel economy is horrible, but i usually average 28-29 mpg (highway driving, 60-65 avg speed) The ride is great, the sound system, with an added subwoofer, sounds awesome. The dash layout is very convenient, unlike audi and bmw where there's too many buttons, that at times i feel like im in a lexus, not a german car.

However, Mercedes could have equipped the car with better tires (thats why i changed mine to dunlops). The stock continentals were horrible, didnt ride nice nor corner well. Also, merc used too much plastic in the interior layout but i guess its easier to keep clean.

All in all, I have not had a problem with this car after 27k miles (havent changed the brakes yet). If you are looking for a reliable car, dont look elsewhere. Believe me, you wont regret it....read morehide