By David Colman

For: Epic Redesign, New Sporting Tack for MB
Against: Steering Wheel Obscures Speedo, Imprecise Throttle Tip-In From Standing Start

Historically, Mercedes products have enjoyed genetic markers that distinguish the brand. Bank vault construction, sumptuous seats and Baroque trim flourishes are descriptors that come to mind. Even blindfolded, you could climb into any Mercedes and tell that you weren’t in a BMW or a Lexus. But along with the Mercedes positives tagged a number of negatives, like weightiness, complexity, and dulled reflexes that drove potential customers into competitors’ showrooms. Mercedes has answered many of those issues by redesigning their C Class Coupe for 2012.

From the outside, the new Coupe is distinguished by the deftness of its visual language. Mercedes stylists have concocted a benchmark treat, with swooping roofline and crisp flank creases emphasizing the car’s low 55.8 inch height. There’s a delicacy inherent in the new coupe’s design that has been absent from Mercedes products since the SL 230 debuted nearly half a century ago. The lighter touch is also evident once you slip inside the cabin. The standard front sports seats are less monumental than before, more cosseting than ever. Though reduced in visual mass, the driver’s seat offers 10-way power adjustment, 4 modes of lumbar support, and 3 memory settings (for seat, mirror and steering wheel position).

In keeping with the airiness of the Coupe’s redesign, the standard Panorama Sunroof adds immeasurably to the livability of the interior. It stretches from the windshield header nearly to the rear window frame. The front portion slides back or tilts open, while the rear part remains fixed. From the outside, the black glass expanse adds dynamic interest to the lines of the Coupe by visually diminishing height. From the inside, the Panorama Sunroof is a breezeless delight when open, a welcome window when closed.

Although you may select a number of engine options for the Coupe, from a 201hp inline-4 to a 481hp V8, the 302hp V-6 in our test car provides a perfect compromise between decent urge and good fuel economy (19 MPG City/28 MPG Highway). One reason for the immediate snap of the V-6 is the standard 7-speed Driver Adaptive Automatic Transmission, which keeps the relatively small displacement 3.5 liter engine in the sweet spot of its power range at all times. You can rely on the gearbox to kick down to a lower gear without hesitation when you need passing power. But I enjoyed selecting the manual setting from the floor mounted lever, and assuming shift duties via the paddle-equipped steering wheel.

Be sure to purchase the optional “315 Advanced Agility Package” which consists of 18 inch twin-spoke AMG alloy wheels shod with Continental’s latest SportContact 3 tires (225/35R18 front, 255/35R18 rear), shift paddles on the steering wheel (left side for upshifts, right side for downshifts), and heightened feedback steering that Mercedes calls “Parameter Steering.” This 315 Package is a stellar deal at $1,400, converting the Coupe into a real driver’s machine.

Your first clue about the Coupe’s morphed personality comes when you settle behind its redesigned steering wheel. It now sports a flat bottom, and sculpted, perforated leather grips at 9 and 12 o’clock. These grips are severely indented like the fluted handholds invented 30 years ago by Emerson Fittipaldi for his line of aftermarket “Fitti” steering wheels. Finding this ergonomic brilliance on a production Mercedes comes as something of a shock, but indicates that this company is no longer willing to settle for stodgy in a world of super sporty competitors.

2012 Mercedes-Benz C350

• Engine: 3.5 liter DOHC, 24-Valve V-6
• Horsepower: 302hp
• Torque: 273 lb.-ft.
• Fuel Consumption: 19 MPG City/28 MPG Highway
• Price as Tested: $50,835
• Star Rating: 9 out of 10 Stars

The Carreview Window Sticker

Specs: $67k price, 302 HP, 19/26 Mileage and 0-60 in 5.5 seconds

Pros:

• The best SLK styling in years
• Slingshot Acceleration and excellent handling
• Custom Tailoring
• Slick Roof with on-the-fly adjustable tint
• A roadster that appeals to many of the buyer’s instincts

Cons:

• Lack of Storage
• No Manual Tranny
• Steep price of $67k

The SLK is the closest thing Mercedes makes to a sports car. It is small, nimble and fast, seats only two, and functions as a convertible or a closed coupe. The SLK is a stunning piece of design. You can learn more about a car’s true mettle if you wash and dry its metal. In the process of cleaning the SLK for a photo shoot, I marveled at the complexity of its shape. This roadster has more flutes than a champagne glass. In fact, you can hardly find a single flat plane on the entire body. The bodywork looks muscular and buffed, with short overhangs fore and aft, and bulging fenders to accommodate the beefy tires and AMG alloys. 7.5 inch front rims carry 225/40ZR18 Pirelli P Zero rubber, with 8.5 inch back rims equipped with 245/35ZR18 Pirellis. The simple AMG 5-spoke rims are part of a $2,500 Sport Package that includes appealing “Sport Body Styling” plus haunting interior illumination in “SOLAR red.”

What prevents the SLK from full sports car status is lack of manual transmission availability. Like so many other manufacturers, Mercedes sees no point in Federalizing a separate (manual) gearbox for a customer take rate of 5 or 10 percent. Still, those are the very customers who will buy an Audi TTS or Porsche 911 expressly because those companies offer them the choice to shift gears by depressing a cutch pedal. Not that the SLK’s 7-speed automatic is a bad piece of engineering. To the contrary, it offers the driver Efficiency, Sport and Manual modes, while providing small steering wheel-mounted paddles to control up and down changes. Even so, the SLK is less driver-involving than it could be with a slick stick shift.

Video by Driverseat.tv

Click here to view the embedded video.

Packaging is tight in this baby Benz, Pretty much anything you carry on an outing will need to store in the compact trunk because there’s almost no ancillary storage in the cockpit, save two small door pockets, a lockable cubby between the seats, and the glovebox. There is absolutely no storage behind the seats. If you chose to retract the nifty folding hardtop, available trunk space becomes even more circumscribed. Use of the folding hardtop restricts you to a small central bin in the trunk, fitted with a latchable lid. Weekend outings for 2 will require backpack-size take-alongs.

Mercedes-Benz is celebrating its 125 year anniversary this year, which not coincidentally also happens to be the 125th anniversary of the automobile. It was 1886 when Carl Benz filed a patent application for his three-wheeled motor car and the rest, as they say, is history.

The 2011 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance is helping to continue the celebration, showcasing a significant number of Mercedes-Benz collector cars and featuring the auction of multiple rare Mercedes-Benz vehicles, including a 1959 190 SL Roadster owned by singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow, with proceeds of the sale to benefit the Joplin Schools Recovery Fund.

The Mercedes-Benz Star Lounge on the 3rd Fairway leading to the Lodge at Pebble Beach is also celebrating the 125th anniversary milestone, featuring rare and classic vehicles that span the long history of the company. Mercedes’ ongoing investment in future innovation is also highlighted, with the 2012 SLS AMG Roadster and the Concept A-Class on display.

Pros:

• Efficient fuel sipper averaged over 34 actual mpg over the course of a week, with a boasted total range of about 600 miles per tank of diesel
• A great highway cruiser with a quiet and smooth ride. It’s serene cabin made for peaceful and pleasant road trips.
• 400 lb-ft of torque made virtually any maneuver seem easy for this relatively small 210 hp 3.0 liter turbo diesel V6

Cons:

• Hint of a 1978 Mercedes 240D diesel rasp at startup
• Somewhat flat seating surfaces
• More complicated SAT NAV unit that requires a semester at DeVry before becoming fluent with the system
• Only 210 HP for a car of BBW proportions

The Evolution of the Diesel Car Has Come a Long Way
I remember as a young kid seeing and hearing those early diesel cars rattling down the road, usually closely followed by a plume of dark, smelly smoke. Diesel super duty trucks notwithstanding, the appeal for diesel cars remained slim for years. Not until recently has the clean diesel concept begun to take off. We’re now seeing even race cars like the Audi R18 TDI performing at extremely high levels in rigorous conditions. As a result, it only seems logical that the evolution of diesel performance trickles down to normal every day driving cars.

The true benefit of the new Mercedes E350 BlueTEC lies in both the pure efficiency of the car as well as the huge amount of very user friendly torque, which makes the vehicle very responsive in virtually any situation. In addition, Mercedes uses a special solution called AdBlue that is added to the exhaust gases which basically neutralizes the emissions to just nitrogen and water vapor. Not only is this car clean, it still provides enough get up and go to stimulate most luxury car aficionados.

The starting base price for the E350 BlueTEC is $50,900, but our test car also came equipped with the $6,450 Premium Package 2, the $115 115V AC power outlet, and the no charge option Sport Package.

Driving Impressions

“You’re going to love this one…” he smiled.
These were the first words out of the delivery driver’s mouth when I met him outside my home. Coming from a number of Audi cars in the past, I told myself that I would not get too wrapped up in the mystique of an E Class Mercedes. It’s just another car, I told myself. Plus, it’s a diesel. How much nicer could it be?

The following days of driving the E350 were telling. I like the convenience of proximity keys. My first experience was with a Lexus, and this one was no less convenient. The fob itself provided all the access necessary just in case, but the beauty of the proximity concept is the pure convenience of just walking up to the car, lifting the door handle and opening the door. Upon exiting, a simple light touch of a button on the handle locks the door.

Once in, your foot steps on the brake and you push the start button. An ever so faint diesel rattling sound emits from the engine bay, bringing me back to the late 70’s diesel car sounds. But once you get going, that faint rattle turns into a more normal, albeit quiet engine sound.

This car was equipped with Mercedes’ smooth seven speed transmission. The gears are set up to be responsive in around town traffic, with minimal shifting from gear to gear to find the right gear, and for fuel economizing low RPM traveling at highway speeds. Cruising at 70mph kept the engine speed down close to only about 2,000 RPM. That translated to a fuel sipping and quiet ride in virtually any condition. The car also came with slick black anodized paddle shifters on the steering wheel to allow for manual shifting whenever the mood required. I routinely found myself rowing down through the gears when slowing down especially. Rapid acceleration was equally as smooth, either letting the transmission shift on its own, or by manually clicking through all seven gears.

Pros:

• Awesome list of luxury amenities like the massaging driver seat
• Silky smooth and powerful twin-turbo V8
• Advanced safety features that are perfect for long trips

Cons:

• Unique, busy styling
• Restricted head room and trunk space
• 7-speed transmission

Click here to view the embedded video.

I took the 2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS550 from the San Francisco Bay Area down to LA with the wife and toddler in tow a couple weekends ago, and found it to be one of the best four-door coupes I’ve ever driven. The myriad safety features made the 6-hour trip (with an occasional screaming toddler) all that more reassuring, and the luxury features like the massaging driver’s seat made the trip almost enjoyable.

The underlying mechanics are from the E-class sedan and the CLS550 sports the new MB 4.7-liter, direct-injection twin-turbo V8. It’s fantastic… but more on that later. The higher-end CLS63 features a 5.5L biturbo V8 that produces 518 horsepower but will set you back almost 20 Gs more.

Driving Impressions

The new Blue Efficiency 4.7-liter twin-turbo V8 produces 402 horsepower @5,000-5,750 RPM and 443 lb.-ft. of torque @1,800-4,750 RPM, and Mercedes-Benz claims 0-60 in 5.1 seconds. The CLS550 was quick off the line and had a smooth power delivery all the way up through 7 gears in freeway driving. Adaptive logic monitors adjust the shift points to match your driving style. Those who prefer a more direct approach can manually select higher shift points or use the paddle shifters for even more control.

For such a large and heavy car (4,200 pounds), it feels light on its feet in local driving and very confident at highway speeds. The ride is superb thanks to the air suspension and active damping, which adjusts each wheel’s suspension settings continuously in response to ride height and road conditions. The CLS550 was super comfortable on the 5 all the way down to LA and back, with the wife and baby lulling to sleep in the backseat at the same time.

In addition to the comfortable ride, the combination of safety features and luxury appointments in the CLS550 seemed destined for long road trips. The tester featured the Driver Assistance package which includes a radar-equipped cruise control that automatically detects cars in front of you and slows down, active blind spot assist and lane departure warning. All of these came in handy on the monotonous freeway drive through the half-parched fields of California’s San Joaquin Valley. The tester also came equipped with a driver drowsiness warning system, which sounded an alarm a few times during the drive, but I was not dozing off. The technology must be more advanced than I can figure out.

By Gary Chan

Pros:

• Turbine smooth engine
• Quiet cabin
• Clean center stack
• Seats that do everything

Cons:

• High price
• Gear change stumble between 1st and 2^nd
• Annoying squeak in driver’s door

Say you’re a C-level executive at a major company and you wanted to spend around $125,000 for a new luxury car, what would you buy? What features or qualities would you want? V8 – check. All-wheel drive – check. High tech features throughout – check. There are less expensive cars to choose from, but the Mercedes-Benz CL550 4Matic Coupe fits the bill on the spec sheet. However, is the CL550 fulfilling from the driver’s seat?

At this price point, we have high expectations for the driving experience and this Mercedes did not disappoint. Handling is great for this large luxury coupe, and it remains planted and flat in the turns. The Direct-Steer rack-and-pinion steering graces the CL with perfect feedback and weight from the driver’s seat with Sport mode engaged, and the Adaptive Damping suspension nicely balances ride comfort and handling poise.

Mercedes extended “adaptive” technology to its Drive-Dynamic front seats, with side bladders that inflate/deflate automatically while cornering. Unfortunately, the system has a hard time keeping up with the car, especially when tackling a series of turns in rapid succession. Luckily, this feature can be turned off, allowing the driver and front seat passenger to better enjoy the massage function, which actually does work well.

Pop the hood of the CL550, and you’ll find an all-new 4.6-liter, direct-injection twin-turbo V-8. Rev the 429-hp engine while parked, and you’ll see the whole car rock back and forth, reminiscent of a muscle car from the 60’s. Being a luxury car, the exhaust sound is unfortunately muted, hiding its 429 horsepower and 516 lb-ft torque.

(Continued on page 2)

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teens in the U.S. In fact, teens aged 16-19 are four times more likely to crash than adults”. The Mercedes-Benz Driving Academy approach to this will prepare students by going beyond basic car control skills and traffic rules by using a unique combination of interactive classroom sessions, online learning and behind-the-wheel training in the Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) framework, that will be specifically tailored to the U.S.

Mercedes-Benz launched their Driving Academy in the U.K. in 2009 and results have been very positive with 4,500 attendees and a 79% first time pass rate, which is about double the U.K. national average of 43%. Mercedes-Benz will integrate curriculum and methods of the U.K. school with U.S. DMV standards and requirements to make them the first auto manufacturer to offer a complete, state-certified driving school in the U.S.

More information about the Mercedes-Benz Driving Academy such as the location and cost will be announced in April.

Similar to the C63 AMG sedan, the C63 AMG coupe features a 6.2-liter, V8, 451-horsepower engine, 443 lb-feet of torque, a 7-speed MCT (Multi-Clutch Transmission) with Controlled Efficiency mode, a 0-60 time of 4.4 seconds, and a limited top speed of 155 mph. An optional AMG Development Package brings the AMG coupe up to 481-horsepower, a 0-60 time of 4.3 seconds and a controlled top speed of 174 mph.

The new coupe variant benefits from all the technology updates that have been adopted on the C63 AMG sedan models. Fuel economy is improved with the AMG SPEEDSHIFT MCT (multi-clutch transmission) 7-speed sports transmission with “Controlled Efficiency” mode as standard and a new power steering pump.

Inside, the C63 Coupe gets the same new dash, steering wheel, and seats as the sedan version. The new dash uses a more horizontal design stretching across the car and integrates the navigation screen for a more cohesive appearance. The center panels of the new seats are covered in a synthetic suede-like material Mercedes refers to as DINAMICA.The bolsters are covered in M-B Tex for easier entry and exit, plus better wear resistance. The steering wheel is taken straight from the CLS63 and features flat sections on both the top and bottom.

The new C63 AMG coupe will also include 18-inch AMG light-alloy wheels with 235/40 R18 front tires and 255/35 R18 rear tires, AMG sports exhaust system, AMG high-performance braking system, leather upholstery, a sports steering wheel, aluminum trim, carbon fiber trunk lid spoiler, Mercedes COMAND system with an integrated TFT screen and 3D display, adaptive highbeam assist, attention assist, parktronic parking assistance, lane-keeping assist, and blind spot assist.

The 2012 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG coupe will hit North American showrooms in September.

Likes:

• Zero emissions
• Fuel cell technology suitable for larger vehicles
• Does not require any special service intervals or parts

Dislikes:

• Loud electrical hum from motors
• Cost of fuel-cell cars higher than hybrid cars
• Range limited not by size of hydrogen tank, but tied to location of H₂ fueling station

As part of the ceremony to mark the 125th birthday of the invention of the motor car, Mercedes-Benz is promoting their B-Class F-CELL car with a drive across the world as means of promoting the benefits and advantages of fuel-cell technology. Three production (not concept) B-Class F-CELL cars are crossing the globe to prove that fuel-cell cars can be a good alternative to relieving our dependence upon fossil fuels and operate like any other car on the road today. I was fortunate to drive one of the B-Class F-CELL cars when the caravan stopped in San Francisco for fresh Dungeness crab and warm sourdough bread at Fisherman’s Wharf.

Setting out from Stuttgart on January 30, three Mercedes-Benz B-Class vehicles featuring zero-emission fuel cell drives are undertaking a 125-day circumnavigation of the world. Traveling across four continents and through 14 countries, the three B-Class F-CELL vehicles will head around the globe once, finishing their “world tour” back in Stuttgart where they started. With the F-CELL World Drive, Mercedes-Benz is aiming to confirm the technical maturity of fuel cell technology, as well as the suitability for everyday use of the vehicles. So far the F-CELL World Drive has already driven more than 3600 km (2200 miles) on the roads of Europe.

While the World Drive team was slurping their clam chowder from sourdough bowls, I snatched the key to one of the F-CELL cars and pulled one of the engineers away from her steaming bowl of soup. After a quick familiarization and a crash course in fuel cell technology by Dr. Christian Mohrdieck, Director of Fuel Cell Battery Development, I was given free rein to hum along on the inner streets of San Francisco and surrounding freeways. With a range of approximately 250 miles on 8.8 pounds (4 kilograms) of hydrogen fuel, I barely got the fuel gauge needle to move after my brief 15 mile journey in and around the city.

How different is driving a car fueled by hydrogen compared to a fossil-fuel burning, air polluting, personal all-about-me carriage? Not much, except finding a hydrogen fueling station is harder than getting Barry Bonds to admit he knowingly took steroids. The B-Class F-CELL drives like a car with fuel efficiency as its primary goal – slow and very modest.  Powered by an electric motor with 136 horsepower and 215 lb-ft of torque, the new B-Class F-CELL provides driving performance comparable to a similar conventional car and has a top speed of over 100 mph. Zero to 60 took an excruciating 11 seconds and a very long freeway on-ramp. While the B-Class F-CELL electric motor does have to work really hard to initiate quick off-the-line launches and passing maneuvers, uphill performance is no worse than a Prius.

Inside the cabin four passengers can sit comfortably and are surrounded by a no-frills interior with cloth seats. Americans associate high luxury standards with Mercedes vehicles, but the B-Class has very little to meet those expectations. Interior trim is basic and a lot of the plastic pieces that comprise the dashboard are hard to the touch. Instrumentation is adapted to fuel cell specific requirements. The control system COMAND APS is supplemented with an energy flow diagram of the propulsion system which also keeps the driver informed about current fuel consumption. The integrated navigation system easily guides you to the next hydrogen fueling station – even if it is 10 zip codes away.

Next year, Daimler will build 200 B-Class F-CELL cars and distribute them in Europe and California. Interested parties that want cleaner air quality and a clean environmental conscience can lease F-CELL cars from Mercedes-Benz. It also helps if you live in area where there are public hydrogen fueling stations. I counted only fourteen hydrogen fueling stations in North America with public access and six of those are located in southern California. And that explains why 70 B-Class F-CELL cars will find their way to SoCal in 2012.

2011 Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-CELL Specs

• MOTOR: high capacity electric motor
• PEAK POWER: 136 HP (100 Kilowatts)
• NET POWER: 95 HP (70 Kilowatts)
• TORQUE: 215 lb-ft (290 Nm)
• TRANSMISSION: CVT
• FUEL CONSUMPTION: (0.97 kg H₂ /100 km)
• RANGE: approximately 250 miles (400 km)

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Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-CELL Photo Gallery	2011 Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-CELL Specs
Official website for Mercedes-Benz cars, hybrids, and SUVs – www.mbusa.com

]]> http://reviews.carreview.com/2011-mercedes-b-class-f-cell-first-impressions-review/feed 3 http://reviews.carreview.com/new-2012-mercedes-benz-c-class-coupe http://reviews.carreview.com/new-2012-mercedes-benz-c-class-coupe#comments Thu, 17 Feb 2011 16:36:24 +0000 mercedes benz c class 2012 geneva motor show c250 c350 mercedes benz c class 2012 geneva motor show c250 c350 http://reviews.carreview.com/?p=20298 Announced ahead of the Geneva Motor Show launch and due to leaked images earlier this year, Mercedes-Benz has officially announced the new 2012 C-Class Coupe with the C250 and C350 models, that will compete with the Audi A5 and BMW 3-Series Coupe. The C250 features a 1.8-liter four-cylinder, 201-horsepower engine, a 7-speed automatic transmission, a 0-60 acceleration time of 7.1 seconds, an aluminum trim, and an estimated EPA combined city/highway fuel economy of 24 mpg.

The C350 features a 3.5-liter V6, 302-horsepower engine, a 7-speed automatic transmission, a 0-60 acceleration time of 5.8 seconds, standard burl walnut or optional ash olive matte trims, and an estimated EPA combined city/highway fuel economy of 22 mpg.

The C-Class Coupe will also feature a 5.8-inch display, three-spoke flat-bottomed sport steering wheel and paddle shifters, Sirius weather, Google maps, Bluetooth audio, a USB interface, and L-shaped headlamps.

The 2012 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe will arrive in U.S. showrooms in September 2011.