German Car Zone

BMW and Mercedes-Benz are separated by about 150 miles and a rivalry as fierce as the one between Coke and Pepsi.

BMW builds the 2007 335i Sedan in the Bavarian city of Munich, while Mercedes-Benz has just released the all-new 2008 C350 Sport from its headquarters in the Swabian city of Stuttgart. Though Mercedes has long had the upper hand in terms of both stature and commercial success in Europe, the BMW 3 Series outsells the Mercedes-Benz C-Class by more than a 2-to-1 margin in the U.S., some 120,180 to 50,187 last year.

It's a rivalry that even carries over into competition on the racetrack, where BMW and Mercedes-Benz have a long history of competition in the German Touring Car Masters (Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters or DTM), which is as close to NASCAR as you can find in Germany, and are presently locked in battle for prestige in Formula 1.

Cont....


It's Not Always About the Numbers

When a car as good as the 2008 Mercedes-Benz C350 comes along, it'd be nice to suspend the rules of engagement for awhile. The C350 falls short only because it's matched with competition as tough as the 335i.

We wholeheartedly endorse the C-Class. Rather than try to out-BMW a BMW, Mercedes-Benz has chosen to fortify its best-selling model line with a chic exterior and outstanding standard and incomparable optional equipment. Even the price makes sense when you consider a C300 with a six-speed manual transmission starts at $31,975.

But it boils down to this: The 2007 BMW 335i provides an unrivaled driving experience. Its defining feature is its twin-turbo inline-6, an engine that rewards the horsepower fiend in all of us. In addition, the 335i carves up the road with a chassis that always assures you that there's plenty of car under you no matter how fast you drive.

In contrast, the 2008 Mercedes-Benz C350 Sport rewards a driver who is less interested in absolute performance than a simple degree of driving exhilaration, and who enjoys style and infotainment technology usually reserved for more expensive models in the Mercedes portfolio.

Even as these cars have grown closer in size and performance, they still go about their business in ways that are as different as Coke and Pepsi, Munich and Stuttgart.

Comparison Test: 2007 BMW 335i vs. 2008 Mercedes C350 Sport

M

Its hard to beat the 335i. The engine is a jewel and it comes with a good price, thats hard to beat.

Two great cars... both look great... both have modest, yet luxrious interiors, both drive well and both have great engines...

to me the BMW just does each one of those a little bit better then the C class... That steering wheel is till uglky aswell... much prefer the BMW wheel

the bmw is king here due to the much superior engine..
MB cant compete here ..
but when it comes to looks..
well you be the judge..

Both have great front and crappy rear, that's my judgment!

The bimmer looks so good in those pics...
The interior is just

-And it`s an interesting one..
even though Im an MB fan I believe the Merc C-Class rear taillight design could have been more distinctive, I say the same for the BMW 3. It looks like more of an after thought than the C.

That aside Mercedes-Benz have taken great steps in the handling-characteristics of the new generation of cars. The C didn`t fail completely here... I still like it better. Im wondering will MB introduce an C500 as some rumers have suggested.

You forgot about chassis/tweaking and transmissions.

I just watched the video, nice sound coming from the 335i, did well in the slalom too. Nice to read that the 3er still is the drivers car and hopefully thats the case with the new M3 V8 compared to the competition

Not surprised at all, the 335i's been kicking ass since it's intro. I've warmed up to it's styling over the last few month's.