Toni, congrats!

Btw, what version? Avantgarde? AMG Package?

Well the difference is day and night - I owned a W203 C320 CDI before the W204 and the engine didn't change for the W204 so I can't wait for this one - also exhausts on each side makes it look so much sportier than ever before.

M.Toni,
just a quick question. As you have driven the W204 Avant Garde for some time. How are you rating the stereo (APS20) sound quality? And what do you think of the seat? My impression from a test drive was that the seats were more focussed on comfort than sportiveness.

Well the sound from APS20 is low high to high end (depends of the quality of CD, mp3) but the radio stations especially in Germany and Austria sound astonishing. The bass is nice and sounds really deep and not that thumpin crap you get in Peugeots and Fiats. But if your a real audophile get the Logic7 as that is real sound. I mean APS20 gets you through all kinds of music no matter if you listen to it quiet or turn it up. It is nice but again - if you are in to sound quality - Logic7 is the only way.

Seats are very very good. My friend this is Mercedes - Benz, this seats are not meant to be sporty (even in the Avatgarde) if you want sporty seats get the AMG. But when you are driving 2 to 4 hours straight I say you will thank god you have seats like in a new C - class as your back will be pretty much relaxed. I once rode an M3 on 19 inch rims for hour and a half and thought I was going to brake apart. Seats in W204 Avantgarde are very comfortable (you even get the lumbar support switch on the side of the seat). And really how many times you go sporty driving for 3 hours straight unless you are a race fanatic - in that case AMG is the only way.

M. Toni

No I'm going to get it in grey (interior) this time around and wood instead of aluminium as I'm pretty fed up with the ALU look.Also the ALU trim is much less scratch resistant than wood in my opinion. It leaves all kinds of marks (as from finger rings, wrist watches and such) as time goes by.

I'm getting the Avantgarde, no AMG package sry.

M.Toni,
thanks for the reply.

I currently have an Audi A3 Ambition with Concert radio and sport seats, so those are the standards I'm comparing against ;-) I (and my wife even more) really want to move to a more comfortable car, so the C class is currently under investigation. I drove a C class and I liked the seats, but they missed the sporty feeling the Audi/BMW sport seats have. I will look at the AMG package tomorrow, however I think that budget wise it's a bit out of reach.

Yeah MB is pretty expensive when it comes to options but than again so is AUDI. What about the new A4?

Good question... For me It's between the BMW 3, Audi A4 and the Mercedes C, I guess this is the short list for a lot of people. I'm looking at entry level engines, so 318i, A4 1.8tfsi and the C180 Compressor.

Basically I calculated that the A4 with comparable options to the C180 would be more expensive. And, even more importantly, I don't quit feel the difference between my A3 and the new A4. I mean, the Mercedes and BMW both feel like different cars, where small details in the Mercedes make me feel that it's a very different choice.

Possibly I will open a separate thread on my "choice" tomorrow to hear some opinions from you

Yes come to the dark side of the star my friend ... he he he a little joke don't take me to serious. No really you know what is best for you, you did the test drives and you have the wife (a very important factor )

The BMW 3 series is a very nice car and a big pain in the back of the C class. But if you face the thruth the W204 is the biggest revolution in terms of design of all the three. I mean when I saw the new A4 I asked my self - this is the new A4 - I thought it was just a revisoin at frist or an A5 with four doors. Nothing to spectacular - now if you look at the W204 - everybody was expecting and speculating what will it look like months before official release and when it finally made it's appereance everybody was yaw opened (at least I know I was).

But let me give you a word of advice - I see you are aming at the gas powered version so I will ask you why not go with disel? I know it depends on where you live but to tell you the thruth the C180 Kompressor is the funeral. You will not be happy with it. If you must go with the gas one I would maybe shave some options off and get a more powerfull engine (a V6 maybe). I also did a test drive of the C200 kompressor and it was nice but it was still a 4 cylinder engine and nothing beats the sound of a V6 or even a V8 for that matter. I would go at least with the C230 (a V6 / 204 HP).

M. Toni