That will only make the choice harder... still if you find out that the BMW FL is just soooo much greater you maybe will regret and that just sucks..

I'm just saying take the , Mercedes-Benz C300

Yeah i think u should do that,test both cars in the same day and with comparable equipment and transmission then decide

I just got a call from the sales rep @ BMW, and the FL 3er will be available as a late october delivery. Meaning I'd be 2 months without a car.

On top of that the lease rates will go up, so the price will be higher.

Not sure that it will be an option for me.

Two months without a car and then a facelifted 3er???

Where can I sign?

I'd take the C.
I wouldn't take the non-FL 3er, that's for sure, unless you find it 10 times better than the Merc.

Currently, the Merc is the better choice, because if you take the 3er in 2 months you'll have an old car, with an old iDrive and old ugly rear lights compared to the new one.

If you wait 2 months, then you'll be able to really choose the car you prefer. If you can't wait, the Merc is more logical in any case. On the other hand, if you don't care and find the Beemer really better, you can buy it because you're leasing and don't care for the re-sale of the car.

Great, I hit another snag... there NOT A SINGLE MB dealer in town that has a manual C-class for test drive! All are on order.

Yep, that's a Mercedes problem. Nearly every car for testdrive is with automatic transmission.
Nevertheless, I have to say, that Mercedes manual transmission got a big improve the last years. The 6 speed manual of our E 280 CDI is smooth and very good to handle. Especially with a petrol engine, it shouldn't be bad!

Updates

• Got my isurance quotes and the C is cheaper then the 3er by a significant marging
• I've made up my mind that if I would get the 3er, it would have to be a facelift (unless it's but ugly of course)

So at this point you'd think I'd go for the Benz hands down, but...


Test Drive Results

• C300 Auto
• C350 Sports/Auto
• 328i Sports/Manual

Drove the C350 since the C300 didn't have the sports package (bigger brakes, suspension).

The point of the test drive was driving dynamics and driving pleasure. Both series/classes are amazing cars, but the old MB vs. BMW philosophy is hugely still apparent... meaning MB is more pro-luxugy and BMW is more pro-sport.

Again, there is not that much seperating the C and the 3er in terms of dynamics, but the C remains a relatively tamed car, where the 3er is more of a brute, more raw.

Furthermore, the performance difference between the 328i and the C300 (manual & auto mode) was more pronounced once I drove them (almost) back-to-back. It even felt that the 328i was closer to the C350 in term of power grunt... which makes sense because I checkd the 350's 0-100 times (6.4 s) and they are closer to the 328i (6.7s) then the C300 (7.2s).

Funny thing is that if I wanted to buy my next car with an automatic tranny... I would not hesitate to get the C. MB's 7spd auto is trully amazing. The best auto tranny I've ever driven... too bad I'm a manual tranny guy


Current Status

I wait... my lease ends only in early Sept.

I'm going to wait for the E90 FL pics to surface and/or to see if any of them makes me a deal that I can't refuse.

^good call..if you really are going for the 3er..its wise to wait for the FL..
but dont expect to get a great deal on it..as it will be new..and they will charge in full for it..
on the other hand..you could score a pre FL one for a good price when the Fl is out..
but like you siad.. butt ugly

Siko,the C300 u tested had few thousand miles on the clock or just couple hundreds? it does really matter in performance