I'm sure you guys have heard me mention that my g/f has a C230 in some random threads so I figured I would write up a little comparison on the two. I have spent a lot of time behind the wheel of the C230 so I figure what I have noticed will help people that might be choosing between the two. Or just some other higher class compact. This is long but I think it might really help some people.
Ontop of my girlfriends car I checked out pretty much every $20,000 compact car on the market before I bought the MSP so I have a good idea of what is out there.
Price:
Ok now this is a huge difference. In the beginning the MSP retailed for 21,000 I believe. I got mine in the beginning of the year for 18,500 and apparently they can be grabbed now for 16,500.
The Mercedes C230 baseline price is 28,500 but that is bone stock. To get all the cool things that make a Mercedes a Mercedes brings the cost up to 34,000 (which my girlfriend, or rather her parents did). This gets you the cool LED screen, Bose sound system, 2 part sunroof, all the goodies.
Winner: MSP (ok yes the MSP is way cheaper but it also depends on what you want. If you want a Mercedes, BMW, you gotta pay for it)
Straight-Line Performance:
The MSP has all the power that I expected, well actually more than I expected when I bought it. Both my car loving father and I fell in love with how the MSP performs. With the new flash it is good for cruising and it has enough kick to push you back in your seat whenever you feel the urge.
The Mercedes feels very smooth when cruising along but when you want to get on the power....it's just not there. You have to try really hard to get that kick feeling like you would in the MSP. Also the Mercedes has a built in stability management system that sucks donkey balls. According to the manual and a few rep's I have talked to there is no way of turning the system off. What does the system do you ask? Well it stops wheelspin, all kinds of it. Infact it detects it before it even happens and slows you down.....yes it slows you down. I may sound a little overly critical but it just annoys me. There is no such thing as a good launch, and you have to fight the car to make it accelerate all out. If the MSP is a ~7sec 0-60 the C230 is ~8sec.
Winner: MSP
Handling: (I tested this on the same turns in my area)
We all know that the MSP is known for it's handling. Very good, smooth, almost no body roll. When I zip around in my MSP I really feel confident in the car. I feel safe and am not afraid of the car going out of control. One of the best ahndling cars I have ever driven (i have driven a lot).
The Mercedes feels good and strong, until you begin to push the car. Body roll is more prevalent and comes at an earlier speed. This car does not make me feel confident. I was scared to push the car as fast as I did the MSP because I could feel it sliding out. The MSP took the corners a lot faster than the Mercedes and felt stronger and safer while doing it.
Winner: MSP
Interior:
The MSP has a very nice interior. It is a small car but still seems to feel large on the inside. Mostly from the lack of overall clutter. My previous car was a 1990 Thunderbird and it had less head and leg room that the MSP....and the MSP is a lot smaller. Oh yeah
. The enterior looks and feels better than other cars in it's class.
The Mercedes shows the main reason for owning a Mercedes, very nice. All the materials seem to be high quality and everything in the car flows very nicely. If you have seen any Mercedes you know what I am talking about, just a level above the rest. What I didn't like though is the front console. I like clean cars with little clutter and the front dash on the C230 is huge and seems to cover the entire car. Not literally of course but it tends to wrap around you stealing all free space and knee room. (kind of like the older Vipers if you have seen one of them, but in a bad way.) Also leg and head room is terrible. The front seat is ok but if I sit in the back (I am 6 foot) my head hits the roof. The only other car that did that was the mini cooper, very uncomfortable, but not a problem for everyone.
Winner: I will say tie because this is all personal but I prefer the MSP.
Carrying Capacity:
This one will be short.
The MSP has lots of leg and head room as I already said, fold down rear bench, and a very large trunk for the cars size. It ca hold as much stuff as my old T-Bird, that is impressive.
The Mercedes is very low on interior room. Also the swoopy exterior steals away other possible room. This car is also a hatchback and the "trunk" is very very small. The rear seats fold down but that doesn't help much at all because of the odd shape of everything (damn you curvy exterior!)
Winner: MSP
Stereo:
The MSP overall has a very nice stereo. As discussed before in the ausio thread I started it is not the best thing in the world, but it is definetly better than most if not all stock systems out there. Although some members have issue with things breaking.
The Mercedes has a full Bose Audio system with a 6 Disk CD changer. The system sounds good, but it lacks quality vocals and lows. But the steering wheel controls and the 6 Disk changer are a nice touch.
Winner: Tie again. Everyone likes different things and they tend to even out in the end.
Electronics/Gadgets:
Ok, Mercedes wins, lol. That is what a Mercedes is about, having all the cool little things. A few little highlights include the difroster that works in like 2 seconds (wow), the LCD screen in the dash that controls many of the car functions, complicated 2 part sunroof with automated screen, the cupholders are cool, the headrests move by motor, and the best part is that every element of the seat and steering wheel are controlled by motors and the car has 3 memory setting for 3 different drivers. Press a button and boom, everything moves into place. Did I mentiod that in the trunk is a button that lets you open the trunk if you get locked inside? Did I mention that is glows so you can always see it, that's cool.
Winner: C230
Brakes:
Long story short this is the same as the handling. The MSP makes you feel strong and confident, very good breaking power with lots of feel in the pedal.
The Mercedes pedal is way too soft. And everything seems good until you really need it, just doesn't have the stopping power I want.
Winner: MSP
Looks:
We all know what the MSP looks like, and I love mine.
The Mercedes has a lot more style put into it. Lots of rounded edges and the car seems to swoop around smoothly. But in the end this is all personal (I like mine better)
Winner: Tie
Fun:
MSP all the way. Fun fast car that makes you feel confident. The Mercedes with it's soft brakes, lack of hard acceleration, and anal built-in control system steal all the possible driving fun.
Winner: MSP
Quality/Lasting Appeal:
This section could be super long but I will keep it short. I never get tired of my MSP. So fun to drive that the joy will last for a long time. And with Mazda fixing the knows problems and what I have seen so far the quality is very good.
My girlffriend and I are sick of her car. No fun to drive, unless you are impressing your friends with four $34,000 Mercedes. And the quality.....is TERRIBLE. I am actually in the process of writing a huge complaint to Mercedes about the crap they sold her for 34k. She has had to take the car in about 7 times to fix problems. Luckily everything important in the powertrain injust fine. But all those fun little gadgets I swear were never tested, all they do is break. Here is a short list of what has gone wrong in the first year of ownership: Windshield Wiper broke off, headrest motor burnt out, cupholder broke twice (has complicated mechanism), the auto-retracting sunroof screen motor broke, the passenger seat has broken twice (it has a complicated way of folding up so people fit in the back, one of the latches on the back hatch just broke off, her powersteering system leaked, was fixed, then broke totally......that is about all I can think of right now. All those gadgets turned into a whole lot of problems. There is a new issue about every other week, that is just sad. And when you take the car in for these outrageous problems they are NEVER SURPRISED! Does this happen every day!??! DAMN.
Winner: MSP
Overall Impressions:
The MSP is a very well built car that gets the job done while riding in a class above the other cars. I love it more every time I drive it.
The Mercedes is a waiste of money. All the gadgets just break, and the power is not there. It is a 18,000 Focus with 16,000 in gadgets. It is sad to say but true. I know the high end Mercedes arn't this bad...but this car is terrible. This cars purpose in life is for rich families to buy their daughters cute little cars to show off to other families....and that is exactly why my girlfriends mom got her this car. If you buy this car you are paying for name and image. The car is ineffective and not worth the money AT ALL. Be forewarned....
Sheesh that was very long and took a long time. There is no way I am re-reading that thing so forgive any small typo's.
In the end I love my MSP! (nana)
Ontop of my girlfriends car I checked out pretty much every $20,000 compact car on the market before I bought the MSP so I have a good idea of what is out there.
Price:
Ok now this is a huge difference. In the beginning the MSP retailed for 21,000 I believe. I got mine in the beginning of the year for 18,500 and apparently they can be grabbed now for 16,500.
The Mercedes C230 baseline price is 28,500 but that is bone stock. To get all the cool things that make a Mercedes a Mercedes brings the cost up to 34,000 (which my girlfriend, or rather her parents did). This gets you the cool LED screen, Bose sound system, 2 part sunroof, all the goodies.
Winner: MSP (ok yes the MSP is way cheaper but it also depends on what you want. If you want a Mercedes, BMW, you gotta pay for it)
Straight-Line Performance:
The MSP has all the power that I expected, well actually more than I expected when I bought it. Both my car loving father and I fell in love with how the MSP performs. With the new flash it is good for cruising and it has enough kick to push you back in your seat whenever you feel the urge.
The Mercedes feels very smooth when cruising along but when you want to get on the power....it's just not there. You have to try really hard to get that kick feeling like you would in the MSP. Also the Mercedes has a built in stability management system that sucks donkey balls. According to the manual and a few rep's I have talked to there is no way of turning the system off. What does the system do you ask? Well it stops wheelspin, all kinds of it. Infact it detects it before it even happens and slows you down.....yes it slows you down. I may sound a little overly critical but it just annoys me. There is no such thing as a good launch, and you have to fight the car to make it accelerate all out. If the MSP is a ~7sec 0-60 the C230 is ~8sec.
Winner: MSP
Handling: (I tested this on the same turns in my area)
We all know that the MSP is known for it's handling. Very good, smooth, almost no body roll. When I zip around in my MSP I really feel confident in the car. I feel safe and am not afraid of the car going out of control. One of the best ahndling cars I have ever driven (i have driven a lot).
The Mercedes feels good and strong, until you begin to push the car. Body roll is more prevalent and comes at an earlier speed. This car does not make me feel confident. I was scared to push the car as fast as I did the MSP because I could feel it sliding out. The MSP took the corners a lot faster than the Mercedes and felt stronger and safer while doing it.
Winner: MSP
Interior:
The MSP has a very nice interior. It is a small car but still seems to feel large on the inside. Mostly from the lack of overall clutter. My previous car was a 1990 Thunderbird and it had less head and leg room that the MSP....and the MSP is a lot smaller. Oh yeah
. The enterior looks and feels better than other cars in it's class.The Mercedes shows the main reason for owning a Mercedes, very nice. All the materials seem to be high quality and everything in the car flows very nicely. If you have seen any Mercedes you know what I am talking about, just a level above the rest. What I didn't like though is the front console. I like clean cars with little clutter and the front dash on the C230 is huge and seems to cover the entire car. Not literally of course but it tends to wrap around you stealing all free space and knee room. (kind of like the older Vipers if you have seen one of them, but in a bad way.) Also leg and head room is terrible. The front seat is ok but if I sit in the back (I am 6 foot) my head hits the roof. The only other car that did that was the mini cooper, very uncomfortable, but not a problem for everyone.
Winner: I will say tie because this is all personal but I prefer the MSP.
Carrying Capacity:
This one will be short.
The MSP has lots of leg and head room as I already said, fold down rear bench, and a very large trunk for the cars size. It ca hold as much stuff as my old T-Bird, that is impressive.
The Mercedes is very low on interior room. Also the swoopy exterior steals away other possible room. This car is also a hatchback and the "trunk" is very very small. The rear seats fold down but that doesn't help much at all because of the odd shape of everything (damn you curvy exterior!)
Winner: MSP
Stereo:
The MSP overall has a very nice stereo. As discussed before in the ausio thread I started it is not the best thing in the world, but it is definetly better than most if not all stock systems out there. Although some members have issue with things breaking.
The Mercedes has a full Bose Audio system with a 6 Disk CD changer. The system sounds good, but it lacks quality vocals and lows. But the steering wheel controls and the 6 Disk changer are a nice touch.
Winner: Tie again. Everyone likes different things and they tend to even out in the end.
Electronics/Gadgets:
Ok, Mercedes wins, lol. That is what a Mercedes is about, having all the cool little things. A few little highlights include the difroster that works in like 2 seconds (wow), the LCD screen in the dash that controls many of the car functions, complicated 2 part sunroof with automated screen, the cupholders are cool, the headrests move by motor, and the best part is that every element of the seat and steering wheel are controlled by motors and the car has 3 memory setting for 3 different drivers. Press a button and boom, everything moves into place. Did I mentiod that in the trunk is a button that lets you open the trunk if you get locked inside? Did I mention that is glows so you can always see it, that's cool.
Winner: C230
Brakes:
Long story short this is the same as the handling. The MSP makes you feel strong and confident, very good breaking power with lots of feel in the pedal.
The Mercedes pedal is way too soft. And everything seems good until you really need it, just doesn't have the stopping power I want.
Winner: MSP
Looks:
We all know what the MSP looks like, and I love mine.
The Mercedes has a lot more style put into it. Lots of rounded edges and the car seems to swoop around smoothly. But in the end this is all personal (I like mine better)
Winner: Tie
Fun:
MSP all the way. Fun fast car that makes you feel confident. The Mercedes with it's soft brakes, lack of hard acceleration, and anal built-in control system steal all the possible driving fun.
Winner: MSP
Quality/Lasting Appeal:
This section could be super long but I will keep it short. I never get tired of my MSP. So fun to drive that the joy will last for a long time. And with Mazda fixing the knows problems and what I have seen so far the quality is very good.
My girlffriend and I are sick of her car. No fun to drive, unless you are impressing your friends with four $34,000 Mercedes. And the quality.....is TERRIBLE. I am actually in the process of writing a huge complaint to Mercedes about the crap they sold her for 34k. She has had to take the car in about 7 times to fix problems. Luckily everything important in the powertrain injust fine. But all those fun little gadgets I swear were never tested, all they do is break. Here is a short list of what has gone wrong in the first year of ownership: Windshield Wiper broke off, headrest motor burnt out, cupholder broke twice (has complicated mechanism), the auto-retracting sunroof screen motor broke, the passenger seat has broken twice (it has a complicated way of folding up so people fit in the back, one of the latches on the back hatch just broke off, her powersteering system leaked, was fixed, then broke totally......that is about all I can think of right now. All those gadgets turned into a whole lot of problems. There is a new issue about every other week, that is just sad. And when you take the car in for these outrageous problems they are NEVER SURPRISED! Does this happen every day!??! DAMN.
Winner: MSP
Overall Impressions:
The MSP is a very well built car that gets the job done while riding in a class above the other cars. I love it more every time I drive it.
The Mercedes is a waiste of money. All the gadgets just break, and the power is not there. It is a 18,000 Focus with 16,000 in gadgets. It is sad to say but true. I know the high end Mercedes arn't this bad...but this car is terrible. This cars purpose in life is for rich families to buy their daughters cute little cars to show off to other families....and that is exactly why my girlfriends mom got her this car. If you buy this car you are paying for name and image. The car is ineffective and not worth the money AT ALL. Be forewarned....
Sheesh that was very long and took a long time. There is no way I am re-reading that thing so forgive any small typo's.
In the end I love my MSP! (nana)
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However I find it a much quieter ride and more enjoyable on a daily basis. We got the C320 because my dad and I are car nuts, and we couldn't do with a smaller engine. My Protege 5 is up for grabs as I am waiting to get a 04 G35x (x for AWD). That car is simply amazing! Going to a 5spd to a Auto Shifter sucks, but the Inifiniti transmission and gearbox respond almost immediatly after you tap it up or down. I love my Mazda, but how can you resist a G35 and C320???
