[GTO]

Crazy amount of new C-Class' on Mumbai roads!! I see like 5 - 7 each day.

Originally Posted by xtr21

Now, I have changed it to a MT Diesel. Let's see how this goes!.

Believe you me....you will never regret this.

Originally Posted by dipen

Is i worth spending 3.5 lakhs more for the diesel when you really dont need it, neither are you gonna recover anything wrt to fuel savings.
I would suggest to go back to petrol AT. would be worth the little extra wait.

Not only is the resale far better, but a diesel Merc also sells quicker. Most importantly, diesel Mercs are known to score higher on the reliability front than their petrol counterparts. Ask me.

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by khanak

The only advantage the Petrol has is its free revving nature and IMO id rather have the huge amount of torque than the free revving nature of the engine.

I completly disagree with you on this, have you driven any of the modern german diesels?
I havent driven the new C-class so i wont comment on it but as for my BMW 525d, its as free revving if not more than any petrol car with similar power. Gone are the days when diesels ran out of steam when nearing the red line, atleast my car behaves much like a petrol and begs me to take her all the way into the red zone.

[BUSA]

Originally Posted by Sahil

I completly disagree with you on this, have you driven any of the modern german diesels?
I havent driven the new C-class so i wont comment on it but as for my BMW 525d, its as free revving if not more than any petrol car with similar power. Gone are the days when diesels ran out of steam when nearing the red line, atleast my car behaves much like a petrol and begs me to take her all the way into the red zone.

Modern diesels are not strained anymore near red line, other then the huge torque low down, its kinda difficult to find out whether the car is diesel or petrol, if your driving it for the first time. Yeah noise is there a bit more on the outside, but inside its well insulated.

No two thoughts xtr21, get the diesel.

[kbk_75]

@ Xtr: 410Nm is a healthy torque figure. The important part is the engine speed at which this peak torque is delivered. If the peak torque is from a relatively low engine speed (say 1,500 rpm) and lasts a good while (say up to 4,000 rpm) then your car will be very tractable and easy to drive even in stop-go conditions, especially with an AT.

@ Dipen: Actually I was not boasting about the torque, I was telling Xtr that the diesel Merc makes more torque (and probably at a lower rpm AND over a much wider range) than my M3. M3 engine is tuned first for peak power from the NA engine, torque is actually quite poor for a 4 litre V8, but considering the high-revving nature, it's understandable!

[kbk_75]

OK, so I did a little more homework for you XTR...

The Indian-spec C200 K:

Power is 131 kw = 175.67 hp @ 5,600 rpm
Torque is 240 nm at 3,500 - 4,500 rpm
Weight = Approx. 1500 Kgs


Indian-spec C220 CDI:
Power is 125 kw = 167.63 hp @ 3,700 rpm
Torque is 410 nm @ 2,000 rpm
Weight = Approx. 1570 Kgs

Performance figures will be virtually identical on both cars, with the diesel being very slightly quicker in the 0 - 100 Km/h race and being maybe 4-5 Km/h slower at the top end.

Now, here's what is interesting...I found some torque curves for the new engines (these are not Indian-spec). Take a look at the torque curve of the C220 CDI. It is very unusual in that the torque keeps building sharply up to 2,000 rpm and then drops off quite sharply after 2,000 rpm. A more typical torque curve would have peak torque over a wider range of engine speed.

By contrast, the peak torque on the C200 K is available over a wider rpm band. This doesn't really matter that much, though, because however you look at it, the diesel engine makes more torque pretty much throughout it's rev-band compared to the petrol, except that the diesel runs out of puff by around 4,000 rpm.

Lastly, I've posted a couple of pics of the Classic grill and the Sport / Avantgarde grill as well.

Ciao!

C200 K curve:


C220 CDI curve:


Classic grill:


Sport / Avantgarde Grill:

[kvish]

I saw a black one today. It was spanking new! Awesome stuff. The alloy wheels were like those AMG ones (I dont think this was AMG though). The door handles look cool too. But chauffer driven......................common drive it...


One thing benz does really well is make sure that the car is clearly one whole generation ahead. A 2 year C class is now really made to feel OLD and probably forces the buyers to keep upgrading More like the ipod story!

[xtr21]

@kbk: Wow, thanks a ton.

[ajmat]

Picked up the latest Time Magazine to see an ad for the Merc C 350!

This will be real road rocket ..at a price.

Is this really happening?

[ImmortalZ]

Ooo, Merc might have felt stung by the A4 3.2. I wonder whether this will make BMW offer it's hot 3 series versions.

[kbk_75]

C350 huh?! Interesting! Wow...How far behind can the 330i or even the 335i be?!

[GTO]

They should have plonked the E280 CDI motor in the C instead, powerful petrol German cars are overpriced and have few takers.

[Nitronium]

To add a little more mayhem when are are we going to see an Audi S5?