So, almost a year later. Kinda time for an update, don't you think?
I bought it because the 190E couldn't comfortably accommodate 2 child booster seats, and mainly because it was getting expensive to run the 190E while driving 4000km in a month (200km/day commute). Nearly a year later, I can say that it was a success on both counts. Both kiddes fit comfortably in the back in their respective booster seats with me and the wife having ample space. Running costs was a success as well, having more than halved my monthly fuel bill. Fuel consumption has been between 5 and 6l/100 km, averaging out at 5.7l/100km (see sig), which is a lot better than I expected based on the official figures (6.4 combined).
In other respects it's been good to me too. The only thing that broke on it was the water pump, which I knew was on its way out when I got it, I just hadn't expected it to go that quickly. There's been the regular wear, like pads and rotors that needed replacing, and the summer tyres were also far gone. So I threw out the 15" Energy Savers and swapped them for excellent Hankook winter tyres (Winter I*Cept Evo) On which I drove from nov until yesterday. It's got a lot of toys, and has kinda lived up to M-B's repuation for electrics, with CANbus reporting random errors when it gets really wet outside, waterproofing that shit is on my to-do list. The OEM stereo really doesn't like wet weather either, with the display crapping out, and audio having .5s gaps, again, replacing it is on my to-do list.
Now, the most important part, driving it. While being a far cry from the 190E in terms of responsiveness and fun, I've grown to like the C for its calm and comfort on long hauls. Quiet engine with loads of low down torque, well-spaced gearing with a long 6th gear that doesn't leave the engine powerless and excellent high-speed stability make the C class very good for long high-speed hauls. A few very unscientific tests (putting my foot down in autobahn traffic with similar either in front or behind me) show that between 160 and 200 kph, its competitors lose out on acceleration and smoke (I was surprised chaos386 could even see the road when he was behind me at 220kph). The only thing I really dislike on this car is the ESP. Not once has it saved me from crashing, but it has made a few situations where I was under control (most of them were on snowy roads) a lot more dangerous by applying corrections after I had already applied corrective actions, thus leading to overcompensating for slides and such. Sadly, I have not found a way of turning it off without losing ABS, EBD (that too took some time to get used to, a brake pedal that gets softer while applying full pressure) and ASR.
On to present day. Winter weather is on its way out, and I wanted new (bigger) wheels for my summer tyres. I had narrowed it down to either 7Jx16 wheels with 205/55R16 tyres or 7.5Jx17 with 225/45R17 tyres, when I ran into an ad for 8Jx17 wheels with tyres for 300 eur last sunday, so I immediately pounced and rang the guy. Told him I wanted to pay asking price and would pick them up the following day. Upon loading the tyres into my car he told me he would have to call the other 3 guys that the first guy had just picked them up. The tyres that came with them are not bad ones (Meteor brand) but not really what I want, but since they have some life in them (5mm) I'll abuse them until they wear out and then buy new ones. Took a few quick snaps in the dark how they look.
Things I want to do to it in the near future:
* 30mm lowering all round
* 10mm spacers for rear wheels
* Chip it, 173ps and 375Nm sound like a lot of fun for just 300 eur.
* Fit projector headlights and HIDs.
* Replace factory stereo with aftermarket unit, preferrably with retention of steering wheel controls and some sort of external platyer connectivity.
* Fit rear parking sensors, because I really can't see anything beyond the window.
I'll do a proper shoot of it soon.