{"id":5071,"date":"2017-05-12T19:16:34","date_gmt":"2017-05-12T23:16:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/?p=5071"},"modified":"2017-05-12T19:16:34","modified_gmt":"2017-05-12T23:16:34","slug":"behind-the-wheel-2017-mercedes-benz-c300","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/2017\/05\/12\/behind-the-wheel-2017-mercedes-benz-c300\/","title":{"rendered":"Behind the Wheel: 2017 Mercedes-Benz C300"},"content":{"rendered":"

Once again I found myself behind the wheel of a (loaner) Mercedes-Benz C300 sedan (4MATIC AWD, of course, as almost every Mercedes is in the northeast) – this time from the 2017 model year. So how does it compare to the last one I drove<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Surprisingly, it is actually quite a bit different – and mostly in a good way!<\/p>\n

The engine is basically the same – a turbocharged 2.0 liter inline-4, producing roughly the same horsepower as before (around 241HP, 273 lb-ft of torque). No surprises there – it’s plenty of power for a car of this size and weight, and though it sometimes reminds you that it is a very small engine, the power is perfectly serviceable, even before the turbo kicks in.<\/p>\n

However, once that turbo kicks in, watch out – with just a single turbo (no fancy variable vanes or dual-turbos here) the power comes on in one big gulp (especially in any of the “sport” modes). Maybe I’m just not used to it, but it’s almost too much<\/em> power at once.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Still, this is more or less unchanged from the previous model year. What has changed, however, is the transmission – whereas last time I noted how lurch-y the transmission seemed, this time Mercedes seems to have worked out all the kinks. Shifts were smooth and quick, and I never found myself worrying that maybe something was broken (as I did last time) – even in the aggressive “sport+” mode.<\/p>\n

Overall handling seemed somewhat improved as well – the car felt incredibly stable heading into corners at speed, and the steering feel, although light, was responsive and intuitive. I actually wished I could’ve driven on some twistier roads to really dive into some corners. (I love my GLK<\/a>, but it’s not exactly toss-able in the way a car is.)<\/p>\n

On the interior, things were not so rosy, however. It may be down to the package that the particular car I was driving had, however a lot of the dash and console felt… rather cheap.<\/p>\n

The wood grain which flows all along the center console (and doors) was, according to the window sticker, real, but I almost didn’t believe it – it felt incredibly light and plastic-y to the touch.<\/p>\n

Gone is the weird touch pad thing that used to hover over the control knob for the car’s screen (though I think the top of the knob might be touch-sensitive; I didn’t check) but otherwise the UI stays pretty much the same. The speed of the interface does seem somewhat improved from last time, however, which is nice.<\/p>\n

Beyond that, most everything else about the car was more or less the same – it’s a comfortable ride with nice features, a huge sunroof, but not a lot of room for back-seat passengers.<\/p>\n

All-in-all I have to say that the Mercedes C-class doesn’t exactly stand out in my mind against cars from other manufacturers – sure, some of the materials are probably higher quality, but some materials aren’t (or don’t seem to be) and other manufacturer’s are really upping their game quality-wise to nip at the heels of Mercedes’ entry-level sedan.<\/p>\n

If you’re in the market for a small but luxurious 4-door sedan, there’s a lot of choices for you – and although Mercedes is known for being a luxury brand, I honestly can’t say I’d mark the C300 as an automatic “first pick” in that category. (Though for myself, I’m just glad to be back in my GLK<\/a> – as I’ve mentioned many times, I’m just not a car person!)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yes, that’s right – I’m reviewing another C300, this time a 2017 model. But is it any better (or even any different) from the 2016 I drove last year?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5075,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"webmentions_disabled_pings":false,"webmentions_disabled":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"","activitypub_max_image_attachments":3,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[9,199],"tags":[134,410,102,404,409,124],"class_list":["post-5071","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cars-and-trucks","category-my-opinion","tag-behind-the-wheel","tag-c300","tag-cars","tag-mercedes","tag-mercedes-benz","tag-review","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2017\/05\/2017-Mercedes-C300-front.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pimUj-1jN","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4857,"url":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/2016\/03\/29\/behind-the-wheel-2016-mercedes-benz-c300\/","url_meta":{"origin":5071,"position":0},"title":"Behind the Wheel: 2016 Mercedes-Benz C300","author":"Keith Survell","date":"March 29, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"A look at Mercedes' former entry level sedan, and a lesson in \"all Mercedes are not the same.\"","rel":"","context":"In "Cars and Trucks"","block_context":{"text":"Cars and Trucks","link":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/category\/cars-and-trucks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2016\/03\/2016-Mercedez-Benz-C300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2016\/03\/2016-Mercedez-Benz-C300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2016\/03\/2016-Mercedez-Benz-C300.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2016\/03\/2016-Mercedez-Benz-C300.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2016\/03\/2016-Mercedez-Benz-C300.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2016\/03\/2016-Mercedez-Benz-C300.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6035,"url":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/2023\/09\/04\/behind-the-wheel-2023-mercedes-benz-glb-250\/","url_meta":{"origin":5071,"position":1},"title":"Behind the Wheel: 2023 Mercedes-Benz GLB 250","author":"Keith Survell","date":"September 4, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Recently when my car (a 2014 GLK 250) was in the shop having its windshield replaced, I was given a loaner car which happened to be something I'd wanted to get behind the wheel of for a while now: a 2023 Mercedes-Benz GLB 250. I was interested in the GLB\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cars and Trucks"","block_context":{"text":"Cars and Trucks","link":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/category\/cars-and-trucks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5372,"url":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/2019\/06\/29\/behind-the-wheel-2019-mercedes-benz-glc-300\/","url_meta":{"origin":5071,"position":2},"title":"Behind the Wheel: 2019 Mercedes-Benz GLC 300","author":"Keith Survell","date":"June 29, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Finally, a car I can relate to!","rel":"","context":"In "Cars and Trucks"","block_context":{"text":"Cars and Trucks","link":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/category\/cars-and-trucks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Side view of a blue GLC 300","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2019\/06\/Photo-Jun-27-8-19-30-AM.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2019\/06\/Photo-Jun-27-8-19-30-AM.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2019\/06\/Photo-Jun-27-8-19-30-AM.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2019\/06\/Photo-Jun-27-8-19-30-AM.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2019\/06\/Photo-Jun-27-8-19-30-AM.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2019\/06\/Photo-Jun-27-8-19-30-AM.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6030,"url":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/2023\/08\/26\/behind-the-wheel-mercedes-benz-c200-wagon\/","url_meta":{"origin":5071,"position":3},"title":"Behind the Wheel: Mercedes-Benz C200 Wagon","author":"Keith Survell","date":"August 26, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"This summer my wife and her parents and I all went on a trip to Scotland, where we rented a car and drove the entirety of the North Coast 500 - a 500 (ish) mile loop along the... you guessed it, north coast of Scotland. Although we had reserved a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cars and Trucks"","block_context":{"text":"Cars and Trucks","link":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/category\/cars-and-trucks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Our rental Mercedes C200 wagon parked alongside a road, high up in the Scottish highlands","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2023\/08\/Our-rental-car-high-up-in-the-Scottish-highlands-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2023\/08\/Our-rental-car-high-up-in-the-Scottish-highlands-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2023\/08\/Our-rental-car-high-up-in-the-Scottish-highlands-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2023\/08\/Our-rental-car-high-up-in-the-Scottish-highlands-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2023\/08\/Our-rental-car-high-up-in-the-Scottish-highlands-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2023\/08\/Our-rental-car-high-up-in-the-Scottish-highlands-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4816,"url":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/2016\/03\/14\/behind-the-wheel-2014-mercedes-benz-glk-250-diesel\/","url_meta":{"origin":5071,"position":4},"title":"Behind the Wheel: 2014 Mercedes-Benz GLK 250 (Diesel)","author":"Keith Survell","date":"March 14, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The little SUV from Mercedes that won the right to carry on the name \"Keithmobile.\"","rel":"","context":"In "Cars and Trucks"","block_context":{"text":"Cars and Trucks","link":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/category\/cars-and-trucks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2016\/03\/keithmobile-E.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2016\/03\/keithmobile-E.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2016\/03\/keithmobile-E.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2016\/03\/keithmobile-E.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2016\/03\/keithmobile-E.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2016\/03\/keithmobile-E.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4962,"url":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/2017\/03\/12\/one-year-with-the-keithmobile-e\/","url_meta":{"origin":5071,"position":5},"title":"One Year With the Keithmobile-E","author":"Keith Survell","date":"March 12, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"After a year of driving it, does the Mercedes-Benz GLK 250 still hold up as the right choice for the Keithmobile-E?","rel":"","context":"In "Cars and Trucks"","block_context":{"text":"Cars and Trucks","link":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/category\/cars-and-trucks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Keithmobile-E in the early evening sun","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2017\/03\/Keithmobile-E-in-the-early-evening-sun.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2017\/03\/Keithmobile-E-in-the-early-evening-sun.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2017\/03\/Keithmobile-E-in-the-early-evening-sun.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2017\/03\/Keithmobile-E-in-the-early-evening-sun.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2017\/03\/Keithmobile-E-in-the-early-evening-sun.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2017\/03\/Keithmobile-E-in-the-early-evening-sun.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5071","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5071"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5071\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5071"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5071"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5071"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}