# 2012 MB C250 Coupe Review



## Cy3 (Apr 27, 2007)

Yesterday afternoon I had the rare opportunity to blow out of work a little bit early, so I made my way down to the Mercedes dealership to take a look at some of their fresh new options for the C-Class Coupe. Why? Great question, as I distinctly remember bashing this car for being the spitting image of an Accord Coupe somewhere on this forum previously ***8211; because that's what we do here right  BMW is good and anything else is barf at best.

Anyways, a little about myself ***8211; I leased a base 2011 128i in August of 2010 and while I don't hate it, I definitely don't love it. No sport package, automatic, and no sport seats***8230;.pretty much a stripper ***8211; albeit an attractive stripper, just lazy. So I am 14 months into a leased car I picked up because of an imbalance of financial and emotional decision making that fell way to far towards the financial side. And I am now getting a healthy jump on my next car.

Now onto my review (my first, so be gentle):

Exterior ***8211; 
What can I say; I think I owe Dailmer Chrysler an apology. Up close and personal with this vehicle the bodywork is exceptional. The hood and front fascia is low and mean even with non-AMG wheels and the halogens (each of the models show up with the LED strips now). The downside about the C250 is the single piped exhaust that looks a little lonely hanging out the back. The pictures don't quite do this car justice, as it is really nice in the real world.

Interior ***8211; 
Soooo here's where things get a little interesting; the seats, to me, are amazing. Mind you, I am coming from a non-sport 128i so take it with a grain of salt, as I have never sat in a BMW equipped with sport seats. Also cool, is the lay out of the 4 seats in the cabin, it looks like a shuttle (kind of) where each seat is in its own pod and has a specific function for the mission at hand. The alternating colors of brushed aluminum, black leather, and the ash dashboard were very nice; basic but provided adequate contrast for a base model. The electro-luminescent gauge cluster provides vivid images and could easily replicate anything that was on the monitor located 1.5 feet to the right. Another cool piece of work is that panoramic sunroof; very cool ***8211; good amount of air and looks great to boot.
Two things, I couldn't get used to in preparation for the road trip were the seat positioning mechanism on the door and the tilt/telescoping bar that seemed way to big for its actual purpose. 

The drive ***8211; 
After my fidgeting around with the damn controls on the door again and getting in the proper position we were ready to hit the open road. Being a former soccer player now ringing in at 6' 230lbs I was surprised again how well the sport seats provided support to my lower half. Turning the key was weird, years of just pushing a button I wasn't sure if I like turning a key again or not. The exhaust note was pretty underwhelming. I didn't expect anything spectacular, as I was well aware I was in control of a modest 201hp pushed from a blown 4 banger. The steering wheel was perfect ***8211; excellent diameter and notched at the bottom. Paddle shifters, perfect ***8211; excellent location, proper operating directions. Buttons on the wheel ***8211; confusing but I didn't have time to fidget and learn, I am sure someone would/could say the exact same thing about a BMWs steering wheel. The motor is matched up to a 7speed adaptive transmission that has gear changes that are 'okay' at best in the timing department and feel more like your switching a CVT system where there is no distinct and direct feeling. Sometimes it was more just tugging on the paddle and watching the number on the dial go from 4 to 3 ***8211; smooth but not exciting. 

The handling was MUCH tighter than I would have come to expect, the old adage that a BMW is a luxury car with a sporty feel while a Mercedes is a sporty car with a luxury feel still rings very true***8230;.but mind you, that gap is getting very narrow. The Sport/Econ button actually does work and there is a distinct difference in feel in suspension and steering in modes. The one pain in the ass design flaw I noticed (and experienced) was the location of their cruise control stalk, um, on top of the turn signal and in line with your hands at 10&2??? This doesn't seem dangerous to anyone? I went to signal to get off the freeway at 75mph and in pushing the stalk up I SET the cruise, WHAT??! No i didn't panic, seriously i didn't ***8211; smooth one MB.

Pricing and Conclusion-
The base price on this coupe is a shade over $37k for MSRP, which at first sound decent until you step back and realize you are about to pluck down $40k for a Turbo 4 with only 201hp ***8211; the lowest hp provided in this segment. I believe I may have hit the Mercedes dealership at the right time of the year, however, because there were still 2011s for the sedans and they were very amped to do business with me on anything. The residual is also something nutso like 70% on the C250 right now. Their new coupe is bound to be a hit, especially since right now their only competition is the A5 and the 328i is a) very outdated and b) worse on gas and c) pricier with options.

My test vehicle had a sticker of $41,020 that came with the COMAND nav system and the premium 1 package. Is it a car for me in the future ***8211; maybe the C350? But that choice would be solely for the power, the C250 is aesthetically great. BMW may have lost me for the simple reason that their lists of options are now ludicrously overpriced and standard on every other car, right down to KIAs. And as stated previously, the moniker, "Ultimate Driving Machine" is putting a lot of stress on the word "ultimate"; these days there are other brands catching up quick in both style and handling. 

I am not sure if this has actually helped anyone, the C250 is a great car ***8211; a little under powered, a little over-priced, but beautiful inside and out. I hope that the 4 Cyclinder BMW coming out is not as underwhelming as this car was it would surely be a huge hit to the brand. In closing I believe there is a home out there for the C250, just not mine***8230;.unless of course the dealer sends another email to me today about a spectacular short-term deal.


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## Cy3 (Apr 27, 2007)

With Pics.


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## [email protected] (Jul 27, 2011)

Cy3 said:


> Yesterday afternoon I had the rare opportunity to blow out of work a little bit early, so I made my way down to the Mercedes dealership to take a look at some of their fresh new options for the C-Class Coupe. Why? Great question, as I distinctly remember bashing this car for being the spitting image of an Accord Coupe somewhere on this forum previously - because that's what we do here right  BMW is good and anything else is barf at best.
> 
> Anyways, a little about myself - I leased a base 2011 128i in August of 2010 and while I don't hate it, I definitely don't love it. No sport package, automatic, and no sport seats&#8230;..pretty much a stripper - albeit an attractive stripper, just lazy. So I am 14 months into a leased car I picked up because of an imbalance of financial and emotional decision making that fell way to far towards the financial side. And I am now getting a healthy jump on my next car.
> 
> ...


You want a cookie, bruh?


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## 1985mb (Apr 2, 2008)

Good review. On some other MB models, the gap between MSRP and invoice is greater than BMW's. So at the same invoice + XYZ price, it might undercut the 328i coupe by a fair amount. I think someone in the X3 forum had said the same about GLK pricing.


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## mr_clueless (Nov 13, 2009)

Nice review. Totally matches my experience of test driving the C250. Now if only I can talk myself out of wanting a manual transmission. I'm not big on power anyway, so the C250 with its lighter weight and better gas mileage would appeal to me more than C350...unless there's something about the exhaust sound of the C350...they didn't have one when I went in.

The seats are simply amazing both in terms of looks and comfort.


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