2003 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Article at Automotive.com

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2003 Mercedes-Benz C230K Sport Project Car

Below is an enthusiast article written by the automotive experts at European Car. It's always interesting to drive, back to back, two generations of the same car. Progress, or the lack thereof, is readily evident and is also a good indication of a car company's response to ever evolving customer demands and market conditions.

2003 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Safety Features

2003 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Costs of Ownership

2003 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Lease Payments

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IntelliChoice Value Rating

The chart above shows the purchase price versus ownership cost for each car from a specific vehicle class. The cars with better than average ownership cost/purchase price correlations are the best values, and these best value cars are represented by the dots below the curve. (i.e. the cars that have a lower ownership cost compared to its purchase price.) Those cars, which are worse than average or poor values, appear above the curve.

One way to view the graph is to draw a vertical line through any purchase price. You may see several dots that fall on this line - each of which is a car with a similar purchase price. However, notice the difference in ownership costs of each car represented by the vertical position of the dot. Two cars with the same purchase price can have thousands of dollars difference in ownership costs. This is what separates "good value" cars from "poor value" cars.

What is a good car value?

A "good car value" is one whose cost to own and operate is less than expected. The lower the cost to own and operate a car compared to what is expected, the better the value of that car.

But how do we know a car's "expected cost"?

For each car in the class, IntelliChoice plots the car's purchase price against the total five-year cost to own and operate it as determined by IntelliChoice research. Each dot on the above chart represents a specific car. Generally, we find that as the purchase price of the car increases, the cost to own and operate that car increases. This is why the dots on the graph tend to rise upward and to the right. This phenomenon also makes intuitive sense - as the purchase price rises, financing costs tend to rise, as do insurance, depreciation, taxes, and most other car ownership costs.

This is an important concept. It's normal for car ownership costs to rise as purchase price rises. Therefore, we can't just establish one "average" ownership cost number for each class, since cars in the class have different purchase prices. (This is why the "Relative" shown on each chart is different for cars in the same car class.)

Using statistical techniques, IntelliChoice "connects the dots" to form a curve that defines, for this car class, the relationship between the car's purchase price and car's ownership costs. This curve is our "expected cost" curve. The curve defines, for any car in the class, the five-year ownership cost that we would expect to see at each possible purchase price. If every car in the class were an average value, then all the dots would fall exactly on the curve. However, it's rare that any dot is exactly on the curve. Some dots are a little higher or lower, and some are a lot higher or lower. The dots that are a little lower are better than average car values, while the dots that are a lot lower are excellent car values (A dot that is a lot lower than the curve has ownership costs much lower than expected for a car of its purchase price). Conversely, a dot a little higher than the curve is a poorer than average car value, while a dot that is much higher than the curve is a poor car value.

Value is a relative term, not an absolute term. It is performing better than the logical expectation.

So is a Mercedes-Benz E320 expensive to own and operate? Certainly in an absolute sense. Most other cars cost less. But, when its cost to own and operate is plotted against cars with comparable invoice prices, the E320 costs less. So the E320 is not expensive to own and operate - it is a good car value. The Mercedes does not have low ownership costs, but it has low ownership costs for its invoice price.

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Article From European Car Magazine

2003 Mercedes-Benz C230K Sport: Long-term Wrapup

Flashes of a well-rounded sports sedan / By Greg N. Brown / photographer: Robert Hallstrom
/ Article provided by: European Car Magazine

It's always interesting to drive, back to back, two generations of the same car. Progress, or the lack thereof, is readily evident and is also a good indication of a car company's response to ever evolving customer demands and market conditions.

Such an opportunity came when I drove the upcoming, revised C-Class sedan in Mallorca this past spring (see europeancarweb.com for a full report) and then climbed back into our long-term C230 Kompressor when I hit the ground at LAX.

Conclusion? Mercedes-Benz is one smart bunch. They clearly pay attention both to the criticism--from both within and without--as well as the plaudits. And then they react, usually quickly and well.

Example: Every--and I use this word very advisedly--every area of the old C-Class which our road testers had criticized was attended to and adjusted, fixed or replaced, just as though our personal demands were all that needed to be satisfied.

A glimpse inside the evolution of the C-Class was provided in Mallorca by two Mercedes-Benz product planners, the guys who have to predict what you and I are going to want in our motoring experience years down the line. But, to keep their vehicles fresh, they also need the quick reactions of a good counterpuncher, absorbing some blows to get a few good licks in themselves.

One of our strongest punches was directed at the 2003 edition's suspension. Perfectly acceptable in a family sedan, it just didn't give an enthusiastic driver the confidence to stretch the envelope.

Counterpunch: Extensively revised suspension geometry and settings, and an increased track, essentially bringing an AMG level of handling performance to the line of standard C-Class cars for 2004.

We also threw a left hook at the manual transmission's shift action. It wasn't so bad that you'd miss or grawnch gears, but neither could you depend on the swift shifts required for sporty driving.

Counterpunch? Mercedes replaced the complicated links between the lever and the box with a single shift rod, eliminating the extraneous, vague movements of the outgoing model's shift action.

Our staff also threw a powerful uppercut at the 2003's interior. Not bad; not offensive; not inspiring. Fit and finish was good, but the overall feel was, well, a bit cheap, and the seats were somewhere in the bland region between comfortable and supportive.

Counterpunch: All Mercedes did was design a completely refreshed cockpit, including a new instrument cluster, dashboard, center console and seats.

A few jabs were thrown as well at the outgoing car's styling. Although Mercedes had adorned the 2003 sport model with a few extra body elements, they weren't distinctive enough to draw attention to the fact it was something special, more than a base C-Class.

Counterpunch: A new front-end design, including: bumper, lower air intake, three-slat radiator grille, smoother line and a more aggressive, upmarket demeanor.

So how did our year-long sparring match with the 2003 C230K end? Even with the good shots we got in, it was essentially a draw. A few really wanted to punch it out, but several of those who'd driven the car asked whether it was for sale when the loan period was up--certainly an indication of a car's quality if a journalist wants to buy it. Plus, we'll miss its never-miss-a-beat reliability and long-distance cruising comfort.

There's also that not insignificant matter of having a car with the three-pointed star on the hood. I won't try to explain why it makes us feel good. It just does.