December 20th marked one year since I bought my CPO 2020 C43. A few of my friends suspected that I would get bored with it and be ready to move on in short order. As it turns out, nothing could be further from the truth- in fact I like it even more than when I brought it home.
When I picked it up it had 20,975 miles on it; over the past 12 months I added 11,824 miles. Fuel economy ranged from a low of 21.2 mpg to a high of 29.5 mpg. I haven't kept a running tally, but I'd estimate the average mpg is around 25 mpg. Not bad for a car that runs the quarter in 12.6 seconds.
Soon after I bought it the battery began to fail; it was replaced by my dealer under warranty in less than an hour. At 27,000 miles the car called for an A Service; at the same time I replaced the RF tire and had the wheel repaired (due to a large pothole). In addition, the rear pads were replaced as they were close to minimum thickness, but the rotors were still good. I'm hoping that the short pad life was due to the PO's driving environment or driving style. No other issues.
I still think that anyone who complains about the ride of a W205 C43 is delusional; even my 80 year old uncle -a retired Ford employee- thinks the ride is fine. Switching from Comfort to Sport+ makes a huge difference; it's fun to be able to switch from a relaxed cruiser to an engaging sport sedan. Regardless of the mode setting, the handling, the engine response, the throaty exhaust and the driver-focused ergonomics make every drive entertaining.The seats are as comfortable as the sport seats in the BMWs I have owned, if not more so. The handling is very impressive; so far I've run out of courage before I've run out of grip. I have a friend who is a long-time BMW employee; I took him for a ride and he told me that had he been blindfolded he would have guessed he was in a BMW M car.
I love the surround view parking; the Distronic Level 2 autonomy is relaxing on long internet slogs. I appreciate having physical buttons or switches for most every function- and there are several alternative ways to access the functions as well. Siri Eyes Free works flawlessly- a feature BMW phased out. The Burmester audio sounds very good. The Mercedes Me phone app is actually useful, allowing you to remote start, lock/unlock, and send destinations to the navigation system.
I have just a few complaints. The AMG exhaust defaults to quiet on restarts, while annoyingly, the stop/start defaults to on- as does the navigation system voice guidance. The headlamps are great, but lack some of the versatility of the Euro lamps. Looking on the bright side, all of these problems can be addressed with a recode- something I still plan to do. And speaking of plans, work commitments have kept me from taking it to an HPDE or the local 1/8 mile strip.
Bottom line, I can't think of a sedan that does a better job at combining everyday usability with outstanding performance- in a way that perfectly suits my driving stlye. For me, it's a keeper.
When I picked it up it had 20,975 miles on it; over the past 12 months I added 11,824 miles. Fuel economy ranged from a low of 21.2 mpg to a high of 29.5 mpg. I haven't kept a running tally, but I'd estimate the average mpg is around 25 mpg. Not bad for a car that runs the quarter in 12.6 seconds.
Soon after I bought it the battery began to fail; it was replaced by my dealer under warranty in less than an hour. At 27,000 miles the car called for an A Service; at the same time I replaced the RF tire and had the wheel repaired (due to a large pothole). In addition, the rear pads were replaced as they were close to minimum thickness, but the rotors were still good. I'm hoping that the short pad life was due to the PO's driving environment or driving style. No other issues.
I still think that anyone who complains about the ride of a W205 C43 is delusional; even my 80 year old uncle -a retired Ford employee- thinks the ride is fine. Switching from Comfort to Sport+ makes a huge difference; it's fun to be able to switch from a relaxed cruiser to an engaging sport sedan. Regardless of the mode setting, the handling, the engine response, the throaty exhaust and the driver-focused ergonomics make every drive entertaining.The seats are as comfortable as the sport seats in the BMWs I have owned, if not more so. The handling is very impressive; so far I've run out of courage before I've run out of grip. I have a friend who is a long-time BMW employee; I took him for a ride and he told me that had he been blindfolded he would have guessed he was in a BMW M car.
I love the surround view parking; the Distronic Level 2 autonomy is relaxing on long internet slogs. I appreciate having physical buttons or switches for most every function- and there are several alternative ways to access the functions as well. Siri Eyes Free works flawlessly- a feature BMW phased out. The Burmester audio sounds very good. The Mercedes Me phone app is actually useful, allowing you to remote start, lock/unlock, and send destinations to the navigation system.
I have just a few complaints. The AMG exhaust defaults to quiet on restarts, while annoyingly, the stop/start defaults to on- as does the navigation system voice guidance. The headlamps are great, but lack some of the versatility of the Euro lamps. Looking on the bright side, all of these problems can be addressed with a recode- something I still plan to do. And speaking of plans, work commitments have kept me from taking it to an HPDE or the local 1/8 mile strip.
Bottom line, I can't think of a sedan that does a better job at combining everyday usability with outstanding performance- in a way that perfectly suits my driving stlye. For me, it's a keeper.
