Rental Fleet Review - Mercedes C300 4MATIC

"Dunnik" (dunnik) 08/17/2013 at 12:11 • Filed to: OPPOSITELOCK, RENTAL CARS

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It wasn't that long ago that the idea of a Mercedes in a North American rental fleet would be preposterous. Not only because, back in the day, the Big Three owned a piece of car rental companies and used them as a place to dump unsold product, but because "quality" and "rental car" don't seem to belong together in the same sentence.

Well, as a driver for a multinational car rental company, I can tell you that times have changed - sort of. Our fleet still has the usual suspects - like the Chrysler 200 - but rental car customers (especially business travelers) have demanded more, and, sensing an opportunity in the market, the rental car companies have delivered.

Like the Mercedes C300 4MATIC, which is easily the best vehicle in the fleet. I've driven Mercs before, but all have been old ones like the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and this car's ancestor, the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . I had never driven a brand-new Mercedes Benz until I started this job. But now I know why they charge an arm and a leg for these. Mein Gott , won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz, my friends all drive Porsche's, I must make amends!

Photo Credits: (Above) Car & Driver, (Top) emercedesbenz.com.

The interior was everything I expected, and more. Seats are as comfortable as it gets and yet still provide enough bolstering in the corners. Materials and fit-and-finish are excellent. Controls are well-laid out, though I thought the instrument cluster was a bit over-done (I longed for the black and white simplicity of BMW). Somewhat surprisingly, the driver's position and controls are very well-laid out: placed intuitively, and well within reach. The LCD screen is also well-positioned and doesn't dominate the dash like some automotive !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

Driving the car was a very pleasant experience. The cabin was quiet, but enough road noise percolated into the interior so as to still give you a sense of what's going on around you. The seven-speed automagic transmission makes the GM 4-speed on my '02 Impala seem archaic. The computer brain seems to find the best gears faster and far smoother than I ever could with a manual, especially as my rowing skills are unused and rusty these days. The car was quick and agile when you wanted it to be, but smooth and comfortable when you didn't.

Despite its excellence, I couldn't help but think: "Yea, but it's no BMW". That should need no explanation, but in case not: a Bimmer has or should have most everything an equivalent Merc does, but is still a better driver's car, especially in terms of handling, and just "talks" to the driver more - you are, somehow, more aware of what's going on. I shared this conclusion with a co-worker, who smiled and said "Try the Sport mode". Sport mode? I looked at him in puzzlement. Most "Sport" buttons on cars - even expensive ones - often don't do much at all. "Just try it", he said.

Photo Credit: Auto Week

And so I did. That button turned the car from a luxury strassen kruiser into an autobahn sturmer . The throttle was far more responsive, and when given a kick, it felt like it was supercharged - and yet it's normally-aspirated. The acceleration is a good reminder that this is, in essence, a small car with a big engine. The handling went from precise in Economy mode to Teutonic laser-like precision in Sport. Gear changes seemed to happen faster and at higher revolutions. Ferocious brakes ensure you can enjoy all of this safely. Dare I say it, but that button seemed to turn it from Merc into a BMW.

I'll conclude the review by mentioning that I'm probably not the first Merc driver to be caught flat-footed by fancy technology. While waiting in line to pull out of our company parking garage, the car seemed to stall. "Huh, wut?!" I said to myself. "No, it couldn't have stalled - a brand new Merc? Something else must be going on."

I'm embarrassed to say I didn't immediately realize what that something was: I killed the ignition, waited a moment, and started her up. Gave it a few taps of the accelerator and watched the rev's - my eyes even flicked over to the engine temp gauge for a moment. All seemed to be normal, and so I pulled ahead to the gate - where it "stalled" again. "Derp", I remember thinking, "Stop-Start technology." Neat! But I hadn't experienced this before when driving this car, so surely there must be a button. Didn't take me long to find it, it was marked "Eco" and was lit up (in green, of course). Wondering what Merc fan Jeremy Clarkson would make of an Eco button, I pulled out of the garage even more impressed with the three pointed star.

dogisbadob > Dunnik 08/17/2013 at 12:21

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Now if only the star was on the hood!

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > dogisbadob 08/17/2013 at 13:20

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Blame the EU pedestrian safety regs.

They also got rid of the Leaping Cat because of that...

dogisbadob > KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs 08/17/2013 at 13:44

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The cat is still available on the sedans, at least in the US anyway.