2008 Mercedes-Benz C300 Sport

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DVD audio capability worked well with our car's Harmon Kardon Logic7 stereo system, a premium upgrade. This audio system sounds excellent, delivering nice, rich highs and very strong bass. Although tuning is limited to the standard bass, treble, fader, and balance controls, we were able to get the sound just where we wanted it. The premium system uses 12 speakers, which include two surround speakers, a subwoofer, and a 450-watt amp. We enjoyed the audio from this system immensely, our only criticism being that it lacked as much separation as we would like at the high end.

The last major feature in the cabin is Bluetooth cell phone support. This feature has been missing from previous Mercedes-Benz models we've seen, so we were very happy to come across it. We paired up a couple of Samsung phones to the system with no problem. The system lets you enter a custom four-digit PIN, for security. Although it shows recent calls made on the system and has its own phone book, it doesn't access your cell phone's phone book, which is inconvenient.

Under the hood
One area where the 2008 Mercedes-Benz C300 really succeeds is drivability. Its 3-liter V-6, producing 228 horsepower, isn't a rocket, but it gets the C300 moving quickly and without complaint. When really pressed, it makes a nice growl. Mercedes-Benz claims the C300 Sport gets to 60 mph in 7.2 seconds, a reasonable number given the engine size.

Putting a strong foot down on the gas pedal from a stop, we saw the tachometer climb above 5,000 before the car really took off. This minor delay we attribute to the automatic transmission and the traction control system. Although the C300 Sport can be optioned up to a seven-speed automatic, its standard transmission is a six-speed automatic. When manually shifting it or just stepping hard on the gas, we noticed a slight delay before the gear took hold. On the plus side, as we braked going into corners, the transmission got into the right gear to take us out the other side. It also held low gears well under acceleration.

As for the traction control, we found it very enjoyable to make its indicator light come on as we took the car around corners in the Santa Cruz mountains. Coming up on a corner, we braked then hit the gas as we dove through, making the tires sing and seeing how long we could keep the traction control light on. During these exercises, we never felt like the car was close to losing its grip. Its steering is very responsive, with minimal understeer. In fact, the only thing that kept it from being truly fun in the corners is that it handled them so sedately.

For fuel economy, the EPA rates the C300 Sport at 18 mpg city and 25 mpg highway. With the seven-speed transmission you get an extra mile per gallon on the highway, pushing it up to 26. During our driving, we never broke 20 mpg, averaging out at 19.2 mpg for combined city and freeway. We would expect a little better from an engine of this size, but with a lighter foot on the gas, better mileage could be achieved. As of this review, emissions ratings haven't been published for the C300.

In sum
Our test car was the 2008 Mercedes-Benz C300 Sport, which bases at $31,975. Metallic paint added $710, while the Multimedia package added another $2,950, the only two options on our car. The Multimedia package is a particularly good deal, as it includes the hard drive-based navigation system, voice command, and the Harmon Kardon Logic7 stereo. Given our choice, we would also add iPod integration, which costs $375. The total for our C300 comes out to $35,635.

We were very happy with the cabin tech options and how well the C300 drove. The stereo sounded fantastic and allowed a good number of audio sources. The interface for the cabin tech was particularly good, using the COMAND interface or voice command. The C300 covers the basics very well, but it doesn't stretch too far beyond car technology standards. The navigation system looks good, but doesn't have complete POIs or any interesting add-ons, such as traffic reporting. Its phone system is very good, but not great. We enjoyed driving the C300, but it handles so evenly that it's a little hard to get excited about. We found the comparably priced BMW 328xi to be a more engaging driver.

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User reviews

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  4 out of 4 people found this review helpful

  "vs. G35?? Comeon"

  by paindoc66 on October 17, 2007

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  "in-car gadgets"

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  "A Major Disappointment"

  by Capecod114 on June 27, 2008

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Where to buy

2008 Mercedes-Benz C300 Sport: $32,900.00

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Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price From Edmunds.com	$32,900.00	No

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