Mercedes-Benz Drops the C250W 4MATIC!

Mercedes- Benz drops the C250W 4MATIC (all wheel drive) from its Canada 2013 model offering.

The main apparent reason being that they would like to retire the 2.5 l V6 engine and its hesitant transmission which are now out of sync with the exciting new generation of Blue Efficiency Engines (which churn out more horse power and paradoxically consume less fuel) The other reason could be that they also wanted to move away from the much criticized hesitant 7 speed transmission in favor of the new 7G-TRONIC PLUS transmission which is more fluent and fast.

But there could be more than what meets the eye here. This car made an immense contribution in boosting sales which helped make Mercedes-Benz claim the number one Luxury Brand spot in Canada. As such, one would have thought that Mercedes-Benz was going to further enhance it but no, they had other ideas.

To begin with it appears as though the guys at 98 Vanderhoof Ave in Toronto are stepping up to the competition challenge in Canada which has been made steep by the launching of the all new BMW 3 series. The following intervening variables may have militated against the C250W 4MATIC.

1.      Vehicle Horse Power Politics. Mercedes-Benz launched the C Class in Canada with the C300W (228 horse power) and C350 (268 horse power). Both being V6 engines with 7 G-Tronic Transmissions. The vehicle received rev reviews from Automotive Journalists and various automotive magazines and newspapers. It picked up a few accolades as the best luxury car in its segment.

In January 2008 Mercedes-Benz Canada launched the C230 Sedan with less pomp and flare as was the case with the above mentioned cars. However the C230W 4MATIC started to fly out of the showrooms with many dealership enjoying more sales of this car than the much heralded C300W 4MATIC. Automotive journalists, Auto magazines and newspapers were not very kind with this car because of mainly two things that they thought the car was under powered and that it had a hesitant shift in its transmission especially in its comfort mode which a lot of people tend to use. For example, Car and Driver Magazine (May 2012) carries a story where five cars were tested and compared. At the end of the report the C250 came in a distant fourth after having been beaten by BMW 328i (1) AUDI A4 2.0T Quattro (2) and Infiniti G35 Journey (3)

2.      Aggressive Versatile Response. In order to respond effectively and still maintain its C250W 4MATIC customer base, Mercedes-Benz decided to call upon the C300W 4MATIC which is getting the following exciting developments. The C 300 4MATIC gets a 3.5L Direct Injection V6 which is a revised version of the M276 engine from the C 350. This revised M276 E35DE engine offers:

·        V6 with Direct Injection 248 hp @ 6,500 rpm (+20 hp)

·        251 ft-lb. @ 3,400-4,500 rpm (+30 ft-lb.)

·        ECO Start/Stop function

·        Reduced CO2 emissions

·        Mated to the 7G-TRONIC PLUS transmission.

           This bold move takes this car to the top of the pile among its main rivals, with only BMW 328i being anywhere close with 240 horse power (HP) and Audi A4 2.0T a distant 37 HP behind.

3.      Promotion Mix. The new C300W 4M will receive revised equipment listings that will enable it to be priced competitively and probably at the same price of the out going C250W 4M in order to enhance its volume sales. With 80% of all Mercedes-Benz cars in Canada being 4MATICS, the C250 rear wheel drive is retained mainly for those youthful at heart who still love the joys of the car tail spin, and more strategically for promotion purposes. The C250 continues to be the main driver of traffic to the Show Rooms as it is used on most advertising strategies. The launch date of this car is in July 2012 and that will give this car a head start before BMW launches its 328xi which will be available probably at the end of this year or early 2013.

4.      Unique Class Leading Features.

·        11 standard airbags

·        Agility Control

·        Comfort Suspension

·        ECO Start/Stop

·        Adaptive Brake with Hold function

·        Attention Assist

·        MBrace

·        7G-Tronic Plus

·        Anti-theft alarm system

·        4MATIC (Permanent All-Wheel Drive)

·        Passive Blind Spot Assist

·        Passive Lane Keeping Assist

All these developments are coming at a time when the 2012 C Class has just gotten an eye popping mid-life face lift which saw Mercedes-Benz changing 2000 units on the car. MBRACE above is likely to be a revolutionary feat on these cars. Can you imagine Twitter, Facebook, Text Messaging, Google Maps and remote vehicle diagnostics on the go? Yes, do not get too overly excited, these features will only have limited functionality when vehicle is in motion in order to afford the driver maximum concentration on the wheel.