2005 mercedes benz c230 kompressor manual#
On the inside, the Sport models have special three-spoke steering wheels, aluminum pedals, aluminum trim and chrome gauge rings, bolstered sport seats and six-speed manual transmissions. They come with lowered and specially tuned suspensions, bigger drilled and ventilated brakes, 17-inch all oy wheels and high-performance tires. The 2005 C-Class Sport sedans - the C230 Sport ($29,250) and the C320 Sport ($37,350) - borrow exterior styling from the C32 AMG car that ends production this year. “This is the customer who wants a little bit stronger driving dynamics, sportier feel, more aggressive styling,” he said. “This is a customer we know well,” he said.īut, with the Sport models - which do get “Sport” badges - and the changes in them for the 2005 model year, the appeal has now shifted to what Herring describes as driving enthusiasts. Mercedes identifies them as “luxury” models, but doesn’t give them badges that say that. Those cars still exist, and they still attract about half of the C-Class buyers. But, according to Herring, it was the January 2003 introduction of C-Class Sport models that really turned heads.īefore that, C-Class cars were cheaper, smaller versions of the E- and S-Class models - cars known for their engineering, festooned in wood and leather and equipped with automatic transmissions. This generation of C-Class arrived in September 2000 as a 2001 model. “It’s been outstanding if you consider where we are in the life cycle,” Herring said. And the C-Class has been a primary factor of that sales success, as its sales have grown from about 15,000 units a year in the early ’90s to more than 60,000 units in 20. sales have grown tremendously in the past decade, from 61,899 in 1993 to 218,117 in 2003. The result? More competition and stable prices. Longtime favorites such as the BMW 3-Series, Audi A4 and Lexus ES 300 have been joined by newcomers such as the Infiniti G35, Acura TL and Chrysler 300C. “It’s a great time to buy a car in that segment,” Herring said. That’s why the cheapest 2005 C-Class sedan, the C230 Sport sedan, starts at $29,250.Īnd the C230 Kompressor coupe is the cheapest one of all, starting at $25,850. Oh, and how’s a $54,000 C-Class sedan with a 368-horsepower V-8 engine for something to talk about?īut while the C55 AMG that arrived last month is for a select few - Mercedes says it’ll sell about 1,200 of them during the second half of this year - the raison d’être of the C-Class is to attract first-time buyers to Mercedes-Benz.
“We have to have something to talk about every year.”
“The competitive landscape is tough,” Bart Herring, C-Class product manager for Mercedes-Benz USA, said recently in San Jose. That means the C-Class sedans, coupes and wagon get a new look and new features. In the duke-it-out near-luxe segment of the car business, Mercedes-Benz has reloaded for the 2005 model year. MERCEDES’ LINE GETS NEW LOOK AND FEATURES
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