Wait, the only vehicle that is a pure-bred, rear-wheel drive car comes dead last? Blasphemy! Recount! Well, that just happened. Try as it may, the C-Class does not have many sporting bones in its body, until stepping up the awesome C63.
It starts under the hood. The 302 hp 3.5 L V6 engine is a good motor, but here it is up against some truly great engines. Same goes for the transmission. In isolation the 7-speed automatic is a decent unit that always provides smooth shifts. But push things, and the transmission becomes lazy. It takes a dramatic pause between upshifts and downshifts; as one tester put it, the Sistine Chapel may have been painted in less time than it takes the C 350 to change gears.
The soft theme continues with the chassis. The Mercedes has the softest ride and is best for luxurious cruising; not aggressive cornering. In a comparison all about ‘sport’ this is a poor trait to have. The chassis rivals the S60 for being the least balanced, but does trump the Volvo in comfort.
See Also: 2012 Mercedes-Benz C 350 Review
We know this isn’t a sports car, but when stepping up to the more performance-orientated trims with higher powered engines, we were expecting a little more haste and response. When it comes to sport luxury, the C350 remains a good car within a field that features a few great ones.
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