The looks
In terms of looks there not much competition here. If there was to be a battle it had been over before even a first shot was fired. Mercedes W205 is clearly a new page in C class' design. It's sharp. It's fresh. It's classy. It's bling. It's the latest Armani suit with the hottest new tailoring "the street" is talking about. Plus it has rear lights stolen from S class which makes it look even cooler and more expensive. The BMW 3 series on the other hand is pretty much the same theme we've been chewing for nine years now. Because it's been nine years since a premiere on previous 3 series and a current one that's been with us for last two years looks just as the old one. It's bulky. It's road present. It's respectable and recognizable thanks to "rings" in headlights now being LED day running lights. But in the end, it's just the bloke you know from your office and who's just bought him a trendy pair of glasses. Yes, he looks up to date, but you still see that old version of him who was so anonymous that you didn't notice him by a coffee maker. This battle goes to Mercedes all the way.
Interior
These two cars seem to represent two totally different approaches to the way car interior is designed. First there is the BMW's approach with as little details and sparkle as possible. If anything was placed on the dashboard it's only because it has a purpose. Designers at BMW must probably be told to draw things that would not stand in the way of a driving experience. Too bad esthetics suffer so much. The interior is plain dark and dull. Not much to write about actually. At least driving position is excellent as it's so much easier to focus on driving. Mercedes however is a complete opposite. You get into the car and you're just so surrounded with eye pleasing details that you forget to drive off altogether. A dashboard reminds me of a string of diamonds laid on top of a piano. It's either clean black or sparkly and silver. Textures almost invite you to touch them. This is no more a part of the car, it's rather a place you visit with pleasure. The BMW's failure in that department is even greater when compared to Mercedes' success. My advice to BMW - just spray some cash on Merc's designers and headhunt them. This battle again goes to Mercedes.
The drive
When it comes to driving experiences these two cars provide, I think that company slogans tell the story. For BMW it's "The drive of your life." And that's pretty much what you get. The suspension soaks up whatever road imperfection it faces, steering is precise but not hysterical, brakes inspire confidence in me as a driver and the whole chassis is planted to the road whether you swoosh on the "Autobahn" or just need to drive downtown and back home. "The best or nothing." That's what they keep saying at Mercedes and I must say that when it comes to driving this C class with AMG pack it's rather "nothing" good. Suspension is way too stiff, so whenever I drove downtown or (even worse) old town, I just hoped not to loose my teeth fillings. The steering is too responsive for a saloon car and quick throttle response is fun and all only up to a point. Guys and girls at Mercedes wanted to be "best or nothing" so much, that it feel like they overcooked it. This battle goes definitely to BMW.
Summary
When I started this test I thought this was going to be so easy. The plan was I would sit in one car, drive for a while, the switch to another one, do the same, after that I would just fall in love with the first one, and hate the other one. I couldn't have been more wrong. Actually I think that the first car war here is going to be won by of the smallest margins ever. Driving the BMW and Mercedes made me rethink what the whole concept of a car is about. Is it rather about what you see, what you can touch or is it maybe about how the car handles and drives? Because if it's the first, then Mercedes W205 C class is a piece of art and beats the hell out of BMW. If however esthetics are not the key thing and driving the car is, then the BMW 3 series F30 leaves its competitor way way behind. Or maybe this whole car thing is about something else? Maybe it's about how your car makes you feel? In this case, both the Merc and the Beemer are fantastic pieces of machinery but do it as differently as they can. If I was to buy one of these and pay with my own money and then park it on my driveway... I guess I would toss a coin and... hope for a Mercedes to win. This is how closely these cars are matched in terms of "make me feel good" factor. I think that I could learn how to extract decent driving performance from too sharp suspension of a Mercedes and I could get used to throttle response it has. So these shortcomings can be handled in one way or another. What however can't be handled is the blend look of this BMW, both inside and outside. And so it is, the first winner of "Car // Wars" is a Mercedes C class W205. Now all you Beemer lovers can complain in comments below.
Check back for more
Please check back next week for the first part of a completely new car war. It's going to be agonizingly boring, trust me.
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