Mercedes-Benz C180 Sports Coupe
The mission of the C-Class sports coupé is clear: to attract not only new but also young customers, those who want prestigious badges on the nose of the car, and for them limousines and caravans with a three-pointed star on the nose. not sporty enough for convertibles, but not enough money for an AMG model. Logically, a sports coupe is cheaper than other versions of the C-Class, but that certainly does not mean that it is cheaper at first glance and in terms of materials. Sometimes it's the other way around.
In appearance, the Sports Coupe is truly athletic. Its nose is basically the same as that of other versions of the C-Class, but the fact that the star is wearing a mask makes it clear that this is a sporty version of Mercedes. The impression is complemented by a steeper ascending hip line, a cut-out bottom edge of the glass in the door and, of course, a short rear with a high top edge, which nicely complements the rounded roof of the coupe.
The shape of the taillights is interesting, and between them, under the flap made of sheet metal, there is a strip of glass, indicating the boot lid. It gives the rear a distinctive look, but is unfortunately not as useful for parking as one might expect. The view through it is rather distorted, so you should not rely on it XNUMX% in a tight parking lot. And not because it is usually dirty or foggy. Thus, rear visibility is lower than in the sedan, but still good enough to be able to live comfortably in the city with a car. Rainy days are an exception as the Sports Coupe does not have a rear wiper.
In the seemingly short and not too spacious rear end, it hides 310 liters of luggage space, which is enough for most of the tasks that the Sports Coupe must perform. Since the rear doors are large and deep enough, loading large items of luggage is also easy. Even if they are so big that you need to knock down the rear split bench. Because of the looks of this car, there is no need to give up practicality, at least in most cases.
Even sitting in the back is surprisingly comfortable. Due to the lowered roof edge of the coupes, those blessed with Mother Nature who are more than 180 centimeters tall would otherwise be pushed into the ceiling, but in fact this applies to all coupes. This is why there is enough knee room for them (in fact, I have to write for them, since the back bench consists of two well-designed seats and the third will have to squat on a slide between them), so that even slightly longer distances are quite bearable. especially if they do not sit opposite a pronounced length.
The front end, at first glance, is a “normal” C-series, but only really at first glance. You'll know the Sports Coupe is something special the first time you sit in it. The seats are lower than in other C-Class models, which of course contributes to the sporty feel. In the test car, they were manually adjusted (longitudinal offset and inclination of the back and seat), but this task could be very accurate. The displacement in the longitudinal direction is huge, only basketball players, and not all, will drive it to the extreme position.
The original interior of the sports coupe is complemented by a three-spoke steering wheel, which, unfortunately (surprisingly), is not covered with leather. We cannot talk about sportiness because of this, and also because of its rather (for a sports car) diameter, but it is true that also because of its height and depth adjustment it is easy to find a comfortable place to drive. On top of that, the seats are sturdy with ample lateral grip so that the position is comfortable even in faster turns. It is a pity that the foot movements are too long. Therefore, the driver often has two options: either he cannot press the pedal, especially the clutch, all the way down, or he has to raise his foot too high to step on it.
Unlike the sedan or station wagon version of the C-Class, the bonnet above the gauges is also grooved. Exactly still nothing sporty, in the foreground there is a huge speedometer, and the engine speedometer is hiding somewhere on the left edge, frightened. And here the designers could offer a more interesting or more sporty solution.
The center console is the same as the other Ceji, but the materials used make the gear lever sportier and even sportier. It has numbers from 1 to 6, which means a six-speed manual transmission.
The gear lever movements are precise and surprisingly fast for a Mercedes, and the gear ratios are calculated fairly quickly. Why they are calculated so briefly can be understood by looking under the hood. Despite the 180 mark at the rear, hidden underneath is a two-liter four-cylinder engine capable of producing a quiet 95 kilowatts or 129 horsepower of maximum power. So we cannot call it sporty, but it has other positive qualities as well.
Despite nearly a ton and a half, the Sports Coupe proves to be flexible enough to afford moderate laziness with the drivetrain. Unfortunately, it is too weak for faster overclocking. To reach the factory value of eleven seconds of acceleration from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour (in measurements, this figure was two tenths worse), the engine must constantly rotate in the red field. Moreover, the lack of strength is evident when overtaking.
The smooth operation of the engine can always be considered good, because even at the highest rpm (the red field on the counter starts at 6000, and the rev limiter interrupts the torture for another 500 rpm) it does not cause noise. The fact that a very heavy right leg is required for sport riding is also confirmed by the consumption test. When driving slowly, you can also achieve a consumption of much less than ten liters per hundred kilometers (on average in the test it was about 11 liters), and when driving faster (or according to measurements), it quickly rises to 13. liters. We definitely recommend the more powerful engine as the C180 Sport Coupe does a lot better with it.
That the C180 is truly undernourished is proven by its chassis, which immediately makes the driver aware that it is capable of handling much higher loads. The chassis is almost the same as the sedan, but it feels much more dynamic in the sports coupe.
While ESP is engaged, it actually behaves like a front-wheel drive car, but without the annoying side effects (read steering wheel idle and steering wheel jerk) when accelerating out of corners. The steering wheel is fairly accurate and gives the driver (almost) enough information about what is happening to the front wheels. The only thing that worries me is that when turning quickly from one extreme position to another (say, in slalom between the cones), the power steering sometimes cannot follow the driver's requirements, and the steering wheel sometimes hardens for a moment.
Even more gratifying is the fact that thanks to the flawlessly functioning ESP system and therefore the neutral position in the corners, the engineers were able to afford an adjustment in chassis travel that can only be noticed when the ESP is turned off. The sports coupe also proves its sportiness. There is almost no understeer, on slippery roads (after all, the engine is only 129 horsepower, it must be very slippery) the driver can afford to lower the rear, and on dry roads the car is completely neutral for a long time - whether it is slipping nose or rear, the driver can slightly work with the steering wheel and accelerator pedal installed by yourself.
Either way, the answers are predictable and the slides are easy to navigate. In addition, the slope in the corners is not excessive, which is a good achievement considering the good damping of bumps. The short bumps are even more embarrassing for the sports coupe, as the shock is also transmitted to the passengers.
It's great to insist on driving straight on the highway, as well as longitudinal bumps that would confuse the chassis of many competitors. Therefore, long journeys are very convenient. The shape of the housing also contributes to this, as it contributes to quiet wind cutting and quiet engine operation.
Safety is also well taken care of: the brakes are excellent, the pedal is pleasant to the touch, and the harsh emergency braking comes from the addition of BAS, which detects when the driver starts to brake in an emergency and fully increases the braking force, quickly and efficiently. If we add ESP to this, active safety is at a high level. The same is true for the passive safety provided by the front and side airbags and air curtains to protect the head of the front and rear passengers.
The equipment is also rich - a central lock with remote control, an on-board computer (C180 is a slightly tweaked version), and for an additional fee you can get air conditioning with a gun, five-spoke alloy wheels, a radio with steering wheel controls. .
Clearly, the C-Class Sport Coupé isn't just a cheaper, shorter, coupe version of the C. But it's important to know that price matters too - and it's safe to say that it's quite affordable. But if you have enough money, you can easily afford a C180 compressor - or one of the six-cylinder engines that would later be installed in the C-Class Sports Coupe.
Dusan Lukic
PHOTO: Uro П Potoкnik
Mercedes-Benz C 180 Sports Coupe
Basic data
| Sales: | AC Interchange doo |
|---|---|
| Test model cost: | 26.727,35 € |
| Power: | 95kW (129 KM) |
| Acceleration (0-100 km / h): | 11,0 with |
| Maximum speed: | 210 km / h |
| Mixed flow ECE: | 9,4l / 100km |
| Guarantee: | 1 year unlimited mileage, 4 years Mobilo warranty |
Costs (per year)
Technical information
| engine: | 4-cylinder - 4-stroke - in-line - petrol - longitudinally mounted at the front - bore and stroke 89,9 × 78,7 mm - displacement 1998 cm3 - compression ratio 10,6:1 - maximum power 95 kW (129 hp) s.) at 6200 rpm - average piston speed at maximum power 16,3 m / s - specific power 47,5 kW / l (64,7 l. - light metal head - electronic multipoint injection and electronic ignition - liquid cooling 190 l - engine oil 4000 l - battery 5 V, 2 Ah - alternator 4 A - variable catalyst |
|---|---|
| Energy transfer: | engine drives rear wheels - single dry clutch - 6 speed synchromesh transmission - ratio I. 4,460 2,610; II. 1,720 hours; III. 1,250 hours; IV. 1,000 hours; V. 0,840; VI. 4,060; back 3,460 - differential in 7 - wheels 16J × 205 - tires 55/16 R 600 (Pirelli P1,910), rolling range 1000 m - speed in VI. gear at 39,3 rpm 195 km/h – spare wheel 15 R 80 (Vredestein Space Master), speed limit XNUMX km/h |
| Capacity: | top speed 210 km / h - acceleration 0-100 km / h 11,0 s - fuel consumption (ECE) 13,9 / 6,8 / 9,4 l / 100 km (unleaded gasoline, elementary school 95) |
| Transportation and suspension: | limousine - 3 doors, 4 seats - self-supporting body - Cx = 0,29 - front single suspension, spring struts, cross beams, stabilizer - rear multi-link axle with individual suspensions, coil springs, telescopic shock absorbers, stabilizer - two-wheel brakes, front disc (with forced cooling), rear disc, power steering, ABS, BAS, foot mechanical brake on the rear wheels (pedal to the left of the clutch pedal) - rack and pinion steering wheel, power steering, 3,0 turns between extreme points |
| Mass: | empty vehicle 1455 kg - permissible total weight 1870 kg - permissible trailer weight with brake 1200 kg, without brake 720 kg - permissible roof load 100 kg |
| External dimensions: | length 4343 mm - width 1728 mm - height 1406 mm - wheelbase 2715 mm - front track 1493 mm - rear 1464 mm - minimum ground clearance 150 mm - driving radius 10,8 m |
| Inner dimensions: | length (dashboard to rear seatback) 1660 mm - width (at the knees) front 1400 mm, rear 1360 mm - height above the seat front 900-990 mm, rear 900 mm - longitudinal front seat 890-1150 mm, rear seat 560 -740 mm - front seat length 510 mm, rear seat 460 mm - steering wheel diameter 380 mm - fuel tank 62 l |
| Box: | normally 310-1100 liters |
Our measurements
| T = 12 ° C – p = 1008 mbar – otn. vl. = 37% | |
| Acceleration 0-100km: | 11,2s |
|---|---|
| 1000m from the city: | 33,5 years ( 157 km / h) |
| Maximum speed: | 210km / h (WE.) |
| Minimum consumption: | 9,4l / 100km |
| Maximum consumption: | 13,1l / 100km |
| test consumption: | 11,8 l / 100km |
| Braking distance at 100 km / h: | 39,4m |
| Noise at 50 km / h in 3rd gear | 54dB |
| Noise at 50 km / h in 4rd gear | 53dB |
| Noise at 50 km / h in 5rd gear | 52dB |
| Noise at 50 km / h in 6rd gear | 52dB |
| Test errors: | unmistakable |
evaluation
The Mercedes C180 sports coupe is proof that a car can (almost) rightfully be called a sports car by its name, even if it doesn't deserve it due to its engine performance. Excellent workmanship and a good chassis along with good design are enough to give this name some real value.
We praise and reproach
form
chassis
comfort
seat
position on the road
plastic steering wheel
transparency back
too small tachometer
too long leg movements
weak engine
