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Well, the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class is here. The 2022 model year launched the W206 chassis, which is an all-new design inside and out. It carries over the rounded shape on the exterior and inside is a light copy of the current S-Class with it’s heavy use of screens and a waterfall-style layout directly into the center console. All the current cars are powered by a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-4 with a 48-volt hybrid system, which I’m sure will be easy to diagnose and repair in the year 2029. Three trim levels are available with the “Premium”, “Executive”, and “Pinnacle”, the latter of which tops out at $48,550. However, this being a new car in 2022 and not for sale at a factory dealer, you can guess the price…
Well, I certainly didn’t expect to see this. When you say “W204 Mercedes-Benz C-Class” to me, I think of an incredibly milquetoast car that was made to a price point for the masses and it certainly reflects that. Yes, the range-topping C63 AMG was a bonkers car that is a ton of fun, but at the same time almost equally as terrifying if you haven’t fixed the headbolts on them. Back to the standard models, you were offered up various V6s with an automatic and a very rare manual that is nearly impossible to find. Well, it looks like someone found one and decided to turn it into a full blown race car to compete in the Trans Am series, along with various other series that it qualified for. You know what they say about racing: To end up with a small pile of money, start with a really big pile of money.
Believe or not, if you want a 6-speed manual in your run-of-the-mill Mercedes-Benz C-Class, you could actually buy one in the United States. Mercedes offered a small handful of them starting with the W203 and even more surprisingly carried that over to the next generation W204. Before you get too excited, these gearboxes were only offered on non-AMG cars and even finding one is nearly impossible because you can probably guess what the target market is for a base C-Class in America. Today, I finally found one that is worth taking a look at because the interior isn’t falling apart yet. This 2008 C300 up for sale in Maryland looks very nice and even has a good service history. Question is, would you even consider this car seeing as what this one costs over 10 years later?
To be honest, I heaved a sigh of relief the day I sold my 2007 Mercedes-Benz C230 Sport. I felt as if the compact executive sedan was becoming too ubiquitous for the upwardly mobile in my area, especially those wearing an Audi, BMW or Mercedes badge. To this day, I’m happy with the choice I made to buy a used 2006 MINI Cooper S, as it still puts a smile on my face every time I drive it. A few months back, while on a business trip to South Africa, my father called and informed me he traded in his W202 C280 for a 2014 C300 4Matic in Dolomite Brown Metallic, like the car we see here for sale in Texas. I didn’t give much thought to the W204 C-class when it replaced the W203 C-class shortly after I bought my C230 Sport. Given that the W205 C-class has a turbo four-cylinder engine, lack of start-stop override and a navigation screen that looks like an iPad slapped on the dash, it has me eyeing these late model W204 C300s with their 3.5 liter V6 a bit more closely.
I was rather surprised when I got a call from my father while on business in South Africa telling me that he had sold his trusty 2000 C280 for a 2014 C300 4matic. Almost 17 years on, that W202 was practically a family member at this point. But, as they say, all good things must come to an end. So this W204 marks the ninth Mercedes to pass through the Henriques household. Curiously, it was built at Mercedes’ East London plant in South Africa. So between my penchant for Western Cape wines and this Mercedes, we’ve been doing our part to fly the South African flag. Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika, then.
When the W204 debuted in 2008, you could specify a 6-speed manual in the US market. This option would disappear after the 2012 model year due to a low take rate. But for the more sporting driver, these manual transmission equipped W204s make for an interesting alternative to the ubiquitous 3 series sedan.
