From S4 to C-Class

[Okan509]

n/a

[AudiS4SD]

Congrats on the new ride. I've been curious about the C450, so glad to see someone here who now owns one. Enjoy it!

Also, pics?? :

[mungie]

Did your s4 have the sport diff? Curious about the handling

[jran76]

I dig it. I'd be lying if I said I didn't. Other than the media screen, I think they nailed most of the things I can see without driving it. That's more than I can say about the B9....

Good luck with it, and let us know how you feel down the road.

[bgm130]

I made a similar move back in Jan. I however test drove a C63S before the c450 and got roped in to buying that instead. I thought the c450 would be a good change from the S4, being AWD and only ever driven AWD cars i wanted to stick with that, but the sound and power of the v8biturbo was intoxicating. similar interior and i love it. the screen was odd at first (looks like afterthought) but after being in a freinds S5 and a loaner Eclass the other day the non-built in screen really does give you more space and allows the dash to not be huge.

[johnstah]

I made a similar move back in Jan. I however test drove a C63S before the c450 and got roped in to buying that instead. I thought the c450 would be a good change from the S4, being AWD and only ever driven AWD cars i wanted to stick with that, but the sound and power of the v8biturbo was intoxicating. similar interior and i love it. the screen was odd at first (looks like afterthought) but after being in a freinds S5 and a loaner Eclass the other day the non-built in screen really does give you more space and allows the dash to not be huge.

I too recently got into a 2012 C63 coupe with P31 package. The sound from the V8 was intoxicating :)

[MrFunk]

I've had a few C300 rentals.
Interior is nice but really was not digging exterior styling. C450 seems like a good balance between performance and affordability.
Why did you feel you needed a change? Lease ran out on the S4?

[RhythmAddict]

Hello,

I've been a long time member here, went from a B8 A4 to a B8.5 S4. I absolutely love Audi, it was the first time that I got into the car enthusiast world. I was always a car guy growing up, but never found myself on a forum board with people encouraging you to spend money on parts only other enthusiasts would notice.

I just wanted to share some thoughts on my recent pick up of a C450. It's the first time I've owned a Mercedes Benz since I had a 2006 C230 Sport. I literally didn't even have it on the radar for my next purchase, as I was initially looking at 328/335/340 X-Drive cars. These appealed to me because of the full coverage of brakes, etc. and this car would be serving as a "professional vehicle". I could not strike a deal that I was happy with, even on the lowly 328. This made me investigate other options. I was able to get the c450 for less than what they wanted for the 328 (I also looked into the Cadillac ATS, Audi A/S4, and Jaguar XE - while many other brands and cars were considered, these were most heavily). So, I placed an order and waited a long 3 months to receive the new car.



First of all, I loved my S4, but man does this thing deserve a look if you are looking for something new.

Some things that are better about the S4:
- The seats. They are more supportive in the side bolstering and the one piece makes them look that way too. It's not just the front, it's also the back bench that is better in the s4. (The C does have optional AMG Performance Seats, which more than likely weigh in favor of the C-class.)
- The sound system. I only had/have the base system in both cars (I preferred the base system in the S4 to the Bang Olufsen).
- non run-flat tires?

Sadly, that is where the list ends.

Some things that are better about the C450:
- The exhaust. This car really strikes the perfect balance for a DD in terms of noise. You can easily make some rowdy noise and it will surely put a smile on your face, unless you typically drive 600hp+ monsters.
- The interior. I absolutely felt right at home in the S4, loved it. Thought it was simple but elegant, but every material in the C450 feels superior. It has a leather stitched dash. The buttons are crisp and have nice aluminum feel and weight to them.
- Driving dynamics. Comparing the S4 turn in to the c450 is almost a joke. The car goes where you point it. I never felt like the S4 did that, it would keep lunging straight while your input was clearly more aggressive. This has a lot to do with the chassis design, in general. The C class stuffs the engine further back, while the S4 has it sticking way out over the front axle - an issue Audi is notorious for.

I am not mentioning transmission or tech. Transmission goes unmentioned because I am a hardcore manual fan and have only owned such. The C450 is an automatic, which is criticized in nearly every review I've read on the car (don't fret, the c43 comes with a different and possibly equally as woesome transmission). I, personally, have no qualms with it. It feels like a hardcore adaptation of a manual transmission to the automatic genre. It holds gears like Audi's RS models and takes a bit of time to master, which I like.

I am not mentioning tech, because I usually option cars with the least of it available. I prefer my phone for GPS and as long as the car takes an SD stick or some other form of library for music - I'm happy. Plus, the B8 is older, so comparing the two might be a bit like equipping lead heavy gloves on a boxer.

Overall, I love this car. The color, Cardinal Red, is stunning and gets compliments all the time. The way it drives is fantastic and the noise it makes can make a poor day pretty good.

Did you lease or buy? To be clear, were you unhappy with the deals you were offered on the 328, it did you actually pay less on the c450? Nice car and congrats BTW

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

[doug97gxe]

where the damn pics man

[Silverbullet S4]

I started my European love affair with a C32 AMG back in the day and will always have a soft spot for the C AMGs. Congrats on the new ride!

[adamkb26]

I love the looks and interior of the new C450 as well. I've been thinking about making the same move but with all my mods the C450 doesn't really compare in terms of driving dynamics and speed so it's hard to compare. It would be a huge performance downgrade and hoping I can make it the same/better as the S4 eventually.

Overall I think the C450 leans a little more towards the luxury side than sport compared to a stock S4.

[4RingRook]

This car is bad and you should feel bad.






jk jk - love it and congrats again!

[brainpan]

I made the same Audi progression as you A4 to S4 and now I'm in the market for something diffrent(I actually miss my A4). I never really considered a Benz. Guess it's something i should add to the list. Happy you're enjoying it.

Sent from my Note 5

[Silverbullet S4]

I made the same Audi progression as you A4 to S4 and now I'm in the market for something diffrent(I actually miss my A4).
Sent from my Note 5

You have an S4 and miss your A4?

[brainpan]

You have an S4 and miss your A4?

Long story short, over past year I've had monthly visits to the dealer and indy shop, my a4 was bullet proof.

Sent from my Note 5

[VMRWheels]

glad to hear it was worth the wait! was cardinal red your first choice? I like it!

[shoe3k]

Great choice! The new w205 cars are really fantastic and MB really stepped up their game over the w204 generation. I have been secretly lurking the c63s forums after seeing one pull away and the sounds it made really sparked my interest. Then a few weeks ago I made the mistake of going to an MB dealership, which almost made me pull the trigger and order one. I only had my S4 for a year now but the c63s is really hard to ignore.

I never felt like the S4 did that, it would keep lunging straight while your input was clearly more aggressive. This has a lot to do with the chassis design, in general. The C class stuffs the engine further back, while the S4 has it sticking way out over the front axle - an issue Audi is notorious for.

I felt that was a strange thing to say because Audi worked hard on the motor and its placement along with small things such as windshield washer fluid placement.

The entire front axle on the B8 was moved forward 6 inches to improve weight distribution. In addition, the entire engine bay layout is designed to keep weight as reward as possible. Even things as small as the coolant expansion tank was shifted reward to improve weight distribution. Some fluids--even the windshield washer fluid is positioned behind the motor to redistribute weight from the front of the axle.

All these weight saving measures combined brought the weight distribution from a very fwd-like 62/48 down to 55/45--making the B8 chassis S4 identical in weight distribution to the GT500.

http://dreamingin302ci.blogspot.com/...erview-of.html

[Dannydyn]

Congrats pal. Hopefully your experience with MB is better than mine.

[vwblackb5]

Before deciding on the MY16' S4, I cross shopped it with a 2016 BMW 340i and 2016 MB C450. To be honest, as a current fully loaded W204 C350 owner, the interior of the W205 did not wow me enough. IMHO, just can't get over the stick on Nav screen and the wiper stalk shifter was kind of a turn off. Nonetheless, the V6 TT engine sounded great and felt responsive. The exterior also looks very much like a mini S-Class, especially with the larger AMG wheels.

However, once I got in and test drove the S4, I felt the almost lag free supercharger and the amazing sports differential was the key differentiator. Actually felt it was very planted and surprisingly with the torque vectoring differential easy to induce over steer during turns. So I'm actually surprised with your statement about the S4 chassis design being an issue.

[ENV²]

I too recently got into a 2012 C63 coupe with P31 package. The sound from the V8 was intoxicating :)

i also made this move. Seats in the AMG are much better than my S4 seats were. Also with Eurocharged tune the downshifts sound like thunder cracks.

[bhvrdr]

However, once I got in and test drove the S4, I felt the almost lag free supercharger and the amazing sports differential was the key differentiator. Actually felt it was very planted and surprisingly with the torque vectoring differential easy to induce over steer during turns. So I'm actually surprised with your statement about the S4 chassis design being an issue.

The sport diff helps make up for the inherent problems with this suspension/chassis on the S4. I love the powertrain on the S4 but the car is vague in the front end. The turn in is pretty poor. That is very different than being able to induce neutrality on power with the sport diff. I'm not getting bent out of shape about it because its not a sports car and you can still have plenty of fun with it invoking chassis behaviors/directional changes with driving techniques but in stock form its not a car that wants to turn. The IS350 was better at this and my Civic SI was neck snapping at initiating directional changes (not a fair comparison - had coilovers). Its all relative, though. The A6 I have with sport package plows like crazy. Makes the S4 look like a BRZ.

Mike

[DannyDeez]

Hey Alex congrats on the car bud!

[S4 00 2.7]

congrats on the new car! I actually want to move to this new c class next as well.

I made a similar move back in Jan. I however test drove a C63S before the c450 and got roped in to buying that instead. I thought the c450 would be a good change from the S4, being AWD and only ever driven AWD cars i wanted to stick with that, but the sound and power of the v8biturbo was intoxicating. similar interior and i love it. the screen was odd at first (looks like afterthought) but after being in a freinds S5 and a loaner Eclass the other day the non-built in screen really does give you more space and allows the dash to not be huge.

this is exactly what I wanted, a c63. love that thing!

I love the looks and interior of the new C450 as well. I've been thinking about making the same move but with all my mods the C450 doesn't really compare in terms of driving dynamics and speed so it's hard to compare. It would be a huge performance downgrade and hoping I can make it the same/better as the S4 eventually.

Overall I think the C450 leans a little more towards the luxury side than sport compared to a stock S4.

I have to disagree, the c450 has AWD and a twin turbo v6 -- with a tune and intercoolers you would have a monster. it also sounds very good for a factory exhaust.

from my HTC 10

[adamkb26]

I have to disagree, the c450 has AWD and a twin turbo v6 -- with a tune and intercoolers you would have a monster. it also sounds very good for a factory exhaust.

from my HTC 10

I know it can be modified to be what our cars can be, but it's still hard to compare. I'll probably test drive a stock S4, then go try the C450 again.

[acsgp]

Totally off-topic, (and the C450 AMG is really interesting), but the only car I can see myself trading the S4 in for is the Alfa Giulia Quadrifoglio, especially if it comes in wagon form.

[EBS4]

Awesome choice. I own an S4 and like it but suspect the C450 is an enormous step up from the B8.5 I drive. The new S4 will probably be comparable though I think the C450s interior (except the iPad) is worlds better than the new A4 pics I have seen.

My enthusiasm for the Giulia has been dampened from what I have heard about Ghibli and 4C reliability (or perhaps I should say their total lack of reliability?). Sweet cars for sure but made so carelessly...I suspect they will be leaving this market shortly after arrival.

EBS4

[S4'ed]

All it needs is a manual transmission.......

[Senseless]

I've read these cars have reliability issues, so it's not one I would like to own long term. But you're leasing, so all is good.
On the other hand, I'm confident owning my '12 S4 for at least 100,000 miles. Audi reliability is excellent.

[ENV²]

Totally off-topic, (and the C450 AMG is really interesting), but the only car I can see myself trading the S4 in for is the Alfa Giulia Quadrifoglio, especially if it comes in wagon form.

Probably next car for me.

[shoe3k]

Totally off-topic, (and the C450 AMG is really interesting), but the only car I can see myself trading the S4 in for is the Alfa Giulia Quadrifoglio, especially if it comes in wagon form.

A lot of the AMG owners really frown upon the c450 AMG because MB seems to be just throwing the AMG designation at everything. I lurk on the c63s forums a lot and there is definitely some sort of STIGMA with the c450 AMG line.

Here is the article:

http://oppositelock.kinja.com/real-a...ort-1699310247


Here is an actual signature of someone on the forum:
http://mbworld.org/forums/c43-amg-c6...ml#post6344617

The C450/C43 "AMG"...Its only a real AMG until a C63 pulls up along side it at a stoplight

[adk_audi]

I am not mentioning transmission or tech. Transmission goes unmentioned because I am a hardcore manual fan and have only owned such. The C450 is an automatic, which is criticized in nearly every review I've read on the car (don't fret, the c43 comes with a different and possibly equally as woesome transmission). I, personally, have no qualms with it. It feels like a hardcore adaptation of a manual transmission to the automatic genre. It holds gears like Audi's RS models and takes a bit of time to master, which I like.

Congrats, the C-class is to MB what the B8 was to Audi. In my area, Audi really took off with the B8, but now everyone is moving to C class. It sounds like a couple of people have some common ground on this thread, I went for a B8 A4 to a B8.5 S4 too. I stuck with Audi simply because I could get it mated to a manual transmission. I don't believe MB has a manual in their lineup and I don't think BMW and Audi will be far behind... it's a shame, but I guess all good things come to an end. I will probably just follow luxury MTs until I get to a price range I can't afford or they are gone forever. I think it was the CEO of Jag that said they wanted to be the last luxury manual available in the US - then I really get to find out what repair bills look like!

I dig it. I'd be lying if I said I didn't. Other than the media screen, I think they nailed most of the things I can see without driving it. That's more than I can say about the B9....

Good luck with it, and let us know how you feel down the road.

2 of my friends have a C class and it is a nicely styled car, but 2 quirky things drive me nuts. First, the seat controls on the door, it just unnecessarily clutters the door handle - it's starting to look like the old school Acura TLs with all the buttons. The second thing, and this seems to be trending, but why are German engineers now just mounting the nav screen? It complete interrupts the lines and looks awful, it's a shame Audi went the same way with the B9. Looks like someone was too cheap to get an integrated tech package and instead mounted an aftermarket navi from Best Buy.

[rwtzero]

How does the car feel around town? and I'm asking about the acceleration and responsiveness of the TT-V6. I personally have not owned a sweeter engine than the SC-V6 in the S4, but I am curious your review of the Mercedes product vs. the Audi 3.0T.

[circle]

Lol that article! The butthurt!

How would you feel if you owned a C63 and an identical pulls up next to you with factory AMG badges and looks identical for $15,000 less?

If I were them I'd feel great. I'd hit the gas and let them know.

Its no different than an S4 next to an A4 with red s-line badges.

[adk_audi]

Having the seat controls on the door means you can move the seat before getting into the car, kind of nice. I really don't mind the screen, but I understand why some people do - and it looks like most manufacturers are following suit with both these trends..

O.o My S4 automatically adjusts the memory seat based on which key fob opens the drivers door... The c class doesn't?

Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk

[jygesq]

Lol that article! The butthurt!


If I were them I'd feel great. I'd hit the gas and let them know.

Its no different than an S4 next to an A4 with red s-line badges.

only a different engine

[adk_audi]

I wouldn't even know - This is a one man car. I was just alluding to the potential benefits of having it there.

I got you. I am sure the c class does, I would be surprised if not. Its pretty handy if you ever need to valet.

I know what you mean about a one man car, my wife can't drive a standard. Haha

Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk

[raudiace4]

Congrats! The new C classes look great! C450, the TTV6 should have some very good tuning options and will probably put down big numbers. If you go that route lol.

[RhythmAddict]

Do you mind sharing the lease details? Totally understand if you'd rather not. Curious😃

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[snowmuch]

I too recently got into a 2012 C63 coupe with P31 package. The sound from the V8 was intoxicating :)

I had a C63 as well! that V8 with straight pipe is godly!!

[S4 00 2.7]

Lol that article! The butthurt!


If I were them I'd feel great. I'd hit the gas and let them know.

Its no different than an S4 next to an A4 with red s-line badges.

exactly this!

from my HTC 10