#2002 mercedes c230 kompressor interior skin#
If its skin seems like it went shopping at JCPenny rather than Barneys New York, at least you realize that its bones are pure Mercedes. All did agree that it was edgy, which is preferable to bland or boring for any car with a pretense at sportiness. Mercedes claims that it evokes a "crouching athlete ready to spring into action." With a high rear end and a spoiler, its tear-shaped profile again split asunder editors' opinions. The exterior has been likened to various hatchbacks, from Saabs to Volkswagen Corrados. Moreover, a CD player is not standard (you didn't think we'd do a review of a Benz without this omnipresent complaint, did you?) hey, Mercedes, the other German makers have succumbed to the ubiquity of the shiny disc. It's nice that Mercedes is offering a cheaper alternative leather upholstery will run you $1,410, but something simpler and more elegant would likely quell dissenters. "Looks like a grunion run," groused one editor. We were split on the patterned aluminum trim around the dashboard and door panels some thought it looked cheap, others liked it for its sporty modernism. Gone are the wood and leather that grace most Mercedes interiors. In order to provide the only sub-30-grand Benz in its lineup, DaimlerChrysler obviously had to cut some corners. If station wagons can make a comeback, we think that hatchbacks can, too. What makes Mercedes think that it can succeed where its compatriots have failed? Can the cache of its brand name overcome the stigma wrought by years of public perception? Hatchbacks have historically garnered an association with the economy-minded masses reconciling them to a luxury brand could prove challenging. MB's Bavarian countrymen have previously cast a hatchback, the 318ti (1995-1998) to dismal failure. Rather, it's a hatchback, the first sporting that famous three-pointed star to land on American shores. The C230 does break the traditional Mercedes mold this is not a true coupe, as its name suggests, with a separate trunk. No annoying announcer blathering on about the engine or its sure-fire appeal. If you've seen the advertisement, you'd note a somewhat shady Russell Crowe look-alike fellow (except that this guy was in a good mood), driving, just driving the C-Class with an alternative band-type song thumping in the background. Yes, they're marketing it toward Generation X, a too-oft-used but accurate enough moniker, to lure this heretofore unmolested segment into viewing a Mercedes as an accessible, possible first-car purchase.
It was not designed for the gentrified, moneyed classes whose concerns include osteoporosis and prostate glands, but for those who can still feel the putrid, hot breath of student loans on their backs. While plenty of debates have risen in the past about the appeal of Benzes, this particular model adds a new twist to the argument. Then there were those indignant in the belief that it was a good car and a fair deal in and of itself. On one side of the fence glowered those who believed that the only appeal of the Mercedes C230 Kompressor was its brand-name association. Amidst the bowels of the Xanadu known as the editorial offices, an intense philosophical debate arose, developing factions and sides whose chasms were precipitous enough to threaten the deep ties contrived by executive-mandated fun days and "Quit touching me!" ride-alongs with five fragrant editors squished into a compact coupe.
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