Goodbye, Dear W203 C-Class

With only a few weeks left to go until the world premiere of the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class, the last 203 series sedan is rolling off the assembly line today at the Sindelfingen plant. The milestone vehicle, an iridium silver C 230 sedan, is destined for a customer in the U.S. The production of the last car of the series provided Vice President and Manager of the DaimlerChrysler plant in Sindelfingen: “Since the series was launched in 2000, the employees at the Sindelfingen plant have produced about 630,000 units of the sedan for customers all over the world,” he said. “Every single vehicle is an expression of their expertise and their attention to detail. I would like to thank all of the employees for making the C-Class what it is today: one of the most popular automobiles in the upper mid-range segment.”

As the successor of the 202 Series, the W 203 sedan continued the success story of its predecessor by becoming the best-selling C-Class in the company’s history.
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Bill - 12/14/2006 10:10:51 PM

+2 Boost

When the original W203 C-class made its debut in 2000, most people thought it was a very stylish car, resembling the then one year old W220 S-class. Many people said it was a mini-S-class, with many of the safety features of the S-class as standard equipment (ABS, BAS, ESP, tons of airbags, etc).

But the W203 did suffer from electronic glitches, especially during the 1st two years of production (like many 1st year brand new production vehicles with a lot of electronics). It's just that people had higher expectations with a MB product.

Also, although the styling of the W203 was refreshing when it first came out, it aged fairly quickly, especially when compared to the new E90 3 series and B7 A4 which came out. The facelift in 2004/2005 helped quite a bit to freshen the look and the build quality and reliability became very good, as all of the previous "glitches" were worked out. The facelifted interior was a major improvement over the pre-facelift design.

Personally, I always knew the 2006 and 2007 model years were going to be painful for MB, as the brand new 3 series, A4, and Lexus IS all had more modern and exciting styling, which is very important in this segment. MB needs the W204 as soon as possible. I personally think the W204 should have been introduced at least 1 year earlier.

EvoAudi - 12/15/2006 1:06:51 AM

+1 Boost

lately MB seems to be changing their image especially with their 07 updates they've already changed the R-class image from sports tourer to SUV check their website.

mstangpny07 - 12/15/2006 8:11:25 AM

0 Boost

I had a W202 C280, and let me tell you, it was junk. I am looking forward to the new one, though.

EvoAudi - 12/15/2006 10:48:39 AM

+2 Boost

i previously owned a W201 1997 C230 lasted 7 years never replaced anything other than tires AND got 40mpg combined

1uberaudi - 12/15/2006 11:43:54 AM

+2 Boost

Thank God. Now let's move on.

M53R - 12/16/2006 9:18:34 AM

0 Boost

At last we got rid of this junk... next 1 plz!