I’ll skip the SLK200 Kompressor part because it was a similar one as to yesterday’s version. Damn, that’s 3 (three) SLK200 Kompressor’s I’ve driven already! 5-speed automatic transmission, leather and nicer rims were the only extra cost options I detected on this one. Color was Cubanitsilber (smoke silver). Very nice car. This time I had to drive it to Landshut because the SLK was sold already and I was just the middle man to drive it to Landshut 60 km away and pick up a used C200 Kompressor Sportscoupe. I cruised up there with the SLK200 Kompressor, topless of course to enjoy the sun and make more room for my Afro (:p]), and it was a most pleasant journey. Boy, those SLK’s are really fun and the ‘200 even with the A/T isn’t bad at all.
The C-Class Sportscoupe was never one of my favorite cars from Mercedes. I actually think it looks “ok” but it just didn’t appeal to me. I also wasn’t expecting a sporty ride based on all the criticism from North American magazines. Well…I came away not dissapointed at all with the Sportscoupe. Raza was right all along. Please read!
Once in Landshut, I picked up the black C200 Kompressor SC. It looked pretty good thanks to some nice wheels and the optional sports package for this car. The C200 Kompressor sports a supercharged 1.8-liter 4-cylinder that produces 163-horsepower and 240 Nm of torque (177 lb/ft). *sigh* I know what you’re thinking… “Oh my God a Corvette will eat this thing!” :devil:]… well anyway, nothing “fancy” but over here, those are pretty impressive specs. 0-62 mph takes 9.1 seconds which isn’t bad at all.
This was a used Sportscoupe with 30,000 km on the odometer. Great condition inside and out. The interior was in a superb state condition wise. I didn’t like the gimmicky looking steering wheel and speedometer readouts and the fact that the interior was from the era of the “cost cutting days” at Mercedes. The brushed aluminum looked good though IMHO and gave a hue of sportiness to the car. Another option was the 5-speed automatic transmission. Thank God because earlier in the day, I had to rearrange a bunch of used Sportscoupes with manual transmission…and Mercedes manuals from that era can only be described in this way: a piece of sh**. ]
The engine popped to life in a nice crisp manor. It was very refined for a 4-cylinder quiet too, probably run in quite well with those 30,000 km on it. I’m not sure if this 2002 1.8-l engine model already came with counter-rotating-balance shafts on its crankshaft but I suspect it did. On the newer 1.8’s, Twinpulse ensures 6-cylinder refinement and feel. BTW, a few of those C230 Kompressors I rearranged on the dealer lot…God…what an awful engine. I turned on two C230 Kompressors and those things were UNREFINED and ROUGH. Not the case here with the C200 Kompressor: weird because they’re both 1.8-l in displacement (1976cc)…same engine basically! :o] 
Anyway, the roads back to M�hldorf are long, twisty and hilly. The type of stuff almost resembling a racetrack. I’ll be honest with you guys…a Cadillac Escalade would be in the ditch by now. :devil:] So anyway, here I am with this C200 Kompressor. The engine is pretty agile at low speeds and feels powerful (Yeah yeah…I know what you’re thinking… “4-cylinder powerful!? Wimmer are you on crack? It’s not a V8 dude….” :halo:]), even on these country roads. On a few straightaways, I floored the car. Acceleration was brisk and steady. Nothing brutal but adequate for most people – even me. It felt like a 9 second 0-100 km/h run to me. Midrange power was good too. I even managed to overtake a bunch of trucks on these roads with this car. No problem at all. 5-speed automatic? Flawless. I even shifted manually on the tiptronic function when I overtook trucks and wow…in 2nd and 3rd gear, this thing really pulls pretty hard. Great engine sound too. Not trashy or wailing like a lot of 4-cylinders sound but like a slightly aggressive roar, that’s what the motor emitted.
One of the biggest surprises was handling. I thought these things handled like “crap” as C&D or whoever put it? BULLSH*T. Although the C200 Kompressor was no sports sedan, it handled perfectly fine for me, and I was pushing it pretty badly too. I was taken aback by this because this was a pre-facelift model, which don’t handle as good as the faclifted C-Class. There were tons of curves here and the C200 Kompressor SC took ’em with ease to my surprise. Could it be the sports package that was responsible for this? The steering feel was heavy with a small touch of vagueness. Aside from being decent in terms of comfort, the suspension felt a little stiff too, which probably permitted the car to drive a little more sporty than other Sportcoupes. At any rate, I had a lot of fun blasting through curves with this thing. Sadly, this car was very low on fuel and the warning lamp light up halfway on my journey back. Great…with fuel prices being so God damn annoying over here, there was no way I was going to fill this thing up with a little gas. So the rest of the way, I just proceeded to drive it nice and slow home. Arrived back at the dealer with the computer readout telling me that the estimated range with the current fuel load to be 18 km. :bigsmile:]
Interesting little car. I’m still no fan of the Sportscoupe but this baby drove pretty nicely to be honest and much to my surprise. When driving it relaxed, it was reasonably comfortable and quiet on the inside. Even the 4-cylinder quieted down into a smooth whisper at relaxed speed. It didn’t feel very sporty despite the sporty setup but you could drive it in a sporty fashion and the car easily coped. The engine was great. Not to thirsty and nice agile performance when you needed it. Not slow at all. “C200” may not sound very impressive, but it’s far from sluggish. That honor probably goes to the C180 Kompressor Sports Coupe.
