The Mercedes-Benz C-Class (W203) is the internal designation for a range of compact executive cars manufactured and marketed by DaimlerChrysler from 1999 to 2010, as the second generation of the C-Class — in sedan/saloon, three-door hatchback coupé (marketed as the SportCoupé and sub-designated CL203) and station wagon/estate (sub-designated S203) body styles.
Design and development
Design work on the W203 C-Class began in mid-1994, with the final design approved in December 1995 by the executive board. Design patents were filed on 20 April 1998 and 4 March 1999.Patent USD433653, op.cit Testing began in 1997, with development concluding in 2000. The second generation C-Class was presented on March 21, 2000 and went on sale starting in September 2000. The sedan debuted with a range of inline-four and V6 petrol engines and inline-four and -five diesels. Most of the engines were carried over from the W202, but the C 320 was exclusive, offering . The diesels now featured common rail direct fuel injection and variable geometry turbochargers. Six-speed manual gearboxes were now standard for the entire range, except the C 320. There was a version of this car that was made in Korea.
Mercedes-Benz presented a coupe variant in October 2000 (launching in 2001), labelled the C-Class SportCoupé and given the internal designation CL203 (see below). The US model, labeled C 230 Kompressor, became available for the 2002 model year with the M111.981 engine, a 2.3 -litre supercharged inline-four making at 5500 rpm and at 2500–4800 rpm. The third body variant, a station wagon codenamed S203 arrived in 2001. Then in 2002 for the 2003 model year, a new family of supercharged four cylinder engines, dubbed M271, debuted for the entire C-Class range. All of them used the same 1.8-litre engine, with different designations according to horsepower levels, including a version powered by natural gas. The C 230 Kompressor variant sported . The newer 1.8-litre was less powerful but smoother and more efficient than the older 2.3-litre engine ( compared to . For the C 240 and C 320, 4MATIC four-wheel drive versions were also offered in addition to rear-wheel drive.
Along with the C-Class Estate (wagon), the SportCoupé was discontinued in Canada and the United States after the 2005 model year. The SportCoupé continued on sale in other markets until 2008. From October 2000 until 2007, a total of 230,000 SportCoupé were built in the Bremen factory and in Brazil.auto motor und sport, #3/2008, p. 27
As of 20 September 2006, over two million C-Class vehicles (including sedan, station wagon and SportCoupé) had been sold since March 2000, with 1.4 million sedans since May 2000, 330,000 wagons since spring 2001, and 283,000 of SportCoupé since spring 2001. Over 30 percent of total sales occurred in Germany, and over 20 percent in the United States.C-Class continues to be the bestseller of the Mercedes-Benz product portfolio The last W203 C-Class sedan was produced on 14 December 2006 at the Sindelfingen plant, although US-market sedans were made as late as March 2007.
Facelift
The C-Class W203 was refreshed in early 2004. In North America, the refresh took effect for the 2005 model year. The interior styling was changed in all three body styles. The instrument cluster was revised to display four chrome gauges with multifunction display in the middle. Centre console revision with new radio and climate control designs were also included. A fully integrated iPod connection kit was available as was a better Bluetooth phone system made optional. For the North American market C230, the "sport" package was made standard which included AMG edition bumpers, side skirts, and a rear spoiler. The exterior had changes of different wheel designs, grills and clear lens headlights. New more aggressive front, rear bumpers and side skirting were also installed.
Several all-new M272 and the OM642 V6 engines were introduced later in the year. In North America, the changes took effect for the 2006 model year. The C230, C280, C350 replaced the C240 and C320, the new-generation six-cylinder engines developed substantially more power than the older versions, by as much as 24 percent, whilst also increasing fuel economy and reducing emissions. The C230, C280 and C350 developed , and respectively. The three-valve twin spark design was replaced by a four-valve design, now with variable valve timing. On the diesel side, Mercedes-Benz released a brand-new 3.0-litre V6. Fitted to the 320 CDI, the new diesel cut emissions and fuel consumption over the old C270 CDI. The C220 CDI received a power increase from . In addition, the V6 engines also received the new seven-speed 7G-Tronic automatic transmission.
Engines +Petrol enginesModelsProduction yearsDisplacementPowerTorqueAcceleration (0–100 km/h, automatic)Top speed (automatic)Fuel consumption (combined, automatic)Inline-4 enginesC 160 (SportCoupé)2005–2006 at 5,200 rpm at 1,500–4,200 rpm11.9 secondsC 1802000–2002 at 5,300 rpm at 4,000 rpm11 secondsC 180 Kompressor2002–2007 Supercharged at 5,200 rpm at 2,500-4,200 rpm9.9 secondsC 200 Kompressor2000–2002 Supercharged at 5,300 rpm at 2,500-4,800 rpm9.3 seconds2002–2007Supercharged at 5,500 rpm at 3,000-4,000 rpmC 200 CGI2003–2005Supercharger (Kompressor Engine) / Petrol direct injection (CGI) at 5,300 rpm at 3,000 rpm9 secondsC 230 Kompressor2002–2005Supercharged at 5,800 rpm at 3,500-4,000 rpm8.5 secondsV6 enginesC 230 C 230 w/ Flex Fuel option (2007 only)12005–2007 at 6,100 rpm*** at 2,900-5,500 rpm***8.9 secondsC 240 C 240 w/ Flex Fuel option (2005 only)22000–2005 at 5,500 rpm*** at 4,500 rpm***9.2 secondsC 240 4MATIC2002–200510 secondsC 2802005–2007 at 6,000 rpm at 2,500-5,000 rpm7.2 seconds*C 280 4MATIC7.6 secondsC 320 C 320 w/ Flex Fuel option (2003-2005 only)2,3,42000–2005 at 5,700 rpm*** at 3,000-4,600 rpm***7.7 secondsC 320 4MATIC2002–20058 secondsC 3502005–2007 at 6,000 rpm at 2,400-5,000 rpm6.4 seconds*C 350 4MATICC 32 AMG2000–2004 at 6,100 rpm at 4,400 rpm5.2 secondsV8 enginesC 55 AMG2004–2007 at 5,750 rpm at 4,000 rpm5.2 seconds* +Diesel enginesModelsProduction yearsDisplacementPowerTorqueAcceleration (0–100 km/h, automatic)Top speed (automatic)Fuel consumption (combined, automatic)Inline-4 enginesC 200 CDI**2000–2003 at 4,200 rpm at 1,400-2,600 rpm12.1 seconds2003–2007 at 4,200 rpm at 1,600-2,800 rpm11.9 secondsC220 CDI2000–2003 at 4,200 rpm at 1,800-2,600 rpm10.1 seconds2004-2007 at 4,200 rpm at 2,000 rpmInline-5 enginesC270 CDI2000–2003 at 4,200 rpm at 1,600-2,800 rpm8.9 seconds2003–2005 at 1,800-2,600 rpmC 30 CDI AMG2003–2004 at 3,800 rpm at 2,000-2,500 rpm6.8 seconds*V6 enginesC320 CDI2005–2007 at 3,800 rpm at 1,600-2,800 rpm7.2 seconds* *Electronically limited
**For fleet vehicles, power is rated at and torque is rated at at 1,800 rpm
***Performance may vary in vehicles designated as "flexible fuel" or flex-fuel. Based on premium fuel. Performance may vary with fuel octane rating as specified in Operator's Manual.
1 Please see 2007 Operator's Manual C-Class
2Please see 2005 Operator's Manual C-Class
3Please see 2004 Operator's Manual C-Class
4Please see 2003 Operator's Manual C-Class
Flexible Fuel ("Flex-Fuel") models (2003–2007)
C 320 (2003–2005) Mercedes-Benz began offering their flexible fuel (flex-fuel) option in the C 320 Sedan, C 320 Sport Sedan, C 320 wagon, and C320 Sport Coupe from 2003 until 2005.
C 240 (2005) Mercedes-Benz offered the flexible fuel (flex-fuel) option in the C 240 Sedan and Wagon in 2005 only.
C 230 (2007) Mercedes-Benz later offered the flexible fuel (flex-fuel) option to the 2007 C 230 Sport Sedan.
AMG models (2001–2007)
C 32 AMG (2001–2003)
After the performance of the AMG models in the previous generation, Mercedes-Benz attempted to increase sales among high-end buyers by introducing two different AMG versions of the new model in 2001. To match the BMW E46 M3 displacement and improve weight distribution, the C 32 AMG scaled back down to a 3.2-litre V6 engine with a twin-screw type supercharger (manufactured by IHI) to reach and . Like its predecessors, it used a five-speed automatic, helping it to complete a sprint in 5.2 seconds.AMG Compactcaranddriver.com The C 32 AMG was produced as a sedan/saloon (6,695 made), station wagon (1,556 made) only for European markets, and SportCoupé (liftback) which was only offered in 2002 and 2003 by special request as an AMG STUDIO order with the production numbers unknown.
C 30 CDI AMG (2002–2004)
Another version was the C 30 CDI AMG, using a 3.0-litre five-cylinder diesel engine, capable of and . Like the C 32, it was available in all three body styles, but this diesel model did not reach sales expectations and was retired in 2004. The car's exterior resembled that of the C 32 AMG. To this day, it is the only diesel AMG ever offered, except for the pre merger AMG modified MB100 van, which used AMG tuned OM616 and OM617 engines.
C 55 AMG (2005–2006)
Along with the mid-generation refresh of the C-Class in 2005, the C 32 AMG was also replaced, giving way to a new 5.4-litre naturally aspirated V8-powered C 55 AMG. This was an evolution of the V8 engine found in the previous E-Class, with power raised to and torque climbing to . The C 55 AMG uses a V8 from the same engine family as the W202 generation C 43 AMG, the M113. Though maximum speed is still electronically limited to , the time has dropped to 4.7 seconds.Sedans Powertrain Chartcaranddriver.com Unlike the less-powerful V6s in the rest of the Mercedes-Benz lineup, the C 55 AMG continued to use the five-speed automatic with AMG Speedshift. The C 55 shares its longer engine bay and front end design with the CLK 55 AMG to accommodate the larger 5.4-litre V8 engine. The front of the car had to be extended by about 80 millimetres. The C 55 AMG is one of two AMG models to feature different structure than its base Mercedes platform, the other being the W204 C 63 with its custom elongated engine bay. The C 55 was the first AMG C-Class to feature quad exhaust outlets and an external differential cooler. The Nürburgring Nordschleife lap time seen on List of Nürburgring Nordschleife lap times for the C 55 AMG is 8:22 compared to 8:37 for the C 32 AMG mainly due to the revised suspension and extra torque. The C 55 was mainly sold as a sedan with a portion of wagons being sold in European markets. Although only offered for a brief period of time the C 55 AMG has been praised for its reliability, as the preceding C 32 AMG (W203) and the succeeding C 63 AMG (W204) were plagued by engine issues.
Coupe (CL203)
C-Class Sport Coupé (2000–2008)
Mercedes introduced the C-Class Sport Coupé (codenamed "Peanut" ver. CL203) to Europe in October 2000 as a three-door hatchback coupe, based on the regular W203 C-Class range. North American sales began in 2001 for the 2002 model year.
Whereas the C-Class sedan and wagon had the traditional Mercedes horizontal bar grille with the hood ornament, the Sport Coupé had a star-grille front end giving it a sportier look. The Sport Coupé also had a fastback roofline, an optional panoramic sunroof, and a functional rear spoiler to provide downforce at high speeds. The Sport Coupé was seven inches (178 mm) shorter overall than the sedan, while sharing the same wheelbase length.
Initial Sport Coupé engine configurations included the C 180 (129 PS), C 220 (143 PS), C 200 Kompressor, and C 230 Kompressor. In 2003, Mercedes-Benz added the C 180 Kompressor, the C 200 CGI, and C 30 CDI AMG. In 2005 the C 160 Kompressor was made available. There was also the C 32 AMG with and which was available only by special order from AMG STUDIO for the 2003 model year, making the C 32 AMG Sport Coupé much rarer than its saloon and wagon counterparts.)