Rants and Raves
ERIK JOHNSON
I really liked the flip-out COMAND screen—COMAND just gets easier and more intuitive to use with every iteration, by the way—and nicely laid-out central stack, but I was severely disappointed in the quality of the interior materials in the new C-class. The soft-touch material used for the dash and much of the center console had an oily, shiny sheen to it that completely overshadowed the attractive interior design.
SCOTT MOSHER
Sorry M-B, but driving-wise this C-class is still no 3-series. On the flip side, can you sell BMW the COMAND system? COMAND is so intuitive in comparison to iDrive; the contrasting brown and beige colors are soothing to look at and the menus are oh-so-easy to scan through. I seemed to naturally find my way through the various menus.
The grains of the interior plastics look cheap and mimic those found in the base M-class. By and large, it seems the general rule that Mercedes does full-size luxury sedans well and BMW does entry-level luxury sedans well is still quite true.
One last thought: Do I see a hint of the Chrysler Sebring in the C-pillar? I hope not but, after all, they were conceived from the same parents.
