First Drive Review
In the vast space that exists in the Mercedes-Benz C-class lineup between the entry C300 and the balls-to-the-wall 2015 Mercedes-AMG C63, Mercedes-Benz currently offers the C400. Nice as that car is, though, one jack-of-all-trades model isn’t really suitable for spanning the divide, so Mercedes is bringing in reinforcements. Luxury-leaning, green-minded customers, for example, soon will have the option of the C350e plug-in hybrid. And folks who might otherwise be attracted to the Audi S4 and the BMW 335i xDrive will be mightily tempted by the car here, the 2016 C450 AMG 4MATIC. (Once the C450 arrives, in fact, it will replace the C400 in the lineup.)
As the new kid on the sports-sedan block, the C450 AMG 4MATIC has a lot to prove, and while it may not be a full-on Mercedes-AMG product like the steroidal C63, it contains enough of its big brother’s goodies to earn the AMG badge. It starts with a power boost for Benz’s twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6, from 329 horsepower and 354 lb-ft of torque in the C400 to a solid 362 horses and 384 lb-ft in the C450. Torque distribution for the 4MATIC all-wheel-drive system is fixed at 33 percent front and 67 percent rear. As with its competitors, the C450 AMG offers multiple drive modes (Eco, Comfort, Sport, Sport+, and Individual) that tweak throttle, transmission, suspension, and steering-effort parameters, and the seven-speed automatic is capable of shifting twice as quickly as the similar unit in the C400.
Acceleration is forceful, as the power is delivered in a rapid crescendo and with but a whiff of turbo lag. Mercedes conservatively pegs zero to 60 mph at 4.9 seconds—we achieved 4.7 in the C400—and with all four wheels doing the clawing, it stays more glued to the road than the tail-happy, rear-drive C63, especially when rocketing away from tight, bumpy corners at full tilt. As with the C63, Sport and Sport+ downshifts are served up just when you want them with a throttle-blipped exhaust bark once you go for the brakes. All the while, the V-6 sounds incredible, with a lighter, less restrictive exhaust system than the C400 and a delicious crackling pop-pop-pop on overrun that recalls that of the Jaguar F-type V-6. This is a powertrain that encourages you to wring it out. Like, all the time.
Equally impressive is the C450 AMG’s chassis, which received quite a workout on the lumpy, twisting ribbons of asphalt that snake through southern Portugal’s Algarve region. The car rides on a uniquely developed multilink suspension with three-stage electronically adjustable dampers that come straight out of the C63. Whether bombing down smooth, high-speed straights or making quick left-right-left transitions on broken asphalt, the chassis loyally transmits the road’s texture at all four contact patches. Steering response is immediate, with satisfyingly linear buildup of effort and copious feedback tickling the driver’s fingertips. Even on long, winding descents, the brakes (with rotors measuring a robust 14.2 inches up front and 12.5 inches out back) always seemed to have enough power in reserve, with excellent pedal feedback. If there’s a bone to pick, it’s that the stiffest of the three-stage adjustable shock settings can be too brittle.
The C450 AMG looks almost exactly like the C63 and has a nearly identical interior, including the must-have optional one-piece racing-style seats. Indeed, from aesthetic and driving-comfort perspectives, at no point did we wish we were in the C63. Plus, as the C450 weighs some 200 pounds less than the C63, it drives smaller and feels nimbler, lending the midlevel car its own charm. One might see it as the spiritual successor to the 2002–2004 C32 AMG, which, when we last tested one, started at $52,120, or roughly where the C450 AMG 4MATIC is likely to fall without considering inflation. And the 349-hp C32 was slower, too.
So the eminently satisfying C450 AMG packs enough performance to be a full-blooded AMG model just a decade ago, and today it offers something like 75 to 80 percent of an Affalterbach special. Which is to say that it’s damn good.
