Mercedes-Benz C350 - Enough "Mercedesness"

One of the issues that the German luxury car companies deal with in America is maintaining their exclusivity while still increasing sales. The guy who buys a 7 Series BMW or a Mercedes-Benz S Class doesn't really want to share the brand with some dude with a four-cylinder hatchback that's wearing the same distinctive emblem on its nose. So, the companies have been reticent to send over their more modest offerings.

That's why the C Class is the smallest Mercedes we've had on these shores, and still is--for now. The C-Class has been a four-door sedan in the U.S. for many years, since the cute little hatchback three-door was marketed here. You still see the hatches on the road.

Now, there's a new C-Class coupe, and it is one handsome piece of work. It wears the latest face of the brand and has a dramatic shape that is not so much "cute" as it is slick and compact -- but not tiny. You take it seriously, and it elicited some nice compliments from passers-by. One guy in front of the Starbucks said to me, "Cool ride, dude!" I told  him I was "just playing with it" and he found that very amusing. Yeah, right.

I spent a too-short week with a Mars Red example and it possessed that quality that keeps buyers coming back for more. Mercedes seems to have figured out that its cars have to have a solid and well wrought quality inside and out to not seem like Hondas, and they do.

The body design is unmistakably Mercedes, with its three-pointed star up front. The interior, though, where drivers spend their time, is especially striking. The surfaces are padded--but not too softly. The seats are firm and gripping. The burl walnut trim is from a real tree--as it should be in a car like this.

The entertainment system gave a fine sound, but I was unable to figure out how to pair my phone with Bluetooth without consulting the instructions. It's easier in a Kia--and still works fine.

My tester was a C350, meaning it had a 3.5-liter V6 putting out 302 horsepower under the shapely hood. It all ran through a seven-speed (!) automatic, which mean no effort to shift it, but no manual--like you can get at the BMW and Audi dealers (in some models). It makes it easy to not miss the self-shifting experience, and its Touch Shift program lets you select gears with steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters, even if you don't have a clutch to play with.

I got 21 miles per gallon over my week. The EPA says 19 City, 28 Highway, 22 Average, so I was right in there. Not a super economy car, but not a gas guzzler either. The EPA says 6 for Air Pollution and 5 for Greenhouse Gas--mid pack.

You can opt for the 201-horsepower turbo 1.8-liter turbo four-cylinder engine in the C250 and have much of the goodness of the C350, but for a whole lot less cash. My tester came to $50,835 when all was said and done and all the packages were added ($42,370 suggested retail). The C250 starts at $37,995 with shipping, which is what cars like this cost these days.

The C-Class Coupe is a subcompact, so it has back seats but is not spacious. It's cozy--and makes you feel good--but it'll cost you. Many people think it's worth it.

Acura TSX - More of What We Need

Giving the Germans a run for their money.

Acura was founded by Honda in the late 1980s to be an aspirational brand for the company. Folks loved their Civics and Accords (both of which were significantly smaller and less powerful back then), but Honda wanted to expand and felt that prospective buyers would be put off by a higher-priced Honda. Despite it's head start, Acura has lagged in perception below Toyota's luxury line, Lexus, which originated just a couple of years later.

The TSX is the heart of Acura, sitting in the Entry Premium category (high $20K - mid $30K). It's not too huge nor too small. It is actually the European Honda Accord, essentially--smaller and sharper than the now lumbering Accord sold (and built) in the U.S. In Europe, this is a sizeable vehicle, although it's fairly compact by American standards.

Competitors include the German trio: Audi A4, BMW 3-Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class. There are Japanese competitors from Lexus and Infiniti, too, and the Volvo S60 can be considered part of the group, too. The TSX recently became available as a lean and handsome Sport Wagon (tested last year), which lets it compete with cars like the Audi A4 Avant as well.

My tester came with Acura's well-regarded 201-horsepower, 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine, but there's also a potent, 280-horsepower V6 available. The four got 25.9 mpg during its stay with me, which matches up nicely with what the EPA awards it. The six is rated at 23 mpg average--not that much worse for it's significant power gain. The V6 lets the TSX match up with the V6-powered versions of the above-mentioned cars, which is important if you want to reach that entry premium buyer.

The four-cylinder car is offered with an automatic or a manual six-speed (yes, it helps compete against the Audi and BMW), but the six comes only with the automatic.

I like nice cars that drive well and have good sound systems and are filled with electronic goodies. But the demographic for the four-cylinder model is age 28 to 34, college educated, about evenly split male/female. Two out of three's not bad, I guess. The V6 model is targeted at a somewhat older buyer, more heavily male.

The TSX has a nicely crafted feel inside, with lots of buttons all over the console, dash, doors and steering wheel making it feel a little like a jet. The exterior wears the requisite edginess that Acura is using to define itself these days--but the shovel nose has been toned down a bit. Take a look.

If you're willing to look at the whole package and keep an open mind, a TSX could be a nice alternative to the Germans you've dreamed of owning.

Video by Chris Kidwell.