2002 Mercedes-Benz C-Class C230 Kompressor Coupe review from North America

The brake warning light kept going off for no reason. Dealer found a faulty thing-a-ma-bob somewhere around the front brakes and replaced it.

The door sealer started to come off. Was fixed at the 10K service. (It's one of those things that I'm sure will keep coming off though...)

For the price, this car delivers.

The engine is great. The supercharger boosts power a lot quicker than a turbo, but not as quick as a naturally aspirated 6 cylinder (read BMW). But it really is a nice peppy little engine. It will slingshot you up steep hills, or make you pass a truck on the highway like it's going in reverse. If you want to smoke cars by the red light, this car can do it, but not if it's mated to an automatic tranny. The auto is nice, comfortable, works well with the engine as long as you don't try to drive the C230 as if you're Mario Andretti. You'll need the six speed manual for that.

The car handles very very well. No drama in the turns here, unless you turn off the ESP and get a little too heavy on the gas. But usually the ESP is on so it will simply correct what I, the pinhead behind the wheel, do wrong. If it keeps me from hitting the railings, fine.

Brakes are a dream come true. I swear they have some sort of mind reader built in, because they always apply the right pressure. And if you really need to stop, this is the car to be in. Just make sure the guys behind have enough space!

The engine is noisy, and it does sound like something is lose in there. But you don't hear that inside the car. These cars just sound like that. It's simply the way they are, don't worry about it (it's actually the supercharger and the chain that pulls it that causes all the rattle).

The seats are hard and they will make your butt hurt before you get used to it (about 2 weeks). No, there's no CD player. That is another $1000 from Mercedes ($500 if you go to a regular auto sound store).

Don't think that the C230 and the C240 are the same cars, just that the 240 has 4 doors. The 230 has a completely different interior. You're seated lower, closer to the ground, more "sporty". And though they may handle simliarly, they don't handle the same (if you know what I mean). Driving these two cars back to back will demonstrate this better than I can put into words.

Pay extra for that power seat. Adjusting the back tilt is a pain in the neck because this is a small car and the engineers at MB decided to put the manual crank at the tightest possible position for whatever reason.