[Guest (MBNZ)]

I am new to the board, but wanted som einput from some of oyu who might have driven both. I drove the E55, M5, and M3, and frankly don't like the M3. Not much more zip than my S200, actually. But I do like the sportiness of the M5, and the raw power/torque of the E55. So, I wonder about the C32 AMG. I cannot find one to test drive, so any thoughts about the car in comparison to these 2 others would be great. I understand the apples to oranges, but do your best, if you would.<br> <br> BTW - expecting a tectite gray, loaded C32 in late January... Also looking over a local M5 and E55.<br> Thanks.

 

[Guest (MBNZ)]

I have driven the SLK32, I have not driven the the C32, but with both cars having the same engine (obviously the C32 is heavier), I can speak from some experience on the vehicle. I own a 2000 E55, which I absolutely adore by the way. I have a friend who wanted a C32, so we decided to test drive one, unfortunately one was not available, and we decided to test the SLK32 to get some sort of feel for power etc. We did back to back acelleraction testing (drag racing!!!!) with my E55 and the SLK32, and the SLK gets off the line much quicker, and always had me by at least 2 car lenghts at around 90-100, not much to my surprise, its all power to weight ratio. I would assume that the C32 would be somewhat similar, just a hair slower because of weight. Now that we have seen who was faster, how was the drive? Well I hated the SLK32. I do not like the sound of a 6 cylinder, supercharged or not. The car was very light and uninspiring in the twisties. I LOVE the sound of a V8, nothing beats the grunt and torque of 391 lbs/ft. It is an entirely different driving experience than a light zippy 6 cylinder. My advice, which is obviously biased, go for an E55 or get an M5. Good luck!!!!!.

 

[Guest (MBNZ)]

C32 is faster on the get-go than the E55 or supercharged 430

 

[Guest (MBNZ)]

I have driven the c32amg, m3,and m5. The c32 is a commuter car with marginal handling and pretty boring. If you have to have an automatic, then the e55 is an excellent choice. If you don't mind driving a 6 speed then the m5 is easily the class of this field. It has luxury and performance which, in my opinion, far exceeds either the e55 or c32. I really liked the looks of the c32amg, but the test drive was disappointing. The only area where it performed well was the acceleration from 65 to 85mph because the rpm's were high enough. Without doing a 'brake stand' start, I found the acceleration from a dead stop to be weak.

 

[Guest (MBNZ)]

mjoe: I have a C32 and it is both a rocket off the line (4.9-5.1 sec all the time) and under...

7 sec. from 60 to 100 mph. I think the e55 is a great car but is outdate both in looks and handling. The e55 and c32 are about equal in acceleration with a huge edge in braking for the c32. JMHO

 

[Guest (MBNZ)]

It's a very adequate car if you need four doors, auto

transmission, and use it to commute. In terms of fun, performance, and handling it's no m3. I wanted to buy the car because I need the auto transmission, but after driving it the e55 became a much more serious consideration, although I agree with your assessment of the e55.

 

[Guest (MBNZ)]

who cares about the engine sound. just bump up the radio or cd and go!

i have a c32 and it rumbles great. no complaints here. the slk32 has an old chassis so it's not a fair comparison.