C-CLASS W202

About the C-Class W202

Mercedes built the W202 to fight the E36 3 Series and brought a knife to a track fight. The C-Class was softer, quieter, and more refined than the BMW. The M104 inline-six in the C 280 made 194 hp and was smooth in the way only Mercedes sixes managed. The C 36 AMG was the first official Mercedes-AMG production car, 276 hp from a tuned 3.6-liter six. That matters historically. Interior quality was a step down from the W124 E-Class it borrowed components from, and some early cars had biodegradable wiring harnesses that turned out to be exactly as reliable as that sounds. The four-cylinder C 180 and C 200 were taxi-spec in Europe. The C 36 and later C 43 AMG were the ones worth remembering.