The above image was taken almost two months ago by Eddie Ling. Thanks, Eddie.
It has been a while since I wrote about the AMG C36. Apparently my feeling for the C36 had changed slightly when the MX-5 arrived. Some were good and some were nearly not as good. The AMG has been with us since late March this year and has been a reliable workhorse. However it always seemed to be a much much longer time. Over the weekend I thought to myself what would I get next, a BMW or a Toyota/Lexus. I need to remind myself that it is not the time yet, at least not until Christmas.
Our time split between C36 and MX-5 has been 50/50. On rainy days of course we take the C36 always. Ditto when we need to carry more than ourselves or move a lot of stuff from one point to another. Having said that, we are entirely happy with the carrying capacity of the MX-5.
The C36 will be due for the 5000km oil change and service in a week or so. We report no problem whatsoever. The car feels more substantial and solid than either of the C200 and C240 we once owned, despite being the oldest of the trio. I believe it was handbuilt with the best engineered parts and components available in the mid 90's. It starts instantly in the morning every time with a twist of the key. It makes a lot of noise under the bonnet during the first minute and quiet down soon enough when the engine oil fully circulates and reaches all the moving parts. A/C runs and hums for a cool and quiet interior. Its engine still pulls like a train and remains smooth and silent at idle or city driving. When asked to do its AMG duty it will scream and redline without hesitation.
What separates the driving experience (or pleasure) between MX-5 and the C36 is the steering, chassis and the weight (1,030kg vs 1,600kg). While the MX-5 and the C36 have similar level of grips and double wishbone suspension in all 4 corners, there are a lot of play and body movement in the much heavier car. C36 just feels a lot less precise and less confidence inspiring. Only looking at the C36 speedometer I can tell myself I am probably going fast enough but the cornering limit is still convservative. I think I can always go faster but don't know exactly how. There is plenty of grip (Michelin PS2 225 in the front and 245 at the back), which cannot always be felt, especially in the wet. The C36 simply understeers initially and needs a few "seconds" to settle itself after weight transfer. In fast cornering it is important to dial the steering very quickly with slight trail braking to kill the understeering and settle the car. All needs to be done in a smooth and graceful way, especially in the quick left-right-left or right-left-right twisties. Believe me, it is always a handful, with the big Mercedes steering wheel. A BMW with similar weight will just do much better in the steering and handling department.
However it has always been a relax drive in the C36. There is no need to rev the engine up above 3,000rpm in city driving with good pace unless there is a need to impress fellow drivers sharing the road with me. Fuel consumption is much better than most people think (12L per 100km or 8.33km/L on average recorded since day one). The gear ratios chosen in the 4-speed auto can only be described as perfect. It will cruise at 2'500rpm at 100kph at 4th gear and seldom requires a kickdown 90% of the time. There is not a big gap between 2nd and 3rd gear I find in most cars today. The gearbox sometimes is a bit jerky but most of the time it does its job seemlessly without being noticed. There is a big change in the gear strategy when switching from "E" to "S" mode. In "S" mode, it will always keep the engine revving above 3,000rpm, where the engine is on the "hot" cams. I uses "S" mode very occasionally, sometimes after the action was over I remembered I could have used the "S" mode to a better effect.
A wax job at North Point was given to C36 on Sept 2nd, Saturday. It looked Fantastic.
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