Clarkson himself would agree - he said next Top Gear / Grand Tour folks should be guys excited about cars ua-cam.com/video/dmyEe2Iw4dk/v-deo.html&ab_channel=uns0cialmedia
Definitely clear to see this guy's influences! Id say he's more Chris Harris than Clarkson as he's clearly a capable driver as well as a fantastic presenter
Bro love from Australia! I have never skipped any recommended videos of yours. Your precise but at the same time comprehensive review on any car is an art form in itself. You were born for this! All the best bro 👍
Nice review mate, Mercedes AMG certainly make some pretty exciting cars, a few C43's round where I live and they are pretty fast and look good. Hopefully you can get your hands on a C63, they are my favourites when it comes to AMG!
Thanks for the video, plan is to pick up an rs3 or c43 as next car, watching this vid furthermore convinces me to pick up a c43 market prices are actually decent at the moment.
@@thatpersiandude7386 I used to own a very high km one had 265,000 I bought it from a farmer in Timaru and it had so many problems. He just didn't take care of it but when it wasn't misfiring my lord that thing was an animal! Definitely want one again. What cars are you into and what puts a smile on your face? For me its any car !!!
I was in the market for one of these but was put off by all the horror stories regarding maintenance, breakdowns, etc. They truly have a terrible reputation for build quality and reliability. Ended up back in a bmw. Always jealous of the AMG sound when one goes by but glad I'm not broke due to repair bills.
Interesting... yeah I don't really know what to make of merc reliability. Maybe it's a fear of the unknown for me, I know what BMW's are good and bad, Mercedes less so. But yeah dunno how they make this thing sound so good when this was right when emissions started coming in
Loving these reviews. Also fun to spot my old hood. Cortina Ace, Alex Moore park and Old Coach Road. Try and get some reverb on the north bound entrance to the motorway from J’ville under the bridge.
Definitely an underrated Merc model. Lots of people say it's not a real AMG but I like this concept better. I left Mercedes Benz just before this came out. At the same time as the C63 4.0L TT V8 but only rode shot gun in one of those although drove plenty of NA 6.2/6.3 C63 models. I really liked the V6TT in the E400 and CLS400 and was devoted I never got do drive one of these. Never really liked the Duel clutch single turbo 4cy 2.0T engine combo in a CLA45(I only drove the first versions however) only good once on full boil or with launch control. During regular driving I found them quite laggy and jerky also the C class just felt like a better made vehicle. Yes I think you picked up on the transmission. Smooth torque converter auto perfect for regular driving yet almost duel clutch like shifts when on it-best of both worlds. Combined with a fantastic AWD system, chassis and smooth V6 that comes alive when punted hard makes for the perfect duel nature luxury sedan and performance mountain road weapon in any condition 👍🏼
Comparing your 1 series with this c class was kinda unfair. Compare it to a 340 f30 facelift or a g20 m340i that it is not more luxurious, neither faster. Good vid as always.
hey i noticed you got roller shots now they look great not sure what they are shot on but highly recommend you try out the DJI pocket 3 it is great to get rollers
very nice car but in my opinion the best mercedes were the 6.3 and e55 supercharged you really cant beat them can you. but this sounded real good. This review showed all the good stuff of the c43 while peiple keep nagging that it doesnt have a v8 lol good one mate
@@unintentionallyfire yeh but then again is it really better than the 6.3 like yeh as a i newer car it is better but im sure it lacks the rawness of the 6.3
Well true, I suppose any cars flaws are identified on track. It's a good road car, but yes anything M will come alive on track whereas this would probably start to show its deficiencies because it's set up to be a road tourer
As a Bimmer guy and having owned a few e30s, many e36s, a e39 540( and now an e39 M5) I thought i would not change what I would normally go for but after the debacle that was the BMW F11 and the number of issues I had from a nearly new car I switched to a Mercedes w213 e63 and probably wont be jumping German ships in a hurry again.
@@KiwiCarLife I went straight to Trademe to have a look.... Kinda surprised at the price. What would you recommend from the BMW stable?? I watched you clip about sticking to NA and away from turbos
We have a Glc43 amg in our family and i have also driven a C43 coupe before…. Biggest issue with these cars are the horrible build quality, most of them rattle and squeak pretty badly which can be super annoying!!!! Also the performance aint all that for the money you paying
I dunno my 2012 M135i is completely rattle free at 150,000km? And this one was too. Maybe when they get to higher k's I dunno but I certainly wouldn't describe either as poorly built.
Idk why, but whenever I think of Mercedes benz, i think luxury, refinement and comfort. So i guess their AMG lineup suits a person who likes performance and comfort. How did the steering feel of the AMG compare to your 135i?
Yeah me too... I guess luxury and comfort are down the order of important things in a car for me. Things like performance, transmission, steering, sound etc. all come first. Which this definitely ticks too. Both equally dull tbh. You get used to the steering but it's not "good" out of the boxd
I just wrote of my megane 3 RS 😢 but now thinking whether to get another megane or a bmw m140i. How did you get ur 135i for 15k here in Australia there’s all 25+
@@KiwiCarLife most people you talk to say theyre crap on fuel but I wasnt driving either of them easy and would still average between 700-800 to a tank haha
Liam's been in mine (370Z manual) and the way I drive it, to be fair, I only average around 6km/l (about 350km filling up the 72L tank with about 60L left) - but then I also only get 5,000km out of a set of tyres 😂. On the very rare occasion I've had to drive it like an upstanding citizen for a long distance, it's true, you can double that. My Skyline manual (3.5 V6) has an 80L tank and on an easy trip south I've done almost 800km getting down to the fumes.
Hmmmm I dunno. My M135i is pretty soft out of the box too tbh. But yes most Mercs tend to be set up a little more luxuriously so wouldn't handle as well as an equivalent BMW
AMG mercedes are dead. The last good ones were the ones with the 6.2 V8's. AMG is now a body pack and not a engine difference. For a better car than this at a close price get a E55 AMG
Bmw is not the best in any category It doesent holds any record on any track Its not best in terms of interior Not the best handling Not the best fuel economy.. Not the fastest 0-100 Not the most reliable Not the best value for money Doesent have anything unique other than those stupid kidneys Maybe only sitting position is the best in car industry Its just mid class in all those categories for wannabe racers, wannabe drifters, for showing off for youngsters, or ego booster for elders.. thats the reason all new bmw have that 'angry face' looking fronts, and thats the reason bmws as used cars are one of the most neglected cars in terms of maintainence, even the slightly used new ones u r not pretty sure that it has no history of 'close contacts' with walls, lampposts, dead people..
What are you on about 😂 Remember the top gear C63 vs RS4 vs M3 video? The BMW smashed the others by over 4 seconds on track. Every M car has been quicker than every equivalent Lexus, Audi, Merc, or American car on every track in the world. The interior is not bad? My M135i can get as low as 7L/100km. Name another 3.0L turbo engine that can do that? My M135i I timed from 0-100 in 4.6s. Faster than my ISF with 80 more kW! If you watch my “Are BMW’s reliable?” video you’ll see that select models (which incidentally are also the best to drive) are unlikely to have issues And they are the only affordable, modifiable, RWD cars still on the market. They represent excellent value for money. Yeah agree they’re not amazing in any particular area, but that’s not the point. They are very good at basically everything, for not that much money! Have you ever owned one?
@@KiwiCarLife yeah thats my point they are not amazing in any particular area, so im saying this as a honda fan: Claimed by many: the most reliable engines ever (they are also biggest egine manufacturer in the world) Vtec as unique point that they invented Claimed by many: the best and the most precise manual transmissions in the world Held many records for fwd cars, the most popular of them is surely nurburgring, which bmw will never hold for their rwd Claimed by many that they have also the best f1 engine They are the first extracted 100hp from 1l from engine as far as I know And so on.. so thats my point. And I feel Honda was never about speed but lets say 'affordable fun' so Im not a big fan of their records, nor turbos, old 2.0 na vtec is quite enough for normal person to have decent amount of fun.
2:47 Imagine you try to turn on your wipers and you shift the car into reverse while driving! In all seriousness I hope there's some kind of shift lock on the mechanism?
It's a digital stick and it locks it out. I've test driven Mercedes with this setup, and accidently flicked it to turn a corner and nothing happened 😅. The BMW e65 also had that feature.
This bloke has to be the next clarkson, your content is incredible mate
I 2nd that mate! 👍
Haha thanks
Clarkson himself would agree - he said next Top Gear / Grand Tour folks should be guys excited about cars ua-cam.com/video/dmyEe2Iw4dk/v-deo.html&ab_channel=uns0cialmedia
Definitely clear to see this guy's influences! Id say he's more Chris Harris than Clarkson as he's clearly a capable driver as well as a fantastic presenter
Love this short no bullshit reviews. Keep it up mate!
Thanks!
Those upshifts sounded violent and smooth at the same time! Good sounds haha
Yeah for sure!
I have to admit I knew nothing about these before this video now I kind of want one!
Glad you learned something!
Bro love from Australia! I have never skipped any recommended videos of yours. Your precise but at the same time comprehensive review on any car is an art form in itself. You were born for this! All the best bro 👍
Thanks man!
Well done man. Another informative and fun review. Keep it up. 👍
Thanks!
Enjoying the videos mate, keep them coming!
Thanks man will do!
_wow, nice car, love the style and sound 👍🏼👍🏼_ .. _great review_
Thanks!
Nice review mate, Mercedes AMG certainly make some pretty exciting cars, a few C43's round where I live and they are pretty fast and look good.
Hopefully you can get your hands on a C63, they are my favourites when it comes to AMG!
Yeah done a couple C63's with the 6.2, haven't done the new 4.0L one though
Thanks for the video, plan is to pick up an rs3 or c43 as next car, watching this vid furthermore convinces me to pick up a c43 market prices are actually decent at the moment.
Rs3 for sure…way more performance
@@thatpersiandude7386 I used to own a very high km one had 265,000 I bought it from a farmer in Timaru and it had so many problems. He just didn't take care of it but when it wasn't misfiring my lord that thing was an animal! Definitely want one again. What cars are you into and what puts a smile on your face? For me its any car !!!
Yeah tbh... I'd probably have an RS3 over this C43. They're not really in the same caliber. But I'd have this C43 over an S4.
I was in the market for one of these but was put off by all the horror stories regarding maintenance, breakdowns, etc. They truly have a terrible reputation for build quality and reliability.
Ended up back in a bmw. Always jealous of the AMG sound when one goes by but glad I'm not broke due to repair bills.
Interesting... yeah I don't really know what to make of merc reliability. Maybe it's a fear of the unknown for me, I know what BMW's are good and bad, Mercedes less so. But yeah dunno how they make this thing sound so good when this was right when emissions started coming in
Loving these reviews. Also fun to spot my old hood. Cortina Ace, Alex Moore park and Old Coach Road. Try and get some reverb on the north bound entrance to the motorway from J’ville under the bridge.
Thanks! And yes there's a couple good wee tunnels in and out of Jville aye
your reviews are really good very fair
Thanks man!
Definitely an underrated Merc model. Lots of people say it's not a real AMG but I like this concept better. I left Mercedes Benz just before this came out. At the same time as the C63 4.0L TT V8 but only rode shot gun in one of those although drove plenty of NA 6.2/6.3 C63 models. I really liked the V6TT in the E400 and CLS400 and was devoted I never got do drive one of these. Never really liked the Duel clutch single turbo 4cy 2.0T engine combo in a CLA45(I only drove the first versions however) only good once on full boil or with launch control. During regular driving I found them quite laggy and jerky also the C class just felt like a better made vehicle. Yes I think you picked up on the transmission. Smooth torque converter auto perfect for regular driving yet almost duel clutch like shifts when on it-best of both worlds. Combined with a fantastic AWD system, chassis and smooth V6 that comes alive when punted hard makes for the perfect duel nature luxury sedan and performance mountain road weapon in any condition 👍🏼
Yeah man I'd have to agree. It's a fantastic car.
That v6 sounds great in my opinion
I agree!
Comparing your 1 series with this c class was kinda unfair. Compare it to a 340 f30 facelift or a g20 m340i that it is not more luxurious, neither faster.
Good vid as always.
Correct, this is an M340i competitor, but I guess the M135i comparison was loose at best just because it's what I'm used to
Good video kiwi
Thanks!
Anychance you would ever be able to do a review on an 8J TTRS? Would be an awesome review
Already done one! Check it out:
ua-cam.com/video/q8BVYLP_bAM/v-deo.html
hey i noticed you got roller shots now they look great not sure what they are shot on but highly recommend you try out the DJI pocket 3 it is great to get rollers
Just my camera mounted to the back bumper of my M135i haha
very nice car but in my opinion the best mercedes were the 6.3 and e55 supercharged you really cant beat them can you. but this sounded real good. This review showed all the good stuff of the c43 while peiple keep nagging that it doesnt have a v8 lol good one mate
All the naysayers seem to forget there’s a 63 with a V8…
Yeah honestly I'm not opposed to a good sounding 6
@@unintentionallyfire yeh but then again is it really better than the 6.3 like yeh as a i newer car it is better but im sure it lacks the rawness of the 6.3
@@BEAMNGBROTHER the solution is to daily a C43 and have a W204 C63 as a weekend car!!
@@unintentionallyfire ecxllent idea or maybe a e92 m3 and a c63 w204. lol i cant tell if 6.3 is better or 5.5 supercharged
@kiwicarlife chur for the shout outs in your videos when you drive the back road from Johnsonville to karori .
Classic haha
those mercs are boats on the track fast on the straight, slow as on the corner
Well true, I suppose any cars flaws are identified on track. It's a good road car, but yes anything M will come alive on track whereas this would probably start to show its deficiencies because it's set up to be a road tourer
try the e55 amg next 😁laxury and power!
Mmmm yes that would be interesting
As a Bimmer guy and having owned a few e30s, many e36s, a e39 540( and now an e39 M5) I thought i would not change what I would normally go for but after the debacle that was the BMW F11 and the number of issues I had from a nearly new car I switched to a Mercedes w213 e63 and probably wont be jumping German ships in a hurry again.
How good! E39 M5 is hard to beat but Merc’s newer stuff is a worthy competitor
Here we go again.... After another one of your reviews, Im tempted to give ANOTHER car a go 🙂 Better start saving
Haha this one is a good one! But given these are still like 40k, I reckon my BMW is still better value for money
@@KiwiCarLife I went straight to Trademe to have a look.... Kinda surprised at the price. What would you recommend from the BMW stable?? I watched you clip about sticking to NA and away from turbos
We have a Glc43 amg in our family and i have also driven a C43 coupe before….
Biggest issue with these cars are the horrible build quality, most of them rattle and squeak pretty badly which can be super annoying!!!!
Also the performance aint all that for the money you paying
Mercs used to be very well made, don't know what happened.
@@WayToManyAssassinsvery true, around 2014 both bmw and mercedes became shit
I dunno my 2012 M135i is completely rattle free at 150,000km? And this one was too. Maybe when they get to higher k's I dunno but I certainly wouldn't describe either as poorly built.
Idk why, but whenever I think of Mercedes benz, i think luxury, refinement and comfort. So i guess their AMG lineup suits a person who likes performance and comfort. How did the steering feel of the AMG compare to your 135i?
Yeah me too... I guess luxury and comfort are down the order of important things in a car for me. Things like performance, transmission, steering, sound etc. all come first. Which this definitely ticks too. Both equally dull tbh. You get used to the steering but it's not "good" out of the boxd
I just wrote of my megane 3 RS 😢 but now thinking whether to get another megane or a bmw m140i. How did you get ur 135i for 15k here in Australia there’s all 25+
NZ man! Coz we get imports they’re very cheap. Mine was 13k
@@KiwiCarLife lucky we got imports too but mainly jap
Merc over BMW any day!
After driving this (with select models) I could understand that
It would take a v8 for me to pick it over the f80 m3 so if it's not a c63 I wouldn't pick it
That’s fair, this is more an M340i competitor
0:48 is that a mk7 I spy 👀
Haha sure is! Will be coming soon
big $
True... 40k. But once they become 20-30k cars I'd say it's great value
That 135i was only 13 grand?! Thats cheap!
Cheapest one in the country at the time!
Well, at least its not an audi
Haha they’ve got a great product too!
Last
He who is last, shall be first
370gt expensive on fuel? I owned 2 350Z and could do 750km to a tank 😆👌
The 370GT I had got worse fuel economy than my ISF HAHA. But that is quite impressive
@@KiwiCarLife most people you talk to say theyre crap on fuel but I wasnt driving either of them easy and would still average between 700-800 to a tank haha
Liam's been in mine (370Z manual) and the way I drive it, to be fair, I only average around 6km/l (about 350km filling up the 72L tank with about 60L left) - but then I also only get 5,000km out of a set of tyres 😂. On the very rare occasion I've had to drive it like an upstanding citizen for a long distance, it's true, you can double that. My Skyline manual (3.5 V6) has an 80L tank and on an easy trip south I've done almost 800km getting down to the fumes.
Its too soft, you only realise it when you drive it like a BMW in the wet or have to swerve etc that you realise its too late. 😂
Hmmmm I dunno. My M135i is pretty soft out of the box too tbh. But yes most Mercs tend to be set up a little more luxuriously so wouldn't handle as well as an equivalent BMW
AMG mercedes are dead. The last good ones were the ones with the 6.2 V8's. AMG is now a body pack and not a engine difference. For a better car than this at a close price get a E55 AMG
Bro living under a tree
I dunno I thought this one was really good? Maybe their latest stuff, but this is like 2017 era.
Bmw is not the best in any category
It doesent holds any record on any track
Its not best in terms of interior
Not the best handling
Not the best fuel economy..
Not the fastest 0-100
Not the most reliable
Not the best value for money
Doesent have anything unique other than those stupid kidneys
Maybe only sitting position is the best in car industry
Its just mid class in all those categories for wannabe racers, wannabe drifters, for showing off for youngsters, or ego booster for elders.. thats the reason all new bmw have that 'angry face' looking fronts, and thats the reason bmws as used cars are one of the most neglected cars in terms of maintainence, even the slightly used new ones u r not pretty sure that it has no history of 'close contacts' with walls, lampposts, dead people..
What are you on about 😂
Remember the top gear C63 vs RS4 vs M3 video? The BMW smashed the others by over 4 seconds on track. Every M car has been quicker than every equivalent Lexus, Audi, Merc, or American car on every track in the world.
The interior is not bad?
My M135i can get as low as 7L/100km. Name another 3.0L turbo engine that can do that?
My M135i I timed from 0-100 in 4.6s. Faster than my ISF with 80 more kW!
If you watch my “Are BMW’s reliable?” video you’ll see that select models (which incidentally are also the best to drive) are unlikely to have issues
And they are the only affordable, modifiable, RWD cars still on the market. They represent excellent value for money.
Yeah agree they’re not amazing in any particular area, but that’s not the point. They are very good at basically everything, for not that much money!
Have you ever owned one?
@@KiwiCarLife yeah thats my point they are not amazing in any particular area, so im saying this as a honda fan:
Claimed by many: the most reliable engines ever (they are also biggest egine manufacturer in the world)
Vtec as unique point that they invented
Claimed by many: the best and the most precise manual transmissions in the world
Held many records for fwd cars, the most popular of them is surely nurburgring, which bmw will never hold for their rwd
Claimed by many that they have also the best f1 engine
They are the first extracted 100hp from 1l from engine as far as I know
And so on.. so thats my point. And I feel Honda was never about speed but lets say 'affordable fun' so Im not a big fan of their records, nor turbos, old 2.0 na vtec is quite enough for normal person to have decent amount of fun.
The only thing worst than owning a C43 is having to tell your dad you're gay.
Is that so
2:47 Imagine you try to turn on your wipers and you shift the car into reverse while driving! In all seriousness I hope there's some kind of shift lock on the mechanism?
It's a digital stick and it locks it out. I've test driven Mercedes with this setup, and accidently flicked it to turn a corner and nothing happened 😅.
The BMW e65 also had that feature.
Yeah honestly it's weird at first but you get used to it. Tesla has the same setup