Car India – May 2019

wodoorsequalsportscar.thatholdstrueformany.
Ifit’sredincolour,it furthersthatcause.addfourtail-pipesanda sonorous
soundtrackandit ticksalltheboxes.themercedesc-classwasalwaysa four-
doorluxurysaloonofchoice.Itsplayfulside,however,wassomethingwe’donlyheard
ofandexperiencedintheamG 43 andthemadder 63 sguise.now,however,witha
hard-topslopingroofandnoreardoors,thec 43 coupé ups the excitement and brings
inmorepowerthantheerstwhilec 43 saloon;
a carI adored,personally,asa propereveryday
all-rounder.
themercedes-amGc 434 matIccoupé,
then,isthenewkidontheblock,bothinthe
marketandinmerc’sever-increasingline-up.the
multiBeamledheadlights,sleekstyling,andtapered
rearend(alreadyseenonthec 300 cabriolet)allseem
familiar.what’snotsoistheexperience.
the3.0-litre,biturboV6petrolengineunderthe
bonnetnowmakes 390 ps—up 23 psontheolder
car—andanunchanged,butstillhefty, 520 nmof
peaktorque.nota decadeago,mercedeshadthesl
500 —a two-door,then-rocketshipsportscarwitha
bigV8making 306 psand 460 nm.my,howtimes
havechanged.furthermore,thebiturboV6ispaired
toa nine-speedautomaticdrivinga 4matIcall-
wheel-drivesystemwitha pronouncedrearbias.that
shouldmakeforsomeseriousfunandimpeccable
control.right,then.
how times have really changed, though, manifests

alsoina vastnumberofpeople,manyofwhomareroad-users—anaspect

thatwasnotsomuchofa concernforthesl500.that meant that I would

have to be very careful indeed about how far my right foot travelled and,

consideringtheresponsesontap,it wasa significantpieceofthepieformy

greymattertocometotermswith.

Inthecity,crawlspeedsarenottheidealsituation.neitheristhequality

ofroadsurfaces,mindyou.thec 43 feltratheroutofplace,thelowfront

apronandoveralllowgroundclearanceweretestedfarmorethanthey

wouldhaveliked—andnotinthedynamicoraerodepartmenttoo.the

drivemodesonthedynamicselectincludethenewslipperymode(forwet,

slippery,andlow-tractionsurfaces),comfort,sport,sport+,andIndividual.

cossetedasI wasinthelovelyamGalcantaraandleathersportsseats,my

footwasina differentsituation.the V6 has it torque peaking from 2,500

rpm — high up today even for a turbo-petrol — and while pottering around

thecitybehinda slow-movingscooterist,whosimplyrefusestomovefrom

thefastlaneata mute 12 km/h,thereisa pronouncedleapforwardwhen

footmeetsthrottle.that’swhencomfortmadewayforslippery.the dulled

down throttle response was perfect for the crawl.

Getting on to the open highway then brought a sigh of relief and the

The C 43 Coupé ups The

exCiTemenT and brings in

more power

62 car india May 2019 http://www.carindia.in