A base-model four-cylinder 2015 Mercedes-Benz C300 is likely the last car you'd expect us to strap onto a dynamometer to measure its power. You're likely asking, "Where were you with the 2015 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat?" Cars.com's long-term C300 test car, however, has a new 241-horsepower, turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder that has surprised us with its potency. We took Cars.com's long-term C300 test car to P&L Motorsports in Lisle, Ill., to slap our C300 on its all-wheel-drive dynamometer to see if the C300's measured power would surprise us.
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A dynamometer like the one used by P&L measures output at the wheels instead of at the engine, so the numbers spit out by the computer are lower than the engine ratings because of parasitic losses through the transmission, all-wheel drive and other components. The C300 made 211.5 hp and 265 pounds-feet of torque to the wheels with 93-octane fuel in the tank and driving mode in the most-aggressive Sport Plus.
P&L's Dynojet-style dynamometer - one of a few styles of dynamometers - is usually occupied by high-performance Subarus. P&L sees unmodified all-wheel-drive 2015 WRXs produce around 241 to 248 hp at the wheels on their dyno compared with the 268-hp engine rating for a 10 percent difference. The 305-hp-rated all-wheel-drive WRX STI measures 263 to 268 hp at the wheels (a 13 percent difference), and a rear-wheel-drive 200-hp BRZ makes 175 to 180 hp (a 12 percent difference). Our C300's measured horsepower difference from its engine rating was 12 percent, though drivetrain efficiency varies by the type of transmission and drivetrain, so comparisons aren't exactly apples-to-apples.
Perhaps most impressive from the experience is the gobs of torque measured across a wide range of engine speeds. Mercedes-Benz says the C300 makes its peak torque at 1,300 rpm. While our dyno graph doesn't start until 2,000 rpm, the car makes more than 250 pounds-feet of torque as soon as the graph starts and continues until 4,000 rpm where only then does the torque dip below 250 pounds-feet. It's this low-end torque that contributes to the C300's punchiness.
Putting that power to the ground, the C300 clicked off zero-to-60-mph times a few ticks faster than Mercedes' claimed 6.1 seconds at an uncorrected 5.95 seconds, and the quarter-mile came by in 14.19 seconds at 97.4 mph; all performance numbers were acquired through a RaceLogic VBOX GPS data logger on a cool 57-degree fall day. The C300's acceleration rivals even the quickest cars we tested in last year's Cheap Speed Challenge, including the fastest 2015 Subaru WRX, which is very respectable for a C-Class with the base engine
from Cars.com News http://ift.tt/1LsxEHa
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