Views and Reviews.(Statistical Data Included)

OWNERS

THE C320 IS PROBABLY THE CLOSEST TO A perfect car I have ever owned and/or raced. The C320 is/has: superb handling; very fast; extremely quiet; very comfortable over long periods of travel; very fuel efficient (27.6 mpg at Interstate 70-plus-mpg average) for the engine/hp size; great interior ergonomics (except for the difficult-to-distinguish-from-other-information gear indicator display in the instrument panel); surprisingly large trunk; great assembly quality; and, it is a great styling exercise. Mercedes-Benz got it right this time, stodginess is left behind, even for us not-so-stodgy old men.

TED KROHN, Arlington, Va.

THIS IS A CAR OF CONTRADICTIONS. It is both superior and inferior, wonderful and terrible, of high quality and poor quality. It is incredibly quiet and smooth, handles very nicely and has reasonable power. But it has quality problems that you would never have with a Japanese car: a recall for a ``software upgrade'' within 200 miles of delivery; the driver and front-passenger seatbelts refuse to retract and constantly flop out of the door; the turn signals snap back so hard after turning they engage the opposite turn signal; the COMAND center dash was designed by arrogant idiots who must have thought that only they know what I want to see.

It is also frustrating that there is no standard in-dash CD player. I am unaware of any other car in its class that does not have an in-dash CD player as standard, and it is not even available as an option in the Mercedes. I cannot believe that I am the only person who does not want to give up half the glovebox for his only available CD.

L. Howard Wizig, Leawood, Kan.

THE C320 IS A GADGETEER'S DREAM. When-ever I thought there was a malfunction, careful reading