Well guys, im so happy right now!
I went for the test drive and.... i hated it!!!!
They didnt have the 250 Diesel in stock as it had been leant to a lady customer who had retracted the roof on her car, and while it was going down managed to drive it into something and break it
So i went out in the 250 petrol with the agreement that i could take out a 250 diesel C-Class just to feel the difference. Straight away i hated it. It sounded dreadful (and this is the petrol model!!), it was really cramped inside, but worst of all there was a horrible squeak from the back of the seat as i had to have it all the way back to fit in, and it rubbed on whatever was behind it constantly. There were also various other rattles throughout the interior.
In terms of driving, i was very disappointed. It had the 7-speed auto box and it just couldnt find the right gear most of the time. I'd go to put my foot down and have to wait about 3 seconds before it kicked down. Towards the end of the drive the salesman said 'Oh, we've been in Eco mode' which i can only assume was to blame. I switched it to full manual mode and it was much better in the end.
So the verdict when i got back to the show room was that i was disappointed, and the car was far too small for me.
So... onto the C250 Diesel AMG Sport Plus that i took out. Instantly i felt more at home... The cabin felt really nice, and the LCD screen for the speedo was mint. Again this was the 7-speed auto with paddle shifts box, so i stuck it straight into manual and it was brilliant. Power delivery was okay... a little hard to predict where the torque curve was as i guess the turbo's took a little while to kick in, but once it was going it was really satisfying.
By the end of the drive, i was really hankering after this car, but obviously wouldnt have been making any kind of decision today - however i went back to the dealership and sat with them looking at prices.
The AMG C250 was roughly £35k which was the same price as the SLK, however the monthly cost was significantly more one PCP. They wanted £1800 deposit plus 35 monthly payments of £420 which was far far more than i want to be paying.
So... moral of the story is... the SLK is gash, but i want the C-Class for my next car - but not on PCP.