class as the 530, no matter what engine noise and a skinny steering wheel do to your taste buds. The C feels like a little car, like a 3 series, whereas the 530 feels far more substantial. Yes, my 528 has a little more engine noise than I would like, but the things it does well (almost everything else) outweigh the small annoyances. I could make a fair comparison to the 530 with the E class, but not the C.