This morning I went by a couple of different convenience stores before coming across a 20oz bottle of C2 to try. It was $1.29 for a bottle, or $2.00 for two 20oz Coke products, so I got a bottle of C2 and a bottle of regular Coca-Cola to run a genuine taste test.
First of all, the technical specifics. This C2 product is supposed to be a low carb version of Coke and taste just the same. Well, it does indeed have 30g of carbs in the bottle (12g x 2.5 servings in a bottle), as opposed to almost 68g in regular Coke. Also, Coke has 250 calories in a bottle, versus about 117 in C2. Sodium dropped slightly as well. C2 says on the bottle "half the sugar of regular cola" and it has replaced that sugar, it seems, with aspartame. So it has both sugar AND phenylalanine.
Now to the taste test. I took several sips, switching back and forth between them, trying to clear the aftertaste out completely before starting the next taste. My overall verdict is that at least at initial taste and while it rolls around in your mouth, the taste is incredibly similar. The difference is in the aftertaste; while Coke leaves a sweet aftertaste for a bit in your mouth, once you've swallowed C2 is it almost as though you have drank water - it does not seem to leave much if any evidence of it ever being in your mouth. David at Todd and Penguin thought it tasted watered down, and I wonder if this is what made him feel that way.
Anyway, if you want the taste of Coca-Cola and not as many carbs or calories, C2 is not a bad substitute at all. Better than Diet Coke by far, if your intent is to maintain the flavor of Coke. I like the taste of Diet Coke, but it is totally different than regular Coke.
Or here's another alternative; move outside the US and drink Coca-Cola Light, which has 1 calorie and ZERO carb grams, tastes MORE like regular Coca-Cola, and is the preferred Diet Drink of a good deal of the rest of the world.
