Mercedes-Benz C-Class Range Car Review

Facts At A Glance
Car: Mercedes C-Class range
Prices: £22,530-£51,347 – on the road INSURANCE GROUPS: 13-19
Emissions: 149-326g/km
Performance: [C350 saloon] 0-60mph 6.4s / Max Speed 155mph
Fuel Consumption: [C350 saloon] (urban) 20.3mpg / (extra urban) 38.7mpg / (combined) 29.1mpg
Safety: Seven airbags / ABS/ ESP / Pre-Safe / active head restraints
Dimensions: [saloon] Length/Width/Height mm 4526/1970/1426mm

DIVIDE AND CONQUER

Our Rating: 7.6 / 10

Mercedes’ latest C-Class has two grilles and aims to appeal to two very different kinds of customer. Steve Walker reports

Mercedes-Benz never really strikes you as the kind of manufacturer to put all of its corporate eggs in one adventurously-styled basket. Rivals like BMW might go that way but cars carrying the three-pointed star have always tended towards a more traditionalist path. That certainly seems to be the thinking behind the latest generation C-Class anyway.

Here is a shape that’s both conservative and forward thinking, yet manages to offend nobody. Usually, such a combination of virtues would have created a design best forgotten but in this case, most target buyers are likely to find the finished result rather pleasing. Not that Mercedes were ever going to go any other way with this car. So important is the C-Class to the company’s profits that a radical look – even one as pleasing as that used in the executive-class CLS saloon/coupe – was never going to make it past the drawing board.

You shouldn’t infer from this however, that the team behind the development of this car have ignored the need for change. Primarily, it seems that this C-Class is a product of the growing emphasis on sportiness in the compact executive sector. The range is split down the middle, with models aimed at the conservative tastes of the traditional Mercedes-Benz buyer supplemented by others with an overtly sporting flavour that go head to head with offerings from Audi and BMW.

In keeping with the greater emphasis that the C-Class is putting on dynamic qualities, Mercedes have upped power outputs and made improvements across the engine range. There are three diesel units and five petrols to choose from and we can reasonably expect a version of the mighty 6.3-litre V8 to be levered into the engine bay of a forthcoming AMG model.

You want engine detail? Well here goes. On the diesel front, the line-up kicks off with the C200 CDI packing 136bhp and likely to be a stalwart model as far as fleet buyers are concerned. The C220 CDI offers 170bhp and buyers wanting the ultimate C-Class oil-burner can step up to the 224bhp C320 CDI. These engines are advanced common-rail turbo diesels and with torque outputs of 270Nm, 400Nm and 510Nm respectively, they pack a hefty punch in the mid range. Petrol-wise, it’s the supercharged C180 Kompressor BlueEFFICIENCY getting things under way with 156bhp. The C200 Kompressor gets 184bhp, while six-cylinder buyers can choose the C230 with 204bhp, the 231bhp C280 or the range-topping C350 with its 272bhp output. Prices start at around £23,000, with a premium of around £1,600 for the estate version.

As before, there’s the choice of either saloon or estate bodystyles. With the estate, as tends to be the case in this sector, the actual load volume with the seats in place is only marginally superior to that of the saloon (485-litres instead of 475) but the shape and adaptability of the space, not to mention the improved access, bring definite advantages. With both sections of the rear bench folded down, there’s a maximum of 1,500 litres to be exploited along with a maximum load length of 2.82m, 17cm more than in the old car.

The claim is that all C-Class models offer a sharper driving experience than before but the customer who really values on-road excitement can opt for the ‘Agility Control’ package that brings a more immediate feel to the steering, gearshift and the suspension. A further refinement of this system will come in the form of the ‘Advanced Agility’ package, with electronically-controlled shocks and speed-sensitive steering.

The C-Class design may not be particularly challenging but it is classically good-looking, the elegance you usually associate with larger Mercs very much in evidence. The car’s front wheels are edged right up into its corners wit