Mercedes-Benz C-Class Road Test

Mercedes-Benz C-Class

Infotainment comes in three formats; Audio20, Audio 50APS and COMMAND. All have a keypad for telephone use and Bluetooth connectivity, as standard. Audio 50 APS includes route guidance, an integrated 6-CD autochanger and LINGUATRONIC voice control. COMMAND adds Europe-wide navigation on a 30 gigabyte hard-disk, a music server with a 4 gig’ memory (about 1000 tracks) and a DVD player.

There are no less than five petrol engines from which to choose. The C180 and the C200 are Kompressor units, which means that they are supercharged, while the C230, C280 and 350 are V6 models. The list of diesels comprises C200, C220 and V6, C320 CDI units, all of which offer sensible fuel consumption and plenty of oomph.

The test car was the C220 CDI, which produces 125Kw (170PS) at 3,800rpm and 400Nm (295lb ft) of pulling power, at 2,000rpm - that’s around an 18 per cent improvement on the old version. Those figures give the C220 a 0-62mph time of 8.5 seconds and a top speed of 142mph, in conjunction with the manual transmission. The sprint time is the same for the 5-speed automatic option and the top speed is only 1mph less but choosing this ‘box means about 5 miles less per gallon of fuel, on the combined cycle. Alongside the 5-speed automatic box is the world’s only 7-speed automatic transmission, the 7G-TRONIC. It is fitted to the C280, C350 and C320CDI, as standard and is an option on the C230.

Fuel consumption figures for the test car are 35.8, 60.1 and 47.9 mpg for the urban, extra-urban and combined, respectively, while the CO2 emissions are 156g/km (manual) and 173g/km for the auto’.

The new Mercedes-Benz C-Class is bound to follow in the tyre tracks of its predecessor. The price is right at £24,107 for the test car and, although, for me, the looks are nothing to write home about, the comfort, ride and technology more than makes up for it.

Mercedes Benz C-Class