The ‘C’ has up until now been a sensible unremarkable car that could never be described as exciting or even by executive car standards posh! It was a car for retired executives.
With a Merc you want presence on the road and the car’s Mondeo size has always been it’s Achilles heel. The revised C has had a few subtle tweaks to the exterior to try to make amends and now has a wider track and bigger 16 inch wheels as standard to beef it up. Now when viewed from a distance it could be mistaken for an E Class.
The biggest improvement for me has to be the interior, which now feels fresh and impressive. The dials and switchgear are now very classy and similar to those in the bigger and excellently appointed E Class.
My test car featured leather upholstery, the revised seats were supportive and comfortable. Interior space remains tight but remember this is Mercedes small saloon.
The C Class continues with its proud safety record to, with a five star NCAP crash test score. On the move the steering is now sharper and more precise. Loads of electronics aid the driver to, helping to keep the rear wheel drive car on the black stuff and pointed in the right direction.
The petrol and diesel engine range is comprehensive. For Ireland the star has to be the four cylinder 1.8 litre Kompressor (C180). It has the tax advantage of being just 1796 CCs while the Kompressor (or ‘supercharger’ to you and me) produces extra grunt on demand (143bhp @5,200rpm)
A kompressor works by forcing more air and fuel into the engine than would normally flow into it. Old racing cars years ago used ‘blowers’ to great effect. They did however use lots of fuel and tended to reduce engine life.
Thankfully Mercedes has now mastered the clever device making it virtually vice free. My C180 Kompressor weighs in at just under 1.5 tonnes and can do a top speed of 220 Km/h and sprint to 100 km/h in under ten seconds.
The suspension has been given a make over. It now features as standard thicker torsion bars and new mounts for the front torque strut and rear spring link, in other words the C Class handles a lot better!
Sports suspension is an option also but the C, while greatly improved, isn’t a racer and you would be better off getting more luxuries from the options list than sports extras.
My test car was an automatic and in a Merc anything other than ‘auto’ is a waste of time and money. However, Mercedes has improved the manual version by getting rid of the rubbish rod and cable box, replacing it with a new six-speed gearbox that uses a direct link shift rod for greater precision.
There is even a shorter throw version available on sports versions. I haven’t driven this version yet but on paper it sounds impressive. Mercedes and automatic go hand in hand as manual Mercs. have never been good. In fact they are known in the used car trade as ‘Orphans’ i.e. nobody wants them.
The revised C Class now has a more broad appeal. I enjoyed being a member of the Mercedes Benz club.
Michael Sheridan
