Merc's top-of-the-class new Estate
By: Henrie Geyser
One of the saddest things to have happened in this country was the death of small country hotels with their chatty barmen, smoky snooker rooms and well-worn dart boards. And with them went to the old-school Monday-away-Friday-back reps and the station-wagons that they - and so many other South Africans - loved so much.
To add fuel to the demise of the station-wagons, along came the trendy SUV's, MPV's, double-cabs and 4x4's that are now a dime a dozen on South African roads.
Much of the slide in station-wagon popularity stakes must also be attributed to the fact that they are perceived to be the vehicles of choice for baldies and blue-rinsers who are working hard at spending their children's inheritances.
Yet, in Europe these wagons are still big sellers. And that, plus the phenomenal popularity of the new C-Class, is what Mercedes-Benz is betting on to drive the sales of its new Estate which has just been launched in this country.
And if ever there was a station-wagon with the ability to the swing hearts and minds of South Africa's motorists, it's this one.
It has so many charming features that it's difficult to know where to start, so let's go the obvious route. It is a seriously handsome vehicle, every inch the country squire-come-to-town from the tip of its traditional slatted grille, over its tapering roof-line to the smart tail-end with its big boot lid.
The classy mink-and-manure look and feel continues inside the spacious living quarters with the attractively styled dashboard, high-class materials and appealing colour schemes.
Of course the seats are comfortable and fully adjustable, the windows and mirrors are electronic, the steering adjusts fully, the climate control works with German efficiency and the sound system is of prime quality.
Being an estate, much of the focus is on seating and load flexibility and here, too, the Merc outshines its two main competitors with a new benchmark figure of 1,500 litres of load space. Now THAT's big.
In fact, so generous and practical that it can swallow four golf bags, including trolleys!
The load space varies between 485 and 1,500 litres, depending on the position of the 1/3:2/3 split-folding rear seat. Interestingly enough, although the new Estate is not much bigger than the outgoing model, load capacity has been increased by about 146 litres.
Usable interior length has also been stretched to 2.82 metres and the whole loading and securing process has been improved with the addition of two bag hooks and four rings for anchoring. In all, the Estate can now carry a pay-load of just over 600kg.
The high-opening tail-gate makes packing pleasure, but at the media launch it was a matter of some muttering that the new optional “easy-pack” tailgate, which opens and closes at the push of a button, should be an expensive optional extra.
In addition to its generous luggage space, Merc's swanky wagon is also good for towing with a pulling capacity of up to 1,800 kilograms.
This multi-tasking newcomer will initially be available in seven model options, in three quite different standard specification levels and with a long list of very nice, but pricey, optional extras.
The different Estates and prices are: C180 K Classic Estate (R306,000), C200 K Classic Estate (R322,000), C280 Auto Elegance Estate (R406,000), C320 CDI Auto Elegance Estate (R434,000), C350 Auto Elegance Estate (R441,000) and C63 AMG Estate (R738,000).
The engine sizes and power outputs vary from model to model and some models have manual while others have automatic transmissions. For the manual models, an auto box can be fitted, but again at a price.
Interestingly enough, about 80 % of new C-Class saloons sold in this country are automatics.
The three specification level choices are Classic, Elegance and Avantgarde.
There is an almost bewildering choice of features ranging from comfort to safety, performance and transmissions, colours, trim and wheels across the range but seeing that Mercedes-Benz doesn't pay me or bizcommunity.com any commission on the number of new C Class Estates their dealers sell, best you find your nearest Merc dealer and get the sales staff there to earn their keep.
In fact, just the brochure covering the various options is detailed enough to keep you pondering for a week.
But what I can tell you after spending just a few hours driving two of the new models is that this latest Estate is not only practical, handsome and versatile, but that its build and ride qualities are 100% on par with its saloon sisters.
In fact, as one fellow motoring scribe commented on our launch drive during the media introduction, if you don't look over your shoulder you won't even know that you are driving an estate instead of a saloon.
It's classy, comfortable, amazingly quiet out on the road and judging by the admiring glances the Estate pulled along the route, actually quite cool.
What's more, when it comes to luxury, safety and fuel consumption, the C-Class Estate is also a step or two ahead of the opposition all the way.
In these days of rocketing fuel prices it offers an appealing alternative to running two or more vehicles per household because it is spacious and economical enough to use as a mum's taxi, upmarket enough for daddy's parking bay at the office and practical enough to take the family camping for the weekend, taxi the dog down to the beach or to cart the garden off-cuts to the dump.
Mercedes admits that in this country they have never really thrown big money and much marketing effort into pushing the Estate because for the past couple of years the station-wagon market in general had shrunk into a low-sales niche bracket.
But now, eight months into the after-glow of the launch of the new C-Class saloons, the new versatile and glitzy-looking Estate models have all the qualities to escalate this segment of the vehicle market in South Africa back to where it was years ago.
No doubt the local Mercedes-Benz team will be embarking on a fairly high profile advertising spree and a concentrated marketing shove to drive sales from the moment the new C-Class Estate rolls onto dealer showroom floors in May - and the process (especially the sales figures) will be closely watched by the four-ring and blue propeller marques who must be just a tad concerned.
The Avantgarde is the flagship for class (as opposed to the AMG model which is the flagship for performance) and is recognisable by the large Mercedes star positioned in the centre of the radiator grille. Incidentally, this is the first time that this traditional distinctive mark of sporty models from Mercedes is being employed in an estate model.
The other two are the mid-level Elegance and the entry level Classic variations.
More by Henrie Geyser
More...ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Henrie Geyser has worked as a journalist in Cape Town, London and Windhoek for the Argus Company (now Independent Newspapers) and spent 12 years at The Cape Argus in Cape Town. He then owned and ran a public relations consultancy for 13 years. He joined the online publishing industry through iafrica.com, where he worked for five years as News Editor and Editor. He now freelances for a variety of print and online publications, on the subjects of cars, food and travel, among others; and is a member of the South African Guild of Motoring Journalists.
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